Kingdom Hearts III: Brotherhood of Dark
by DarthKingdom
Summary: A few months after Xemnas's defeat, the trio recieves a letter from the king. Of course, things aren't over yet! My version of Kingdom Hearts 3.
1. Prologue: Message in a Bottle

Prologue: Message in a Bottle

Prologue: Message in a Bottle

"From the king?" Sora stated more than asked.

Seconds before our little story begins, Sora's dear friend (Sora hoped she was more), Kairi delivered a message in a bottle from the beach. The message was on a small piece of yellowing parchment with King Mickey's seal on the back.

The sunny beach seemed almost foreign to Sora, Riku and Kairi, even though they had lived there most of their lives. They had spent so much time in strange, new, exotic places lately (Sora and Riku especially) that their own home felt odd to them. They assumed that the feeling would pass in time. They had only been back for two months.

Sora hurriedly shook the message from it's container and unrolled it. The friends all clustered around it, wondering why the King of Disney Castle wanted to contact them.

The letter read:

_Sora, Kairi, and Riku,_

_Congratulations on once again defeating a serious threat to all the worlds._

_Trillians of beings are forever in your debt._

_You are in dire need of rest, and I dare say that you've earned it. But there is still great danger. I know that that's the last thing you want to hear after all we've been through, but still..._

_I fear that we will all be in for another journey very soon, and that once again the fate of all worlds is at stake. The Keyblade Masters will be needed to repel the danger._

_I'm dearly sorry for calling you back into action so soon, but I'm afraid there is no choice._

_Though as I said, you deserve rest and at least a bit of peace. In one month's time –which I hope you can enjoy together- a friend will come to the Destiny Islands to bring you to me._

_Unfortunately, I cannot give you all the details through this letter, on the off chance it is intercepted (never hurts to be careful guys). Once we meet, I'll tell you everything, that's a promise._

_Again, my sincerest apologies. I hope that you can forgive me._

_Yours Sincerely,_

_King Mickey Mouse._

_P.S. Sora, have you locked the Island's Keyhole yet?_


	2. Chapter 1: A Voice, a Keyhole, a Girl

I love Kingdom Hearts, don't you

_I love Kingdom Hearts, don't you?_

_This is my first attempt at fan fiction, so please review as you see fit. Just no flames please._

_This chapter is dedicated to my first to reviewers: RikuLover211 and Kairi8013. Hey guys, think you could get more people to review for me?_

_And Eagle101, I have considered putting the knights in._

_Enjoy!_

Chapter 1: A Voice, a Keyhole, and a Girl

"Can't we ever get a break?"

"What _would_ the worlds do without us?" Riku said.

As Sora reached this last line, his eyes buldged. "How did we forget the Keyhole?"

"You never did that?" Riku asked, half incredulous, half amused.

"You've only been there like ten hours per day since you got back!" Kairi added. Her tone was _all _ amusement.

"C'mon." Sora said standing up. "Let's go take care of that Keyhole."

The three set off at a leasurly pace toward Sora and Kairi's secret place.

"So what do you think this new threat is?" Kairi asked her friends.

"No idea..." Sora said. "But Maleficent and Pete might have something to do with it."

"Yeah," Riku said "We never did find out what happened to them at the World That Never Was."

"We were just a bit busy fighting for our lives." Sora added.

They had arrived at the narrow fissure leading into the Secret Place, and the Destiny Islands Keyhole. "Ladies first." Sora said brightly, bowing to Kairi as she slipped in. She failed to hide her red face, causing Sora to blush in turn, and Riku to smirk. Sora slid in after her, followed closely by Riku.

Sora stretched his back muscles when he reached the point where someone could walk. Just ahead of him, he saw his auburn-headed friend do the same. "Remember when we could just walk right through?" She asked.

"Yeah." Sora said with a smile.

The cave was small, but had its own charm. This was due largely to Sora and Kairi's childhood scribbles in chalk all over the walls. Sora's eyes briefly flickered over to the most recent one. He and Kairi had started it when they were very young, soon after she had come to the islands. It had started as just self portraits, but Sora had made an addition to it the day before the Heartless came. He had never been much of an artist, but it was obvious what it was.

Sora had drawn himself giving a paopu friut to Kairi.

The day he arrived back at the islands, he had gone to the cave and discovered something interesting. It seemed that Kairi had added on to his drawing.

Now Kairi was offering another piece of that magic fruit to Sora.

"I love what you've done with the place." Riku said. He hadn't actually been in the secret place since Kairi had arrived on the islands. He began to idly scan the scribbles on the walls.

Everyone's eyes fell to the plain wooden door on the far side of the cave. No handle, no lock. This had always perplexed the three. Now they knew why. It was a Heartless highway to the world's heart.

Sora silently summoned the Keyblade to his hand. It appeared in a flash of light. He pointed it at the door.

Gradually, the shape of a large keyhole formed on the door. It started as a glowing gold outline. Once it was complete, the inside flashed brightly, the glow softened and stayed. The cave was filled with an eerie silver light.

The Keyblade started glowing, outshining the newly revealed Keyhole. A narrow blue beam of light speared from the end of the blade and streaked at the center of the Keyhole. There was a blinding flash of white light, a strange high-pitched wail.

When the light faded the three friends gazed upon the door.

No Keyhole.

No darkness.

"Good job." Said a voice.

Sora turned around to see the voice's owner. But their was nobody else in the cave except for Riku and Kairi.

"You guys here something?" Sora asked. The last time he had heard a voice out of nowhere the Heartless had destroyed the world. It had even been in _this cave_. Only this one seemed _slightly_ familiar.

"You mean the wierd sound the Keyhole made?" Riku asked.

"No." Sora corrected "A voice."

"I didn't hear it." Kairi said.

Needless to say, this troubled Sora a bit. There was something else that he would have to figure out on the next journey.

"Well, don't worry about it Sora." Kairi said. "It's probably nothing."

"_This,_ however" Riku said "is _not_."

Sora half expected to see a dozen Heartless charging through the cave entrance. But when he turned to the sound of his voice, all was calm. Riku was looking at one of the pictures on the wall, and his shoulders were shaking with silent laughter.

"Okay if it's about my drawing skills I..."

Sora stopped in his tracks when Riku stepped aside to reveal the picture.

_Oh please... not _that _drawing..._

It was the paopu fruit sketch. Riku was smirking again, and he practically burst out laughing when Sora's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. But he really did laugh when Kairi's face turned redder than her hair.

"I'll leave you two alone for a moment, shall I?"

And with that he strolled out of the cave with a smug smile.

Sora and Kairi were alone now, and the silence was so heavy you could hear a pin drop. No- a feather. For the first time since entering the cave, Sora was uncomfortably aware of how close Kairi was to him.

Neither one spoke for a few minutes, and Kairi finally decided to break the silence.

"So... the drawing." She said. And her voice was surprisingly calm. In fact it was almost...

_Flirty?_

Sora –who had been staring at the space between his feet- took a risk and glanced at Kairi. She was looking directly at him, and there was something in her sparkling blue eyes that he couldn't place.

She took a step closer to him.

"I found that drawing the day after the islands were restored." She said, in that same calm tone.

She took another step.

"Tell me Sora,"

Another step.

"Why exactly did you draw that?"

Another step.

Sora tried to say something, but found that all that could some out of his mouth was an odd wheezing sound. Kairi giggled.

"Is there any chance..." She continued.

Another step.

"That you might..."

Another step.

"Have feelings for me?"

_Why is she so close!?_

Without realizing it, Sora had been taking one step backwards for every step she had taken toward him. He was now pressed against the cave wall with Kairi less than six inches in front of him. She was grinning like mad, and her eyes were sparkling.

Sora finally found his ability to speak, and the words that came out surprised him. "You added onto it too..."

Kairi quirked an eyebrow. "That I did." She whispered.

And suddenly, she closed the distance between them. She kissed him full on the lips.

Sora was shocked. He had loved Kairi since the second he had met her on the beach nearly seven years ago. Though, admittedly he hadn't realized it for what it was. This kiss had been a fantasy of his since that very second.

And there he was, standing completely still, like an idiot.

"Move it genius!" The voice practically screamed at him.

His mind had only begun to recover when Kairi pulled away with a hurt expression on her flawless face.

"I'm sorry." She murmered, and she turned to leave.

As was mentioned, Sora's mind had frozen the moment Kairi kissed him. The only thing he could think of at that particular moment was that he missed the feeling of her soft lips on his.

So, he decided to persue the only (then) logical course of action.

He reached out to Kairi, grabbed her by the shoulders, spun her around to face him, and kissed her.

Kairi stiffened immediately, having been taken completely by surprise. But she snapped out of it when Sora's hands wrapped around her waist. She tangled her fingers in his hair and eagerly returned the kiss.

Both of them were in heaven.

After ten minutes of passionate kissing, they could no longer ignore the need for oxygen. They pulled apart slowly, and gazed into each other's eyes. They smiled warmly.

"I love you." They both said at once.

It was a few hours before they came out of the cave, and it was to an incredibly smug Riku mentioning something about Wakka owing him twenty munny.

Sora and Kairi were too lost in each other's eyes to really pay attention to him.

In fact, Sora didn't even notice the same voice in his head, saying "Score!"

_What did you think? I know it's not that great, but it'll get better, promise._

_Please review._


	3. Chapter 2: Paupu Bond

_C'mon guys! Keep reviewing!_

_Anyway, I forgot to say a disclaimer, so:_

_I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else I decide to add or reference. Just the plot and the O.C.s I'll throw in later._

Chapter 2: The Paupu Bond

The trio's month passed by surprisingly slowly, as King Mickey had hoped it would. The three thoroughly enjoyed the down-time. For a while, it was like old times again, before the they had been sucked into a universe of alternate worlds, Heartless, Nobodies, and other bits of assorted craziness.

They laughed, talked, played, and reminisced. With the added detail that Sora and Kairi were finally together, it was the happiest month of their young lives.

Though, deep in the back of their minds, they all knew that they would be back in action very soon. Back in danger.

Back in darkness.

After thirty-one days of relaxation, Sora, Riku, and Kairi stood on the largest beach of their island. It was sunset. The three gazed out at the horizon watching the sun touch the water, painting it a vivid orange.

Sora and Kairi were holding hands, and Sora decided to give it one more go.

"Kairi..." He started.

"For the hundreth, millionth time Sora, _I'm going_!!"

"But are you..."

"_Yes_ I am sure!"

"But you know that..."

"Sora I think we've established that she's going with us whether you like it or not." Riku chimed in. He'd decided long ago that if Sora and Kairi became a couple, then he'd have to remind him that he was still around.

"Thank you Riku." Kairi said.

"I just don't want to lose you again." Sora told her softly.

Kairi's eyes widened.

"In the past two years," He continued, "You've been either kidnapped or attacked by the Heartless or Nobodies frequently. If there is anything I can do to make you the slightest bit safer, I'm going to try it."

Her response to this was to kiss him passionately.

Evan Riku couldn't help but smile at the display of affection. The two were just so... _right_ for each other. While it was true that Riku had had his eye on her once upon a time, it wasn't meant to be. Riku had simply rubbed it off as simple infatuation, and moved on.

Sora was perfect for her.

The two separated after a few minutes. Kairi leaned up to whisper in his ear. "You worry too much."

"Odd, that doesn't sound like me. Well maybe you don't worry enough." Sora countered, though he certainly didn't seem to want to leave her behind now.

Kairi sighed. "If it makes you feel better, I have this."

She held out her hand, and the Keyblade Riku had given her appeared. It was a light red and gold blade encrusted with small flowers at the tip. The hilt looked like a wave in an ocean. The keychain dangling from the end on a colorful band was a paupu fruit. It reminded him a great deal of their islands.

When asked, Riku claimed that Ansem the Wise had found it, and had presented it to him as a gift. He had been saving it for someone he thought could use it to it's full potential.

Kairi (though her fighting skills weren't exactly something to admire) fit the bill perfectly.

"Slightly." Sora admitted. The thought came to his mind they he and Riku could help her hone her combat skills.

Riku rolled his eyes. Slowly, he pulled something wrapped in a cloth out of his pocket.

"Hey Sora." He said. The two of them turned to regard him. Casually, Riku tossed his package to Sora saying, "_You wanted one, didn't you_?"

Sora's eyes widened as he remembered the last time Riku had said that.

"I'll leave you two alone for a moment, shall I?" Riku said over his shoulder as he strode away. "Let me know when the ship gets here."

Sora looked down at the package in his hands, and carefully pulled away it's cloth covering. Just as he had suspected, it was a paopu fruit. Sora blushed slightly, and glanced at Kairi. Their eyes met.

She smiled softly, and broke off a part of the fruit. She nudged him, silently telling him to do the same. He complied.

He was about to take a bite, when Kairi stopped him. She held her bit of fruit up to his mouth. Catching the hint, he held his piece next to her mouth.

"One.. two..." Kairi counted down, "three."

The placed the pieces of fruit on each other's tongues. It was as sweet as they had ever imagined. Mostly because they were sharing it with each other. They continued eating the fruit in the same manner, until it was completely gone about five minutes later.

Once it was gone, they both laid down in the sand, and simply held each other for the next several minutes. There was no need for words.

Their hearts had always been joined. Now their destinies were too.

_I'm such a sap. Review please!_


	4. Chapter 3: The Beginning

_This chapter isn't that great, but I needed to get them off the islands somehow._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else I may use. Just the plot and O.C.s._

Chapter 3: The Beginning

Sora and Kairi had been alone for only five minutes, before something appeared in the sky. It didn't appear to be anything other than another star out of thousands appearing in the early sunset. But when it started moving and becoming visibly larger, anyone knowledgable would have realized what it was.

Kairi was first to notice it. Her eyes widened a bit, and she eased up from her position by Sora. He was only confused for a moment, and then saw the rapidly approaching light decending toward their world.

"Riku!" he called up the beach, where his friend was climbing a tree. "Our ride's here!"

As he came sprinting toward the two, Sora pointed out the speck in the sky. The three friends summoned their Keyblades to their hands, and pointed them into the sky. They all began to glow brightly. This was the signal that they had agreed on ahead of time. If the ship couldn't see them, then they'd have to bring it to them.

Apparently, it had worked. It appeared to change course slightly, though it was still dificult to tell from it's hieght. They held the Keyblades high until they could make out a shape.

The Gummi ship coming toward them was roughly triangular in shape, and was painted with shades of red and yellow. Sora knew that ship all too well.

He had used it for several months.

"It's the _Highwind_!"he cried.

"The _Highwind!?_" Riku said, incredulous. "You stole my name!"

"I swear, it's a total coincidence." Sora said. "Donald had already given it the name when I met him."

Sora wondered if it was Donald or Goofy in the ship. The question was answered a few seconds later, when the ship landed lightly on the beach, kicking up a small cloud of sand. The bubble window of the cockpit opened up, revealing the beaming Donald and Goofy.

"Sora!" they both cried out enthusiastically. They lept out of the cockpit and embraced their old friend. They laughed for no apparent reason for several moments, before they gave Kairi and Riku a similar treatment.

"It great to see you guys again!" Sora said once the hugging had ended.

"What've you been up to lately?" Kairi asked.

"Well," Goofy said "We've been going to different worlds lately to see some old friends."

"The King says we'll need all the help we can get if we want to throw back the darkness." Donald added.

"But wouldn't that be 'meddling'?" Sora asked. They had been forced to keep many aspects of their travels secret from the inhabitants of the worlds. Some had offered to come with them (like Aladdin), but they had had to turn them down.

"Well, we're just warning them of the danger they might be in, and making sure they have help if they're put in danger." Goofy explained

"A few of them have come along with us though." Donald said, "You'll meet them when we arrive."

"Huh." Sora said "Sounds like it'll be fun."

"Then we'd better get the 'fun' started!" Riku said. Sora could hear the excitement in his voice. "Let's take off!"

"I call pilot!" Sora exclaimed childishly, and scrambled into the cockpit.

"Oh no you don't!" Donald shouted, and dove in after him. Kairi just laughed.

Unnoticed by anyone else, Goofy nudged Riku in the side and whispered into his ear. "Uh, Riku? Did Sora and Kairi ever...?"

"_Oh yeah_." Riku said. As if to reinforce his point, Sora reached down to pull Kairi up into the ship. She kissed him on the cheek. "So you might want to brace yourself for some more of _that_."

Goofy just "hyucked", and said, "Well, good for them!"

Apparently, Donald had won the "fight", leaving Sora in a back seat. Once all of them were in the cockpit, Sora couldn't help noticing that Kairi seemed a little fidgity. He reached over to her seat next ot his, and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. She smiled gratefully at him.

"This is only your second time in a Gummi ship isn't it?" He whispered to her. She nodded. "Don't worry, you'll love it."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the Gummi started to leave the ground. It floated a few feet above the ground for a moment, and Kairi gripped Sora's hand tighter (she was beginning to cut off the circulation).

"Prepare for lift-off!" Donald cried dramatically (though ruining the effect somewhat with his scratchy voice). The ship began to vibrate, and a faint rumbling came from the light-speed engines at the rear of the ship.

By this point, Kairi was on the verge of breaking Sora's hand. The ship floated a little higher, and it wasn't long before the ship was hovering fifty feet above the island.

"Take a good look fellas..." Goofy said, in a tone that nobody had heard him use before, "I reckon this journey's gonna be a long one."

The three looked out the window and down to the islands below, it was a bit of a bittersweet moment. They had to leave yet again.

_Can we never just leave our world for a vacation? Not to go off after a bunch of bad guys?_

"We're not going to lose this place again." Riku said, and there was a bitter edge to his voice. "We're _not_."

Sora found that he could only nod his head. Kairi was silent.

"Take off in five...four...three...two...ONE!"

The ship jerked, and the stars ahead of them turned into silver lines. They outstreaked light, and suddenly, the ship was thousands of miles away from the Destiny islands.

It had begun.

_Boring... It'll get better soon._

_Please review!_


	5. Chapter 4: Dream

_This one is slightly better._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else I may use. Just plot and O.C.s._

Chapter 4: Dream

The _Highwind_ streaked through space well past the speed of light. Though to its passengers, it only felt like a steady seventy miles-per-hour.

Sora looked out the cockpit window at the blue-black infinity dotted with pinpricks of silver and gold. He couldn't help the feeling of déjà vu that came over him. Space almost always looked the same.

He peaked over at Kairi, and was relieved to see that she had settled down a bit, and was staring out the window in awe. She turned and smiled at him. Sora quirked an eyebrow as if to say, "I told you so."

"So where are we bound?" Riku asked Donald.

"Radiant Garden."

"How's the restoration coming along?" Sora asked.

"Pretty well." Goofy said. "Lots of buildings have been rebuilt, people are moving in, and mosta the Heartless are gone."

"Good to hear it."

"Did you say 'Radiant Garden'?" Kairi whispered.

It was only then that Sora remembered. Radiant Garden was Kairi's homeworld. Evan before Malificent had taken over, she had been spirited away to the islands. He had come to suspect that Xehanort had something to do with it.

Sora squeezed her hand yet again and asked, "Are you ready to go home?"

To his surprise, she smiled and kissed him. "It may be my homeworld, but Destiny Islands is my real home. Where my heart is." He smiled and held her close to him. Her hand went to his heart.

"It'll be a while before we get there," Goofy said from the front, "you should rest up."

Sora was eager to accept his advice, for some reason he was very tired. He closed his eyes and relaxed, the sweet scent of Kairi's hair quickly easing him to sleep.

Sora suddenly had the sensation that he was floating. He opened his eyes. All he could see were what appeared to be swirling black clouds. Yet there was absolutely no noise. There was only silence.

He suddenly felt himself descend, but to what? He looked down, and saw something large, circular, and glowing orange. The clouds obscured his view though, so he couldn't make out much of it. But that thing was definitely his destination.

Sure enough, it was growing larger and larger. Sora wondered why he didn't feel nervous. He was floating around in a strange place, on his way to a huge mysterious object that he didn't recognize. Yet he felt slightly at peace.

In fact, he was starting to feel –was it possible? Good!

When he realized this, the clouds covering the huge object were blown aside, as if a giant hand had swept them away. Sora knew immediately where he was.

The Dive into the Heart.

The massive object below him was one of the platforms so often found here. He hadn't seen this particular one before. It didn't show any of the seven Princesses of Heart, or himself. But he immediately recognized the people it featured.

His own Nobody Roxas dominated the picture, he stood in the center, facing the viewer with a smile. Half of his body was draped in a black Organization cloak, and the other half wore his typical clothing. In each hand he held a Keyblade. On either side of his head were two pictures, containing the faces of Axel and Namine. Around Roxas's body were six more pictures of Hayner, Pence, Olette, Kairi, Riku, and Sora. There was also a bubble of somebody that Sora didn't know.

Sora thought it was fitting that his brave "other" was commemorated here. He smiled to himself.

He gently touched down on the platform. He walked toward Roxas's face, and laughed at the smile he wore. And was it just him, or was he sneaking a peak at Namine's picture? Now that he was on the ground, he realized that it was a heart –not a simple bubble.

A voice from behind him said, "Look sharp!"

Sora turned around, finally recognizing the voice he had been hearing in his head.

There was Roxas. He was walking toward Sora with a grin on his face. "You like the picture?"

"Love it!" Sora answered. He, too started walking, and shook hands with his Nobody. "I'm dreaming, aren't I?"

"Yep!" Roxas answered simply.

Sora chuckled at the simple remark. "Who is that guy in that bubble over there?" He pointed at the picture. "I haven't seen him."

"Don't know, maybe it's somebody that we will meet soon."

"Well, can I ask you some things?"

"Fire away." Roxas said. He then plopped down onto the floor, and put his hands behind his head. "I've got all the time in the world."

"You seem a lot more carefree than when I first met you." Sora observed.

"Well, when all you have to worry about is talking to your other -or Namine- you tend to become a bit laid-back."

"You can talk to Namine?" Sora was a bit confused now. "Explain."

"Well, I can always communicate with you, because I'm part of your heart, mind, and soul." He explained, "So, I can 'talk' into your head for you to hear. I expect that by thinking, you can 'talk' back to me."

"I had been wondering about that," Sora admitted, "but you still haven't answered my question."

"Right, right." Roxas said. "This is the interesting part. Well, dear Namine is part of Kairi like I'm a part of you. And Kai-"

"_Dear Namine_!?" Sora cried out. Roxas blushed. Sora laughed more.

"I have acess to your memories you know. I can probably pass on one of your more embarressing ones for Namine to show _precious _Kairi."

Sora shut up immediately.

"Now then." Roxas went on, using his hands to try to illustrate his point. "Your heart is bound to Kairi's. This creates kind of a pathway between the two of you. Namine and I can make use of the pathway and see each other whenever we want."

"Bet you're happy about that." Sora said. He couldn't bring himself to laugh at him now. Namine must have been to Roxas what Kairi was to him. He couldn't help but wonder if he had told Namine that.

"Who wouldn't be?" Roxas responded. "Have you _met_ her?"

"Sort of."

"Anyway." Roxas said, "It's possible that you and Kairi can make use of that bond, too."

"How?" Sora was definitely interested.

"To tell you the truth, I'm not sure." He admitted. "It could be that you're using it already. Subconciously."

"You mean we'll be able to read each others minds?" Sora asked. The thought of having his girlfriend in his mind all the time slightly scared him.

"No, nothing so simple as that." Roxas said. " I mean that you may start acting more closly with her."

At Sora's blush he added, "Not like THAT, you pervert!"

"Well what did you mean!?" Sora said, blushing harder.

"You'll be in sync with eachother." Roxas ammended, "You'll move as one. And maybe you'll start _sharing_ your thoughts or dreams. Maybe evan feelings"

"Wow..." Sora thought. "That's a lot to take in." Suddenly feeling a bit dizzy, Sora sat down beside his Nobody. "How did you figure all this out?"

Roxas smiled to himself. "I didn't, Namine did."

They sat in silence for a moment to allow the information to sink in. Finally, Sora asked, "How do I tell Kairi about all this?"

Roxas smiled yet again. He seemed to do that a lot here. "You don't have to. The girl fell asleep like ten seconds after you did. Namine's probably telling her the same stuff I've told you."

Without warning, the whole platform shook violently. Sora jumped to his feet, but Roxas got up slowly, as if nothing were happening. The dark clouds were suddenly replaced with a blinding white light.

"Looks like it's time to wake up." Roxas said casually. He patted Sora on the back and added, "Stay in touch!"

Everything disappeared.

Sora and Kairi jumped awake at the same moment. After a brief look around, they saw that they were still in their seats in the Gummi ship. They looked at each other, and seemed to reach a silent understanding.

Sora could only assume that she had indeed talked with her Nobody in her sleep.

Directly in front of them, Goofy said, "We're here!"

Everyone looked toward the rapidly growing little ball that was Radiant Garden. Sora could already tell that the world was making progress. It seemed to be glowing evan from this distance.

_Yeah, yeah most of you already knew it was Roxas. Ah well, the next chapter is Radiant Garden._


	6. Chapter 5: Return to the Garden

_I've seen other people do this so, Sora? Will you please?_

_Sora: "Sure! DarthKingdom does not own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else he decides to use. If he did own us, Kairi and I would have gotten together last game."_

_Thanks, man._

Chapter 5: Return to the Garden

When they entered the atmosphere, everyone searched for a decent landing spot. But they also took the time to admire the area from the air.

Surrounding the village was a lush, green forest. The village itself was larger than before, and it was bustling with activity. Ansem's old castle stood proud and shining overlooking the area. It shone in the light from the sunset.

"How did they do all this in two months?" Sora wondered out loud.

"We had help!" Came a voice from the computer at the front. Everyone looked in the direction of the disimbodied voice.

A small virtual screen formed itself on the window. It was filled up with 1s and 0s for some reason. Standing in front of this unusual background was a young man with blue-grey skin wearing bizarre blue and bronze armor. Sora, Donald and Goofy recognized him immediately.

"Tron!"

"Sora, Donald, Goofy!" he called back. "It's great to see you again. Take a breather, Donald I'll land the ship."

The _Highwind_ changed course as he said this, cruising over the village toward the castle.

"So Sora," Tron continued, "I take it the two Users on either side of you are Riku and Kairi?"

"Right." Sora gripped the shoulders of his two friends. "Guys, I told you about Tron, right?"

"The computer guy!" Riku said. "Awesome!" Tron laughed.

Kairi was more courteous. "Nice to meet you, Tron." She extended her hand, before she realized that he wouldn't be able to shake it. She tried to hide her mistake, but to no avail. The whole cockpit chuckled.

The _Highwind_ landed lightly in what was apparently a Gummi ship parking lot. It was set on a hill to the west side of the castle, and the group had a great view of Radiant Garden. It looked evan more spectacular on the ground. The people seemed genuinly happy.

"I'll see you guys soon, I've got to get back to the others." Tron said. The cockpit opened, and his screen disappeared. The group of five jumped out of the ship, and streched their muscles.

Kairi walked over to the edge of the hill, and gazed at the village below. Sora crept up to her and wrapped his arms around her from behind. She leaned into him.

"It's beautiful." Kairi whispered. A single tear fell from her eye, and he wiped it away with his thumb.

"Yes you are." Sora added. Kairi giggled and nuzzled into his chest. They stood there for a minute or two before their welcoming committee arrived.

"GUYS!" Everyone turned to see the new arrival. Running toward them was a short woman with short black hair and an air of hyperactiveness.

"Hey Yuffie!" Sora shouted, and waved to her.

She suddenly vanished in a puff of grey smoke. Kairi was perplexed by this, until she reapearred right in front of her.

Kairi instinctively backed up. Unfortunately, Sora was still there, causing her to trip over his feet, fall against him, and knock both of them to the ground.

Riku walked over to them laughing. "The fate of the universe depends on these guys?"

"You're a riot Riku." Sora said as he helped Kairi back up.

"Sorry to scare you guys." Yuffie apologized. "It's just great to see you again." She immediately wrapped Sora, Donald And Goofy in tight hugs.

"Good to see you too, Yuffie." Sora said.

Yuffie lept in front of Kairi and planted her face a few uncomfortable inches from hers. "Kairi, right?" she asked. The two girls had met briefly before in Traverse Town after Sora had saved her. She had been too worried about him to really get to know her, though. She nodded.

"Good to see you again!" Yuffie beamed, and hugged her in turn. "You've really grown!"

Seconds later, she noticed Riku. Her eyes lit up, and she bounced over to him. She stood on her toes and looked him dierctly in the eyes. It wasn't hard since their faces were only an inch apart.

"And you must be Riku, right?" She asked. Her voice seemed slightly softer this time.

To everyone's shock, Riku immediately blushed and couldn't respond.

Sora and Kairi shared a grin at their friend's condition.

In his mind, Roxas said to Sora something that he couldn't help but agree with.

"This should be fun..."

Slowly, Yuffie pulled away and faced the entire group. "Follow me, the others have been waiting!" She set off at a fast pace toward the castle with a bounce in her step. The others followed. Sora shot Riku a quick smirk, though he pretended not to notice it. Sora could see his blush deepen.

As the six of them approached the castle, Sora noticed a few strange forms moving around the area.

They were all about three feet tall, and light blue in color, covered with strange gold patterns. They had the rough shape of humans, but had treads instead of feet. They were speeding back and forth across the area as if they had some task to perform.

"What are those?" He asked Yuffie, pointing at a group clustered around a nearby fountain.

Yuffie followed his pointing finger. "Those? They're the Tron 2.0s." She explained. "Our virtual friend somehow converted the Heartless manufacturing equipment to make these. They've been a _huge_ help rebuilding the place."

_A huge help indeed..._

When the group arrived at the castle's front door, they were greeted by a huge, bronze statue of a man. They knew his face well.

Ansem the Wise was dressed in fine robes. He stood tall with one hand over his heart, while the other one held another heart flat in his palm. His head was held high, and a gentle smile graced his face. Engraved in the stone at the base were the words: "Always Follow your Heart." Sora took a moment to bow his head respectfully to the statue.

"We put a lot of work into that." Yuffie commented.

They passed the statue and walked to the huge double-doors of the castle. They were inlaid with swirling heart patterns. They were ajar several feet, leaving more than enough space to walk through.

The castle was spacious and brightly lit. They were standing in a long hallway that branched off into different rooms. They walked right to the end to another large door.

_Alright! Next chapter we'll get down to business!_


	7. Chapter 6: Reunions and Mission Briefing

_Let's get down to business! Sora, the disclaimer please... Sora?_

_Riku: "He and Kairi are a bit, uh, busy."_

_Oh... Then, would you mind?_

_Riku: "Why not? DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or the Men in Black reference. Just the plot and O.C.s"_

Chapter 6: Reunions and Mission Briefings

Yuffie pushed the door open. Immediately, the hall was filled by the noise of numerous conversations within. Sora looked in on what seemed to be a meeting room.

In the center was a wide, circular table surrounded by chairs. A large,crystal chandelier hung above the table, filling the room with soft, golden light. There was a large window on the opposite side. Deep blue velvet curtains currently covered it. The white walls were adorned with various charts, he saw one that looked like an intergalactic map.

All of this entered Sora's mind before he was tackled to the ground by a small, blue creature shouting, "ALOHA!"

"STITCH!" he shouted in between laughs and licks, trying to shake the tiny thing off. He was soon covered in greenish alien saliva. "Please, please, stop! I missed you too! Alright enough!"

Stitch hopped off and landed on two legs. He bore a huge, toothy grin, laughed crazily, and jumped onto the table. Riku pulled Sora to his feet. Though he regretted it when his hand came away green and sticky.

"You get used to it eventually." Sora muttered.

"Or you have a psychotic episode." Someone muttered darkly.

"Let me help you with that, my boy." Said a white-bearded old wizard sitting at the table. He flicked his wand, and the goo covering Sora vanished. Another flick, and Riku's hand was clean as well.

"Thanks, Merlin." Sora replied.

Their young ninja friend walked in and adressed the assembled people. "Just in case you've been struck blind, deaf, and dumb(er) while I was gone, Sora and the others are here."

"This is Riku." Sora said, he clapped a hand on his friends shoulder "And this gorgeous angel is Kairi" he kissed his now blushing girlfriend on the cheek. Someone giggled, another guy laughed, and somebody else wolf-whistled.

Aside from the newcomers, there were over a dozen people in the room. Leon was sitting near them with a thin, dark-haired woman he didn't know. Aerith was on his other side. Merlin and Cid sat across from them at the table. A large black man with a metal right arm was glaring at Stitch, who was giggling at him from the ceiling. In a corner of the room was Tifa. By one wall, looking slightly out of place (and for good reason) were Hayner, Pence, and Olette from Twilight Town. A young lioness was standing on all fours near them, looking at Sora in awe. The Gullwings: Yuna, Rikku, and Paine were hovering by the chandelier. A holographic representation of Tron was sitting at the table, though he was a little fuzzy looking. Their highly magical friend Genie was floating above them. Captain Jack Sparrow (one of the _absolute last people_ Sora expected to see present) was leaning against the wall. The demigod Hercules smiled at the group from across the room.

Sitting in front of the curtains in two throne-like chairs were King Mickey Mouse, and the Sorceror Master Yen Sid.

"Glad you could make it fellas!" The king said. Though that was all they heard before he was drowned out by everyone's respective greetings (in varying degrees of enthusiasm).

Genie was the first to do so. "Sora, Donald, Goofy...uh, YOU TWO!" Genie vanished in a cloud of purple smoke and reappeared directly behind the five of them. He wrapped them all from behind in a crushing huge and flew around the room with them still in his arms. "Oh I missed you –and am happy to meet you- SO MUCH!" There was another puff of smoke, and they were back in their original positions. Riku and Kairi looked dizzy. "And by the way Sora, good choice!" He whistled.

Leon strode forward and shook their hands, offering his congratulations on their success with the Organization. "I'm glad to see that you've made some progress here." Sora replied.

"You're too kind."

Aerith hugged them. Cid gave Sora a rough pat on the back, and Merlin tipped his pointy hat to them. Tifa waved at them from her corner.

Hercules walked forward and nearly broke their arms with his handshake. "The honorary heroes!" He exclaimed, "It's great to see you."

Jack walked forward in his characteristic manner of acting like he was drunk. It seemed to fool Riku and Kairi, who appeared ready to catch him if he fell. "I don't suppose you're ready to hand me your blade then, eh mate?"

Sora only laughed and said, "Sorry, Captain. You still can't use it."

"Fair enough."

Hayner and his friends walked forward and expressed their relief that their friends were safe. And they introduced themselves to Riku for the first time.

Once most of them had settled down, the king spoke up again. "Now that you've all finished smothering our guests, they've still yet to meet three of us." He turned his head to the woman seated next to Leon, whom Sora was starting to believe was his girlfriend. She stood up and walked forward to meet them.

"Rinoa Heartilly." She said with a smile. She shook hands with all of them. Rinoa seemed like a kind, happy woman, and he couldn't help but wonder how she fell for Leon. "'Leon' has told me a lot about you all!"

"And what exactly did he say?" Donald asked suspiciously. Rinoa only smiled and returned to her seat.

The large man walked over to them. "The name's Barret Wallace, boys, don't you forget it" He told them. Unfortunately, he used his metal right arm to shake Sora's hand. The both of them could here a suspicious crackling noise. Most of the room was tactful enough not to say anything, except for Stitch who immediately burst out laughing.

Barret snarled and pointed his arm at the ceiling. It then transformed into some kind of triple-barreled gun, and spun around. He aimed it at Stitch and shouted at someone. "Just give me two seconds with that ball 'a fur!"

In response, said "ball 'a fur" growled, pulled out one of his laser pistols, and said something along the lines of "Meega natha queesta!"

"_Down_, boys!" Merlin said. Both of them were immediately knocked to their knees by some invisible force. Stitch flew the whole distance to the floor (about twenty feet), and smushed his face against the floor. "That will be _quite_ enough."

"Um, good to meet you, Barret." Sora said while the man massaged his chin.

"Likewise."

That left only the lion cub on the far side of the room. As Sora looked closer, he guessed that she was still pretty young. Likely no more than three months, but lions grew fast. When he noticed her eyes and smile, a memory suddenly popped into his head.

"_I'm counting on you Simba..." Nala said, nuzzling the king's neck. "And so's our baby."_

Sora grinned and looked the young lion over again. To everyone's surprise, (and confusion) he bowed. Donald and Goofy soon arrived at the same conclusion as Sora, and bowed as well. The cub's eyes widened a bit, but she seemed to enjoy the treatment.

"It's good to meet you, Your Majesty." Sora said, grinning.

"'Your Majesty'?" He heard Kairi ask Riku.

"Call me Kiara." The lioness said. "And it's great to finally meet you three, my dad talks about you a lot."

"How is Simba these days?" Sora asked. He was starting to see a great deal of the king of Pride Rock in his daughter. They carried the same air of friendliness and mischief.

She rolled her eyes. "He's fine, but he is SO overprotective. But, he didn't even realize that I stowed away with the King until I was already gone! Can you believe that?"

"You WHAT?" Donald and Goofy shouted as one.

"Woah, how'd you pull that off?" Sora asked. Kiara seemed remarkably proud of herself.

"SORA!" Kairi shouted disapprovingly..

"Wha? Right! Right, sorry. I mean, um, How could you!?" Sora quickly ammended.

"Don't worry, the kings already cleared it up." She said, a little defensibly.

"I'm glad you guys got to meet, but could we please get started?" Mickey said from his chair. He gestured to five open seats near himself and Yed Sid that had clearly been saved for them.

They took the seats, Sora and Kairi sat at the King's side holding hands. Riku was on Kairi's other side, conveniantly next to Yuffie. Donald and Goofy were now across from them in between Yen Sid and Tron.

"Now then. Let us begin." The sorceror said. He waved his hand, and the doors shut. The candles of the chandelier flickered out, casting the room into semitotal darkness, which was only countered by the faint glow of Tron's hologram. Sora was rapidly learning that atmosphere was very important to Master Yen Sid.

Suddenly, the previously closed curtains snapped open. All eyes were instantly upon it, and Sora took in a very amazing sight. There appeared to be an entire universe behind that curtain. Millions of stars could be seen there, stretching into an apparently very small infinity.

Something floated out of the space, sending ripples through it as though it were water. The object seemed to be a beach ball sized crystal ball. It floated through the air, lighting up the space around it, and settled onto the center of the table.

Sora vaugely heard Jack voice his own thoughts, "That's interesting."

"Interesting" was a mild way of putting it, but Sora completely agreed.

Yen Sid spoke again. "This new threat of darkness is stronger than anything we've seen before. It undoubtably is controlling massive amounts of Heartless _and_ Nobodies, yet it has yet to fully reveal itself. It is carrying out it's plans behind the scenes."

Sora noticed that the crystal ball was filled with dark smoke. "All of my magic has been able to bring me few answers. That in itself is disturbing, but what I do know is far more so."

"It is a group of strange beings that call themselves the 'Brotherhood of the Dark' . Their apparent leader is called 'Serndask', an entity of enormous power. They are working toward a great goal to steal the heart of all worlds." Yen Sid paused.

"Kingdom Hearts." Sora finished. Yen Sid bowed his head to them. "But, the King and I sealed the Door to Darkness... So, Kingdom Hearts is safe, right?"

"It would seem that way." Yen Sid admitted. "But we still have no idea what the Brotherhood is capable of, and the danger is very real. I take it you remember the artificial Kingdom Hearts Organization XIII created? It was quite powerful, despite the fact that it wasn't the 'true' Kingdom Hearts."

"What do they want with it?" Riku asked.

"That is unknown to me... Likely the power it would afford them." Yen Sid admitted slowly. "But there may be another who knows more. From what I can gather, he was a prisoner of the Brotherhood for a time, and he's recently escaped. He's been attacked frequently by the Heartless since then."

Yen Sid's crystal ball suddenly tripled in size, and it's contents changed. All of them could see a tall man facing several Neoshadow Heartless. His back was to them, but they saw long dark red hair tied into a pony tail. He wore jeans, and a jacket the color of his hair. Sora couldn't believe his eyes when the man's weapons appeared out of thin air.

Two red and silver chakrams.

Roxas suddenly shouted in his mind.

"Axel's alive!?"

As soon as he said it, the Axel in the crystal ball tossed his chakrams into the group of Heartless, reducing most of them to black puddles. He called his weapons back to himself and charged into the rest of them. He spun during his attacks, taking out Heartless with every swing of his circular weapons.

Within five minutes, Axel was standing alone in the area. Now that the Heartless were gone, Sora could see an amazing orange sunlit sky behind him. He could see a town below him that looked very familiar.

Axel looked very worn out. He was panting heavily, and was drenched with sweat. He began to walk away from the battle scene, when suddenly four Berserker Nobodies appeared behind him.

Sora was amazed that he was able to keep fighting.

Axel surrounded his chakrams with flames and tossed them at the hulking Nobodies. One went down, but the others deflected the attack with their claymores. They approached him and swung the weapons as one. Axel escaped the brunt of the attack, but was still thrown backwards off the hill he was on. His Nobody attackers gave chase.

"For those of you who haven't met this man. He is Axel." Yen Sid continued as the fight played out before them. "The betrayer of Organization XIII. He supposedly gave his life so that Sora could continue on his journey."

"I saw it." Sora said. "How did he come back?"

"That is knowledge that only he and the Brotherhood hold. And he may know other things." The image faded just as Axel finished off the last Berserker. He was clutching his side in obvious pain. Sora noticed a thin scar running across his forehead. "I have detected him in Twilight Town."

"What does he want there?" Kairi asked.

"Maybe he's going after the data in the old mansion?" Hayner said from down the table. The boy was a native of Twilight Town, and had aided Sora with his friends. "Sora found a way to that other world from there."

"That's what we think." King Mickey said. The crystal ball was filled with black clouds again. "And Twilight Town is in a bit of danger, too. This darkness you see is streaming off of it."

"Count us in for this one." Hayner said. "We're not going to lose that place, we're _not_." Pence and Olette nodded, showing their determination. Sora, Riku, and Kairi traded looks. Nobody else realized that Hayner had just repeated Riku from a few hours earlier.

"You will be needing different weapons, then." Yen Sid said. He snapped his fingers, and above them appeared a sword, shield, and staff. All of them had the king's insignia somewhere on them. As they floated down toward their respective weilders, Sora couldn't help but feel that he had seen them before.

"Thanks..." They said in unison, marveling at their new weapons. At the back of his mind, he felt a rush of affection for the three that he was pretty sure belonged to Roxas.

Around them, the candles were re-lighting themselves, and the crystal ball floated back into the space behind the curtains, which shut of their own accord.

The King stood up. "We'll depart for Twilight Town in the morning. Sleep well."

_Don't know why I put all those Disney characters in there like that. I'm just asking for trouble later on... Review please!_


	8. Chapter 7: Wardrobe Change

_This is a pretty short chapter. We'll get into the action pretty soon, promise. So, Kairi?_

_Kairi: "DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else. If he did, I'd probably have a less girly Keyblade."_

Chapter 7: Wardrobe Change

With that, the meeting was over. The King was soon pulled into a conversation with Captain Sparrow, while Yen Sid was smothered in thanks from the Twilight Town gang. Riku almost immediately followed after Yuffie.

Sora and Kairi rose from their seats and looked around the room. Leon walked over to them. "I'll show you to your rooms." He offered.

They bade the rest goodnight, and followed Leon out. But at the last minute, Yen Sid approached them.

"Kairi, my dear." He said right as they exited the room. "Before I forget, I have something to deliver."

"Yes, sir?" She asked. Sora wondered a what the sorceror could possibly have to give her. Yen Sid waved his hand, and Kairi began to glow.

No-not Kairi, her clothes.

Sora realized what was happening just as her clothing let out a bright flash of light. Her clothes were drastically different, but Sora couldn't help but think she looked evan better than before.

Kairi now wore a light purple outer robe that went down to her ankles. The sleeves hugged her arms, while the rest was loose-fitting. Under it was a dark blue top that exposed just a touch of skin below her naval. A skirt of the same color dove down to just below the knees. She had violet boots that streched up her shins. On her back and chest were two insignias. They matched Sora's crown pendant hanging around his neck, and he suspected that it was not a coincidence.

Sora could only stare, she looked beautiful.

"Those garments were designed by the good fairies Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather." Yen Sid said, as Kairi admired her new clothing in delighted awe. "They gave Sora the clothes he now wears."

"I bet they're comfortable." Sora commented, thinking that he sounded stupid.

"How do you like them?" Yen Sid asked.

"I love them!" She cried. She spun a little on the spot and admired the way the robe flowed with her. "And, yes they are very comfortable."

"The fairies will be happy to hear that." Yen Sid said with a small smile. "We believed that these would be more suitable for strenuous activity than what you already had. They help focus magical energy, and allow for plenty of movement."

"Would you thank them for me?" She asked the man. He smiled and nodded. That was when Mickey appeared in the doorway.

"Master, could we see you in here for a moment? Captain Sparrow needs to ask you something." He noticed Kairi, "Nice outfit, Kairi! Fit for a Princess of Heart."

She blushed, and the sorceror dissapeared with the mouse king. She apparently was struck by inspiration, and pulled something from an inner pocket of the robes. Upon closer examination, it was her lucky charm made of shells. It was hooked around a blue cord, which she slipped around her neck to wear as a necklace. She turned to Sora.

"How do I look?" She asked him.

"I never thought it would be possible for you to look more beautiful." He said, honestly. This earned him a smile. She held his face in her hands and kissed him on the lips. She pulled away and smiled at him.

"Are you two done yet?" Leon said from a respectable distance. He was leaning against the wall in a pose Sora had seen him in many times. Arms crossed, one leg propped against the wall. He smiled lightly at them.

Sora took Kairi by the hand and led her toward Leon. He led the two down a hallway, and up several flights of stairs. The walls were adorned with paintings and ornaments from many different worlds. Some actually depicted people and places Sora knew. He had seen one of Jack Skellington in a typical aristocratic posture, a magnificant painting of the Beast's Castle, and a marble bust of Hercules.

"You guys have done a great job with Radiant Garden, Leon!" Sora said as they passed a darker painting of Traverse Town. Leon slowed to a stop and looked at the painting. Then, he said something that niether of them expected.

"Call me Squall."

"Squall?" Sora asked, confused.

"My real name is Squall Leonhart." He explained, "I took the name Leon to distance myself from that name."

His face fell, "The name of a man who let the Heartless capture his world with barely a fight."

Sora placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I think you've more than made up for it, Squall." Kairi walked up and patted him gently on the back.

Leon (now Squall again) nodded, and smiled. They walked farther, and soon stopped at a doorway. Leon pushed it open.

"You'll be staying in here." The room was spacious, and welcoming. The walls were painted with shades of blue. A writing desk, dresser, table, couch, chair, and television were all about the room. A side door apparently led to a bathroom. A large window allowed the occupants a magnificant view of the village below. Sora's breath caught in his throat when he noticed the single large bed.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do, man." Roxas said.

Kairi seemed not to notice, and went directly to the window. She stared out at the village in the fading light.

"Thanks, Leo- Squall." Sora said.

"No problem." He said, patting him on the shoulder. "Come back to the briefing room tomorrow morning, and we'll get you some breakfast."

"Sounds good." He said.

"And Sora?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do." He whispered. He winked, and walked out the door, leaving Sora with his mouth hanging open.

"See?" Roxas said, "He agrees with me."

_Shut up._

Sora walked over to Kairi and wrapped his arms around her as he had earlier. She leaned into him again. He leaned down and whispered in her ear. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine." She whispered. "It just feels odd being back. I can't really remember being here, but it just _feels_..." She twisted around in his arms, and wrapped her arms around him, snuggling her head into his chest. Sora rubbed her back in small circles, and ran his other hand through her hair. They simply stood there for a while, as the sun set on Radiant Garden.

Sora eventually felt Kairi lean against him more heavily than before.

"You're tired." He said.

"M-mm"

"You know there's only one bed..."

"So what?" She said, "I trust you."

He smiled and led her over to the bed, not understanding why they were tired already. He pulled off his jacket and tossed it onto the couch. He helped Kairi slip out of her outer robe, fully revealing the sleeveless top. She set her lucky charm necklace on the nightstand.

Kairi worked her way under the covers, and Sora crawled in after her. He held her in his arms, and pulled the covers tighter around them. Before she fell asleep, he kissed her on the forehead, and whispered, "Good night, Princess."

She smiled into his shoulder and muttered, "G'night Sora." She fell asleep two seconds later.

He chuckled, and said to himself, "_My_ Princess."

He followed his love into sleep a few minutes later.

_Fluff! Please review!_


	9. Chapter 8: Late Night Chats

_C'mon, people! Review! Anyway, I promise that the story will get moving soon. Now, the disclaimer._

_Xehanort: "DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else. If he did, Kingdom Hearts would be MINE!"_

_Dude, no it wouldn't._

Chapter 8: Late Night Chats

_Darkness was everywhere._

_Sora looked around, but it was all he could see. He could occasionally see a shape, but the darkness wouldn't allow him a clear view._

_Suddenly, in front of him was Riku. He turned around to face him, and smiled. Before either one could say a word however, he collapsed._

_Sora rushed forward to help him, but darkness suddenly swallowed his friend where he lay._

_Sora screamed, and then there were Donald and Goofy. They greeted him with cheery smiles, before they too collapsed and were covered in darkness._

_Sora felt powerless as he watched all his friends fall to the darkness one by one. First Mickey, then Squall, Yuffie, Aerith. Tifa and Cloud Strife. Merlin, Yen Sid. Even Roxas and Namine all disapeared._

_He thought things couldn't get any worse._

_But of course, they did._

_Before him appeared Xehanort, and he oozed darkness. Sora instinctively called for the Keyblade, but, to his horror it wouldn't come._

_Xehanort smiled and laughed at him. The Heartless extended his hand. Kairi appeared in the space before him, floating inches above the ground. She wasn't smiling like the others had been, but staring at him as if silently pleading for help. He tried to run to her, but something grabbed him from behind. He craned his neck and saw the Dark Gaurdian restraining him. It's wicked grin standing out in the dark._

"_You understand nothing..." Xehanort said, his voice echoing in the blackness. He grabbed Kairi by the neck, and darkness spread from his hands, covering her._

_As Sora looked on in helpless terror at his doomed love, calling her name, Xehanort laughed and laughed._

_--_

Sora gasped and woke with a start.

The real Kairi next to him muttered something in her sleep and gripped her pillow tighter. He let out a gasp of relief.

_She's alive. She's alive, and here with me._

It had been the most horrible feeling. He had just stood there, and watched all his closest friends fade into blackness. Kairi though, that had been much worse.

To reinforce his belief that she was indeed real, he reached out and stroked her cheek with his thumb. Her face actually softened in her sleep.

Sora sat up, and ran his fingers through his hair. That had been his first nightmare in years. He hadn't had one even during his past journeys. Why did he have this one now? He needed to think.

He got up as slowly and quietly as he could so as not to disturb Kairi, and stood over the bed for a moment, thinking that she looked very cute while she was asleep. He leaned down and kissed her temple gently. She smiled. "Suraa..."

Sora crept from the room, and closed the door softly behind him. He looked around him and commited the scenery to memory. His and Kairi's room sat in between a gold shield with a lightning bolt on it, and an Agrabah tapestry.

He crept downstairs, not quite knowing where he was going, but needing to clear his head.

It didn't work.

All his mind would allow him to see was Kairi's pained face as Xehanort smothered her in darkness. All he heard was the laughter of his enemy.

A welcome distraction arrived when he heard humming from ahead of him. He crept forward a little more, and peeked around the corner.

Jack Sparrow was strolling down the hallway with a rum bottle in one hand. He was humming a little tune under his breath that sounded like "A Pirate's Life for Me."

Not wanting to appear like he was spying (and knowing that Jack probably wasn't the best person to help him), Sora started to turn around. But he stopped as soon as he heard, "Shouldn't you be heading to bed, mate?"

Sora turned to find himself face-to-face with the pirate. "I was. Didn't work out so well."

"Kaili kicked you out of the bed mate?" He said as if he understood all to well. He didn't, of course.

"It's Kairi, and you're not evan close."

"Nightmare then?"

"Bingo."

Jack nodded, and said something peculiar. "No doubt about your bonny lass, eh?"

Sora had never taken Jack as the sensitive type, so this surprised him. "How did you know?"

Jack continued his walk down the hall, and gestured to Sora to follow him. He stood at the pirate's side as they walked and talked. "I've no desire to offend, mate. But you look horrible."

"Excuse me?" Asked Sora, quirking an eyebrow in confusion.

"You look a might bit shaken, lad." He explained. "And I've seen the way you look at her. And it seems common sense, that anything happening to her, would inadvertantly lead to the similar result of, or relating to your current condition. Savvy?"

The keybearer was silent for a moment before he asked, "Since when did you become sensitive?"

"The day I was _born_, mate." He said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

A question popped into Sora's head. "Jack? Why exactly did you agree to come along on this adventure of ours? I thought you'd be back on the _Pearl_ the first chance you got."

"Did you learn nothing from me mate?" Jack said, "A pirate always looks to profit. I was promised a very lucrative sum of royal treasure by the tiny fellow." He assumed that Jack meant King Mickey.

"And to sweeten the deal, the unpleasant looking old man with the ridiculously long beard promised to make the _Pearl_ fly. And all I have to do is risk me skin out there on other worlds."

"I thought you hated risking your skin?"

"I can make an exeption with the Heartless." Jack said. He suddenly stopped at a door with a picture of a ship on it. "This is where I get off, lad."

"Alright." Sora responded, and shook his hand. "But, one more question."

"Ah?"

"Do you always go on late night walks with your rum?" he asked.

Jack smiled and replied, "Only on a good night, mate." He stepped into the room and closed the door.

Sora turned away from the door with a half smile on his face. Talking to Jack Sparrow always had that kind of effect on you. If he didn't annoy you so much you wanted to blow your brains out first, that is.

But the smile faded quickly, as he remembered why he was awake in the first place. His nightmare came pounding back to him, and he had to fight back tears when he realized that it could probably happen sometime in the near future.

He walked back down the hall, and subconciously registered that he was on the third floor when he passed by a window. He leaned on the sill for a moment and simply stared at the moon. He really needed someone to talk to, and it seemed Roxas was asleep.

It was completely silent. Normally, he would have appreciated it, but now it just intensified his own horrible thoughts. He put his hand to his head and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.

"Sora?" said a high-pitched voice behind him.

Sora turned around, and looked down a bit. It was King Mickey, and he was looking at him with plenty of concern in his eyes. Sora tried to force a smile on his face.

"Hello, Your Majesty."

"You seem pretty upset." Mickey observed. He turned around and began walking down the hall. He looked over his shoulder. "Come with me, we'll talk a bit."

They proceeded down the hallway, and the king pushed open a door larger than the others. The room was pitch black, but the king snapped his fingers, and lamps all around the room lit up.

They were in what looked like a study. There were bookshelves lining the five walls, and a fire crackled cheerily under the mantle as if it had been burning there for hours. Three chintz armchairs were arranged in a circle, with a small coffee table in between them. A desk was in one corner.

Mickey sat down at the chair closest to the fire. He gestured to the chair facing his, and Sora sat down.

"So what's wrong, Sora?"

The young man leaned forward in his chair and put his elbows on his knees. He sighed and said, "I had a horrible nightmare."

"Well, that's understandable." Mickey said. "Something like what we're facing can bring up some pretty scary dreams."

"But this was _different_, Your Majesty." Sora said, a bit more harshly than he intended. "I haven't had a single nightmare since I was like, _seven_. And I can remember every single detail of it."

"What happened?"

Sora –quite painfully- recounted his dream to the diminutive king. How all of his friends had suddenly collapsed, and eventually arrived at the part where Xehanort got to Kairi.

"He said, 'You understand nothing'... And then he..."

It was too much. Sora finally broke down into silent sobs. Mickey lept out of his chair and rushed to his side. He placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, and gave it a few pats. Sora was grateful that he didn't have to continue.

"It's alright, Sora." The King muttered. "She's fine. We're all here, and doing just fine."

Sora calmed down completely after a few minutes. He took a moment to compose himself, and looked his companion in the eye.

The King smiled, squeezed his shoulder, and returned to his seat. "Perhaps the nightmare was just brought on by the fact that this journey is different from your other ones." He said "We don't know as much as we did before, and now both of your closest friends are here with you. Naturally, you're worried about them."

"What about Xehanort?" Sora asked.

"You probably saw him because he's one of the darker figures that you've met." He explained. "In your dreams, he represents the darkness."

"I think you're reading a bit too much into this dream Sora. It's not a vision, if that's what you're wondering. But if you are worried about Kairi, well maybe you could train her. Teach her, prepare her." Then he smiled, "I'm sure you won't mind spending a little extra time with her."

At this, Sora had to laugh.

Mickey looked thoughtful for a moment. "Ya know... You can tell a lot about a person by the stuff he dreams about." His face softened "You care more about your friend's lives than you do your own, Sora. And that makes you great."

"You are definitely the bravest, kindest, and most selfless guy I've ever met."

Another tear fell from Sora's eye, but it wasn't one of sadness. He stood up slowly, and gave the king a bow.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." He said "For everything."

Mickey stood up as well. "Anytime you need help, I'll be there for ya."

Sora knelt down and gave the mouse an akward hug, which he returned.

"Now, maybe you outta go back to sleep." The king said "We've got a lot of work to do tomorrow."

"Right." Sora said. He walked to the door, then stopped and turned around. "Um, Your Exellancy? Why are you up so late?"

Mickey blushed, just a little. "I was sending a letter to Minnie. She sends her love."

With that, Sora gave him a last good night, and left the room.

He walked slowly up the stairs, feeling a bit reassured. His nightmare was still something he probably wouldn't want to dwell on, but he couldn't help but feel like a weight was lifted from his shoulders.

Until a strange feeling came upon him. A feeling of sadness and fear that he knew wasn't his own. And without really understanding how he knew, he understood that Kairi needed him.

His slow walk immediately became a fast sprint down hallways and up stairs. He didn't slow down at all until he saw the golden shield on the wall. He barrelled toward the door and rushed through.

His fears were confirmed when he saw Kairi thrashing about in her sleep, crying.

Sora closed the door and ran back to the bed, sitting down next to Kairi and shaking her awake. "Kairi! Kairi, wake up!"

After a very painful minute of trying to wake her, Kairi snapped up covered in cold sweat, panting heavily, and crying. She looked at Sora for a few frozen seconds, before her crying resumed and she threw herself at him, wrapping him in a bone-crushing hug.

Sora hugged her back and allowed her to cry into his shoulder. He rubbed her back in comforting circles, and whispered reassuring things into her ear.

"Shhhh." He soothed. "It's alright, Kairi. It's alright, I'm here. It's alright."

They sat there for several minutes, as Kairi's sobs gradually ceased. After about thirty minutes, Kairi pulled her head back, but her grip on Sora didn't lessen at all. She trembled slightly. A few strands of auburn hair stuck to her forehead with sweat. Her eyes were puffy, and a few tears still fell from them. Sora adjusted his hold on her and wiped them away.

Kairi sniffled once, and leaned her forehead against his. She whispered softly, "Please don't leave me."

Sora cupped her face in one hand, and tilted her head to where her eyes met his. "I promise Kairi," he said softly, "I will _never_ leave you. I love you."

"I love you too."

He leaned forward and kissed her softly on the lips. She returned it.

The two fell back gently onto the bed and pillows, still kissing. They pulled away very slowly, and Sora pulled the sheets over them again. Kairi tucked her head into the space between Sora's head and shoulder (a cavity he thought seemed made just for that tender action).

He heard her quietly ask, "What did I do to deserve you?"

All he could do was chuckle, and reply lightly, "Have you got a few hours? I can make you a list."

His comment received the disired effect, Kairi smiled, and laughed.

It was the most wonderful sound he had ever heard.

The two fell into a finally peaceful sleep a few minutes later, holding each other as if it was their last embrace.

And with luck, it wouldn't be.

_There's just a little drama for you. I'm not that great at it but, whatever. Please review!_


	10. Chapter 9: Senseless Flirting

_Okay, this is WAY different from the last chapter, but I figured I'd get in one last short, fluffy chapter before we get this show on the road. Now, Roxas?_

_Roxas: "DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else. Just plot and O.C.s. And when are we actually going to meet one?"_

_Just a few chapters from now._

_--_

Chapter 9: Senseless Flirting

Sora awoke the next morning to a strange –but pleasant- sensation. First, there was a comfortable wieght pressing down on his chest. Second, something light and soft was against his lips.

It moved to his cheeks, his forehead, the tip of his nose, both of his eyelids, and then back to his lips again, where they lingered.

Finally emerging from the twilight in between sleep and consciousness, Sora realized that the nice wieght on his chest was Kairi. And the wonderful feeling moving across his face was her lips.

The next time she arrived at his lips, he began to kiss her back. It lasted for several minutes until they ran out of air. Sora finally opened his eyes.

Kairi was holding herself up above him and grinning coyly at him. All traces of the anxiety of the previous night gone. Her eyes had a twinkle in them.

"You know, I could get used to waking up like that." Sora muttered with a grin.

She giggled and gave him another brief kiss. "I could make that happen." She smiled and hopped out of the bed. She slipped into her new purple robe, and put her shoes back on.

When she turned around, Sora was still in bed with the pillow over his head. Kairi sighed, and walked over to the bed. She leaned down right over the pillow, and screamed, "WAKE UP YOU LAZY BUM!!"

Sora jumped so badly he fell out of the bed into a heap on the floor. He sent a half-hearted glare at Kairi, who was laughing her head off. "So after all this time, I'm still a lazy bum?"

Kairi didn't respond, and just laughed a little more. Her eyes twinkled, and she walked over to the couch. Sora untangled himself from the covers that had fallen off with him, and craned his neck to see what she was doing. She had picked up his shoes and jacket.

She grinned at him just as he realized what she planned to do. She bolted out the door with his things in her hands. Sora chased after her down the hall shouting, "Get back here you little thief!"

And of course, it didn't work. She just kept running, laughing every time Sora yelled at her to stop.

"Admit it." Roxas said "You're enjoying this."

_So what if I am? You know, technically you're doing the same thing with Namine right now._

"And I'm not afraid to admit it!"

Sora chased Kairi all around the castle for several minutes, drawing some strange looks (if that was possible) from some Tron 2.0s on the second floor. At one point Sora got close enough to Kairi that he brushed her hair with his fingertips. She was only able to get away by making a sharp turn. Sora smashed into the wall, and lost several feet on her.

The end of the chase arrived when the young lovers reached the first floor. Kairi made one false step and tripped over herself. She landed on her back, which gave Sora the perfect opportunity to pin her to the floor by her shoulders.

They layed there panting for a moment before Sora commented, "You've gotten a lot faster."

"You haven't seen the best of it yet." She said wiith a smile.

It was only after that comment that they noticed they had stopped at the feet of a very confused Hayner, Pence and Olette.

"Ummm..." Sora started, but Hayner cut across him.

"No! No, I don't think I want to know!" He and the other two walked quickly back into the meeting room, leaving Sora and Kairi still on the floor.

"Well, that was embarrasing." Kairi muttered, though she was smiling a bit. Sora got up off of her, and helped her up. He made a point of taking the shoes and jacket from her grasp first.

"What'd you do that for?" Sora asked.

Kairi giggled and gave him that same coy smile from before. "I had to think of something to get you out of bed! And don't pretend you didn't _enjoy_ it."

She winked at him and walked to the door, swaying her hips along the way. Sora stared stupidly at her for a second before following. As they entered the meeting room he muttered (with a tiny smile), "Little thief."

Jack Sparrow looked at him from across the table. "Eh?"

Rikku floated up from the tabletop a few inches. "We haven't even done anything yet!"

"_Not you_." Sora said exasperatedly. "She stole my shoes and jacket, and had me chase her around the castle."

"In other words," Hayner announced "They were just flirting all the way around the castle. Could you save it for after breakfast, at least, guys?"

Sora blushed and Kairi just laughed more.

They sat down and ate the light breakfast that Tifa brought them. They were frequently interrupted by the amusing comments that their friends threw at them.

Riku walked in about five minutes into the meal and got to join in as soon as Hayner recounted the story to him. Though Sora couldn't help but notice that he was unusually courteous to Yuffie. He complimented her headband once, and also picked a bit of egg off her face, causing her to blush.

He smiled and traded a smirk with his girlfriend. They both couldn't help but think that they weren't the only ones flirting.

--

_Wow, that was short. Anywho, for anyone who's interested, I'M OUT OF SCHOOL! Woot! Please review._

_Blackrogue123, thanks for the advice. I've written plenty other chapters, and in my humble opinion they're much better than this._

_Heaven-monument, there will be more FF characters later, and plenty of old ones return. I'll give you a hint. One of them starts with a 'V'. If I write any of them out of character, I apologize._


	11. Chapter 10: The Angel and the Unity

_My apologies for the shortness and quality of the last chapter, I was beating myself up over it. But things are finally moving forward now, and we're getting to the good stuff!_

_Mickey: "He's telling the truth."_

_Thank you._

_Mickey: "DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, or Square Enix. Just plot and original characters."_

_--_

Chapter 10: The Angel and _The Unity_

They had just finished eating when (as if on cue) the King walked in. He was wearing a similar garment to his old Organization XIII cloak (only scarlet), which he used for travelling. He surveyed them all with a smile filled with confidence.

"Alright, fellas!" he said "It's time we headed for Twilight Town. Follow me!"

Most of the group stood up and followed him out the door and down the huge hallway. The warm morning sunlight was something Sora welcomed eagerly. He took Kairi's hand in his as they walked to the north of the castle.

When the group arrived at a large, open field behind the castle, Master Yen Sid, Tron's hologram, Merlin, Leon, Rinoa, Aerith, Tifa, and Cid were there waiting for them.

"Good luck out there." Aerith told them.

Sora was confused. "Wait, you guys aren't coming?"

"Unfortunately," The King said, "only so many of us can come, Sora. Some of us have to remain to protect the world in our absence."

"We're using the Garden as a base of operations." Squall said "We'll live here during the duration of this incident."

"So while we're here holding down the fort," Tron said with an unusually cheery tone "You guys get to go out and do all the hard stuff!"

"Gee thanks." Sora muttered. Everyone laughed. Riku gave him a noogie.

"C'mon, you know you like it that way!" He said.

"Okay! Okay!" He consented when Riku finally stopped. "Uh, how are we all going to fit in one Gummi?"

Cid smiled wider than Sora had ever seen him do before. "That's the best part!" He pulled a small radio device from his pocket and spoke into it. "Okay boys, bring her in!"

Nothing happened for about three seconds, then the group was hit by a huge burst of air. All eyes turned upward to see the huge vessel descending to the field. It was roughly triangular in shape and was nearly as long as seven Gummi ships. It was navy blue, and the light-speed engines jutted out from the rear and sides. The top and sides were dotted with blaster emplacements.

It was then that Genie found an opportunity to act ridiculous. A cheesy white suit appeared on his and he floated up to float around the ship.

"YEEES! It's a brand new GUMMI!" He announced in a voice like a cheesy game show host. "This beauty comes fully equipped with the latest in warp-speed technology and weapon systems! It has a dozen bedrooms, fully stocked kitchen, optional tinted windows and a deluxe set of cup holders! Come on down to claim your prize!"

The ship touched down, and a ramp opened. Three Tron 2.0s rolled down it and sped away.

The group that would be taking the trip gazed at their new ship in awe. "Say hello to the _Unity_, fellas." Mickey said.

"That...is" Riku said, with his eyes bulging.

"_Big_." Sora completed.

"Chip and Dale are real proud of it." The king added. "This is the biggest gummi ship ever created."

"And the best weapon systems and life support in the universe." Cid added.

"And now, if you're done admiring the ship," Yen Sid said "You should depart. Twilight Town is in jeopordy, and we need Axel's help as he needs ours."

The group saluted, and began to ascend the ramp. The King, Sora, Kairi and Riku were almost to the top when Mickey suddenly stopped and turned around.

"Master!" He said. "Did you tell Kairi about her clothing?"

"Aaah.." he sighed. "Kairi, my dear come here for a moment, please."

Kairi walked back down the ramp, and Sora came with her. Riku and Mickey continued to the ramp and waved goodbye from the door.

"I'm terribly sorry I forgot, but those garments have other abilities." An orb of pink light appeared in the sorceror's hand and floated toward her. Kairi backed away at first, until he added, "Take the orb."

Sora couldn't wait to see this. Kairi touched the orb.

Instantly, her clothes flashed. They were now white and light pink, and the crown emblems were replaced by glowing golden circles. The most drastic change, however was on Kairi herself.

A shining golden halo floated five inches above her head. Out of her back had sprouted two large, gold eagle wings.

_She really is an angel..._

Kairi simply stood there in awe of the change for a few seconds. She raised her hand and fingered the halo, which was apparently solid. The light seemed to flash under her fingers. She lowered it and her wings twitched, as if eager to get her off the ground.

She appeared to concentrate for a second, and her wings beat harder, lifting her off the ground a few inches. A smile formed on her face. She beat them still harder, and gradually rose into the air several feet. Then with one great beat, she rocketed twenty feet into the air. Her estatic laughter could be heard traveling through the air.

Sora stared after her, a huge smile forming on his own face as she got the hang of her wings.

"She's got a lot of spirit, that girl." Merlin said, watching her loopdy-loops through the sky.

Kairi sped right past them two inches above the ground and shot back into the sky. "She's got talent, too." Squall commented.

Sora smiled at them, then looked back at his girlfriend. "That's why I love her so much."

As if she had heard him, Kairi streaked back toward the ground, and stopped directly in front of him, still hovering a few inches above the ground. She smiled and gave him a kiss on the lips, which he eagerly returned.

_I've just been kissed by an angel._

She pulled away and bowed to Yen Sid. "Thank you, master."

Yen Sid chuckled. "You have natural talent, Kairi. Simply concentrate, and you should be able to enter the Angelic Form if you have enough energy."

The wings and halo faded, and Kairi landed gantly on solid ground again.

"Before you go," Merlin added "Kairi, it would be prudent if you learned a bit more of combat. I understand that you fought quite well in the World That Never Was, but it would be prudent to hone your skills."

"That's why the _Unity_ has been equipped with a simulator training room." Squall said. "You can practice in there."

"And about magic..." Merlin continued. "Sora, teach her."

The two smiled widely.

"Hey, you guys coming or not!?" Riku called from the ship. "The worlds aren't going to save themselves!"

"Good luck out there." Aerith said, embracing them both.

"Choose wisely." Merlin said.

"Stay safe." Tron advised.

"Keep you're guard up." Squall said, shaking their hands.

"And follow your hearts." Yen Sid said.

Sora and Kairi gave them all smiles, and walked up the boarding ramp.

Riku led them to the bridge near the middle of the ship. It was a fairly large room. There were three chairs surrounded by display consoles and ship controls. In the left hand seat that controlled the weapons sat Stitch (Sora was a bit worried). In the right hand seat for communications and RADAR was Donald.

The pilot's seat was unoccupied.

Sora looked around for a second, and expected to see someone sit down. When nobody did, he asked, "Hey, who's flying?"

Everyone looked him as if shocked that he would even ask such a seemingly obvious question. Sora just looked at them blankly for a second, before Riku actually dragged him to the vacant chair and pushed him into it.

Sora twisted around in his seat and asked, "You sure?"

"Take us out, Sora!" Mickey said.

Sora smiled gratefully and nodded. He eased the throttles on either side of the front console, and felt the engines hum to life. He grabbed the steering veins and eased them forward. The ship lifted off the ground until the castle was far below them.

"Uploading coordinates for Twilight Town." Donald quacked from his seat.

"Please fasten your safety belts while the yellow light is on." Genie said in a high female voice "And do not exit your seats until the light is off. Do not smoke, please turn off all electronic devices and be considerate of your other passengers. Thank you, and and enjoy the flight."

Sora chuckled as he turned the _Unity _in the direction of Twilight Town. "Let's head out!" He pushed the ship forward with the air of a profesional pilot. It sped forward into the atmosphere, until the pale blue faded to be replaced by black dotted by silver.

Sora sped forward to put more distance between the ship and Radiant Garden. He couldn't resist showing off a bit, so he barrel-rolled a bit. Thankfully, the artificial gravity was on.

"Warp speed in five" Sora announced, reaching over with one hand and making a few adjustments. "Four...three...two...one!" The black changed to gold and silver for several seconds as they felt the rapid acceleration of the ship.

Eventually it felt safe to walk, and the view became mostly normal again as they entered warp drive.

"You are now free to move about the cabin, thank you for choosing Keybearer Airlines" Genie said as everyone stood up again. "Thank you again, and have a nice flight."

--

_Shinku Ryuuga: Yes. Lots. Thank you. And, eventually._

_Heaven-monument: Once again, I apologize. I hope you like the future chapters better._

_Elevategirl: Thank you!_


	12. Chapter 11: Kairi's Training

_Finally a little action! I really wish that there had been some kind of simulator in the other games. Can you imagine?_

_Roxas: "As a fellow gamer, yeah, I can imagine."_

_You're a fellow gamer?_

_Roxas: "Sure am! DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else. If he did, well, it would have a simulator._

_--_

Chapter 11: Kairi's Training

Sora put the ship on auto pilot as everyone stood up and started chatting. He heard Donald say, "Estimated arrival time at Twilight Town: five hours."

Now Sora took a moment to check just who was there. Himself, Kairi, Riku, Donald, Goofy, and the King. Yuffie, Barret, Jack Sparrow, Genie, Hercules, and Kiara. And finally Hayner, Pence, and Olette. That made fifteen of them on this journey.

It seemed that subtlety wasn't the numder one priorety this time around.

Riku was immediately pulled into a conversation with Yuffie. Donald tried to get Stitch away from the ship controls and started a fight (which Goofy tried to break up). Genie and Kiara had disappeared somewhere. Jack had sat down with his rum bottle, and was offering Barret a drink. The Twilight Town gang was talking to Hercules about his past battles.

Sora walked over to Kairi and asked, "Why don't we start that training now?"

She thought for a moment, and said, "Sure. I'd better be prepared."

"Alright! Lets find that simulater thung."

"I can help with that." Said a tiny voice from slightly below them.

The two looked down and saw King Mickey smiling up at them. "Follow me, and I'll get you started."

The king led them from the cockpit through a door at the rear of the ship. They proceeded down into the bowels of the ship. They passed the galley and a few bedrooms (one of which the two were excited to learn they would be sharing again), and found a larger room in what Sora assumed was the center of the ship.

From the outside, it was just a plain featureless wall with a window and a computer console beside it. Above the window were the words "Simulator Room".

"You guys just head on in, and I'll get things started out here."

Sora and Kairi traded a look and walked through the door. They were in a completely featurless room with white walls. It seemed quite large, which surprised Sora given the amount of room in the ship.

Mickey's voice suddenly echoed throughout the room. "Okay, fellas. I'll start you off slow. And Sora, remember that _Kairi_ is the one that you're training, would you? Not yourself."

The room suddenly changed. Instead of a white room, they now stood in a large clearing in a forest. Trees were all around them, and Sora could hear a waterfall in the distance.

"Oh my lord." Kairi sighed from behind him.

"Pretty impressive, right?" Mickey said. "Now, let's start with simple Shadow Heartless. You take it from here, Sora. Just let me know what to do."

A single Shadow popped up from the ground at the edge of the clearing. It hunched over and peered at it's surroundings with it's huge, unblinking yellow eyes. They focused on the Keybearers, but it didn't attack yet.

Sora turned to Kairi. "Summon your Keyblade."

Kairi held her hand out in front of her, and her mysterious weapon appeared there in a flash of light.

"You know, you really should name that." Sora commented.

"Huh?" Kairi asked, giving him a confused look.

"The Keyblade gets a new name whenever a different keychain is added. Oblivion, Oathkeeper, Rumbling Rose, Hero's Crest..."

"Destiny's Light." She suddenly said, gazing into her blade. Sora looked at her for a moment. "It just popped into my head."

"That's how it works, usually." He faced the virtual Heartless again. "Okay, back to business. Take down that Heartless."

Kairi charged at the Heartless with her newly named Kayblade held in one hand at her side. The Heartless sprung at her, responding to the attack.

Sora was surprised a bit when Kairi overlept the Shadow and landed on the other side. Not missing a beat, she spun around and slashed through it from behind, reducing it to a tiny cloud of dark smoke.

Another three Shadows popped out of the ground, encircling her. She didn't appear at all nervous, and stood in a ready fighting stance. She stood fairly straight. She held the Keyblade in front of her with both hands, pointing forward and into the air slightly.

The opponent in front of her lept toward her while the two behind her sank into the ground.

Kairi chopped the first one in half in mid-air with a single downward stroke. She lept backwards the second before her other two attackers burst from the ground beneath her. She landed squarely on her feet and swept her Keyblade into their backs, destroying them as well.

There was a five second pause before five new Heartless appeared in a line in front of her. They were all Soldiers, not much toucher than the Shadows, but they would still present more of a challenge.

They charged at Kairi all at once with their claws swinging. Looking at them from this angle, Sora couldn't help but think that they looked a bit silly.

Kairi parried the first one's clumsy attack and stabbed it through the stomach. She backed away quickly to avoid an attack from the next one, which she whacked away into another one with the flat end of her blade. She rushed at the other two and cut them to ribbons with a few lightning fast slashes.

She lept at the remaining Heartless and beheaded one. The other backed away quickly. Kairi wasn't going to let it move in again though, and took it out with a left-to-right slash.

Sora looked her over for a moment, before his face broke out into a broad grin.

"You've done some training already haven't you?"

Kairi smirked at him. "I didn't think you guys should always be the ones fighting, so I did some training of my own. Not that it did me much good until The World That Never Was."

Sora smiled wider, his respect for her growing even more.

"Let's try something more challenging then." He said. "Um, how about Armored Knights?"

Three knights dropped from the trees and landed behind Kairi. Their right hands and feet were swords, and their bodies were completely covered in dark grey armor.

"Now would be a good time to practice spells." Sora said "Unless you've been practicing that behind my back, too?"

Kairi giggled at him and nodded.

"Let's start with fire." He said. Then he realized that he wasn't sure how he could explain how to use magic.

"...Well?"

It had always seemed to come naturally to him. He tried to think of how he usually produced magic, what went through his mind as he harnessed his power. He pondered it for a few moments, before he voiced his thoughts.

"You have to feel it."

Kairi didn't seem to understand, so he elaborated.

"Imagine the fire all around you. You feel the fire's intensity, it's power surrounding you. Then, get closer. Gather it into yourself, call it to your hand, or your blade." He demonstrated by forming a ball of fire in his palm. "Feel it. Concentrate on it. And once you're sure you have it, direct it." He stretched out his hand and shot the fireball at the Heartless in the middle. It exploded in flame.

"Feel it." He repeated.

Kairi gazed at him for a moment with a thoughtful expression. She slowly turned her head to the Armored Knights. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

Sora and Kairi simultaneously thought of fire. The warmth of Mushu's scaly muzzle, the oppressive heat of Agrabah's desert, and the destructive inferno Axel had once summoned.

Unknowingly, Sora had transferred some of his own thoughts to Kairi to help her. The tip of Destiny's Light ignited, and her eyes snapped open. Without hesitating, she pointed the tip at the Heartless, and the flames burst from it. They hurtled at them and collided with a booming noise. The flames spread upon contacting with the first enemy, consuming the other along with it.

When the flames died out, none of them were still standing.

Sora immediately started clapping. "That was incredible, Kairi!"

She was gazing at her blade as though unable to believe that she had done it. Then she laughed weakly and beamed at him. "I did it!"

"You did! That was better than what I could do on my first try, hands down."

"What about the other spells like blizzard, and thunder?" She asked.

"It's the same concept, but let's stick with fire for now." He said "It takes some time to get used to using it in battle. Let's get you some more targets." Another five Armored Knights fell from the trees, but this time they immediately advanced on Kairi.

She was ready for them, she pointed her Keyblade and let fly another burst of fire. It caught one of them full on, but the others were able to dive out of the way. Kairi ran right at a second knight and took it out with the blade itself before it could get it's balance back.

She twisted around in time to black a downward slash at her head from the third. She struggled for a moment, before tossing her attacker's blade away and stabbing it in the head.

With two left, she dropped into her fighting stance again and faced off with them. Nothing moved for five seconds. Then both Heartless charged Kairi from either side. She rushed right back at the first and brought her blade crashing down onto it's head. She spun on the spot, and impaled the final knight as soon as it got to her.

She hardly broke a sweat.

Sora nodded to himself in satisfaction.

_Brotherhood, look out._

_--_

_Okay! Twilight Town is next! How do you like the name for Kairi's Keyblade? Review Please!_

_Shinku Ryuuga: Oh yes, it would be. (evil laughter)._

_Heaven-monument: Um... I love you too? Ha! Seriously, Genie is one of my favorite characters._

_Elevategirl: Thanks! I didn't realize that the nightmare was that good!_

_Suna's Kinzoku Tenshi: I figured it was time for a super-sized Gummi._


	13. Chapter 12: The Town of Twilight

_Twilight Town at last! Roxas, I know you've been looking forward to seeing this place again, so..._

_Roxas: "Thanks. DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else. Just plot and O.C.s."_

_--_

Chapter 12: The Town of Twilight

Sora and Kairi continued their training for another two and a half hours. By the end, the both of them were soaked in sweat, and Kairi had almost fully mastered fire.

"Just keep that up, and you'll have absolutely nothing to worry about." Sora said between gasps for air.

Kairi smiled at him and wrapped him in a hug. The forest around them faded, and they were once again in the plain white room. King Mickey pushed open the door and beamed at them.

"You two were incredible!" He exclaimed, "Especially you, Kairi! I've never seen anyone get the hang of magic so fast!"

"Thanks, Your Majesty." She replied gratefully.

"We still have about two hours until we reach Twilight Town. So why don't you guys go clean yourselves up and get some rest?"

They nodded, and walked out of the room hand in hand. They found the room that they would be sharing (marked with a key symbol), and opened the door.

It was a comfortable size, painted mostly with dark red. It could have passed off for a one-room apartment. A single queen-sized bed rested in the middle of a far wall. It also contained a writing desk, table, television, and nightstands. The floor and ceiling also featured that familiar sight of Sora's crown pendant. A door at the far side of the room led to the bathroom.

"You go first." Sora said as he walked over to the bed. "I'll just lay down here for a minute." He collapsed onto the bed, and closed his eyes. He heard Kairi giggle softly, and felt her peck him on the cheek. "What was that for?" He asked with one eye open.

"For being such a good teacher." She said with a smile, then she walked into the bathroom and closed the door.

Sora sighed contentedly and closed his eyes, thinking a quick snooze wouldn't hurt.

After only a few seconds it seemed, he was shaken awake. He cracked open his eyes and saw Kairi standing over him. She was fully dressed, and her hair was damp. He got up, stretched, and walked into the bathroom.

He showered for ten minutes (once again failing to take the spikiness out of his hair), dressed, and went back into the main room.

Kairi was lying down on the bed, idly flicking channels on the TV. She turned it off in the middle of something from a place called 'Midgar', when Sora emerged. She patted the spot on the bed next to her invitingly, and he laid down.

She scooted closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her, and simply sat there enjoying her presence.

"We've got an hour and a half before we reach Twilight Town." Kairi commented. "What do we do until then?"

Sora tilted her face upward to face his. He gave her one of his trademark grins and said, "I've got an idea." He leaned down and kissed her deeply.

Eighty minutes later, the two young lovers entered the bridge again to find it packed with people (and otherwise). Everyone turned at their arrival and most of them smiled knowingly at the sight of their rumpled hair and clothing. They didn't pay them any heed.

The King (in his normal garments now) said, "We're coming up on Twilight Town very soon. Sora, if you will?"

Sora walked back to the pilot's seat and took a moment to observe the moniters that showed the ship's position relative to the world's. The two glowing dots were almost one, and he decided it was time to take them out of warp drive.

"Entering Twilight Town space...now!" The white and gold disappeared almost immediately, and the front view was replaced by a golden world. He glided toward the planet at an easy pace, and brought them to a stop (mostly, as the ship was pulled around in Twilight Town's orbit).

The King spoke up. "Alright, now we don't _all_ need to go down to Twilight Town at once. So I suggest that only nine of us go down at first, with the rest as reserve forces in case something horrible happens."

"Why don't we avoid that?" Yuffie commented.

"I hope we can." Mickey said, "The nine that I think should go down are myself, Sora, Riku and Kairi, since we have our Keyblades. Donald and Goofy, for extra help. And Hayner, Pence, and Olette."

He looked at them in understanding. "I know you want to help your home world, but still be carefull." The three of them nodded.

The King walked over to a glowing red transmission panel at the front of the bridge, Donald and Goofy went to the panels on either side of him. They gave the group a wave, and Goofy said, "Wish us luck, now!" The panels started glowing, and in a brief flash of light, the three were gone; transported to the world below them.

The three Twilight Town natives nervously stepped onto the panels next. When Sora saw Hayner gulp hard, he laughed. "Don't worry, you won't feel a thing." They didn't seem very reassured, but didn't have time to voice their thoughts when they vanished down to the surface as well.

Sora and Kairi took their positions, and expected Riku to follow right behind them. Strangely enough, he was a bit late. When they turned, they saw Yuffie giving him a slightly-more-than-friendly hug. They stood there with their arms wrapped around each other before Yuffie pulled away. Aside from the identical grins on their faces, you wouldn't have known anything had happened.

"Good luck!" She said. Barret gave her a huge smirk as the three disappeared from the ship.

Sora, Kairi and Riku appeared in Twilight Town at the exact same time, about three feet away from eachother.

They weren't expecting what they found.

They stood on Sunset Hill, which gave them a marvelous view of Twilight Town's near eternal sunset. Below them, they saw the Sunset Terrace, a pleasant nieghborhood that sprawled all the way toward a train station.

The hill was being swarmed by enemies.

A group consisting of a few varieties of both Heartless and Nobodies were charging up the hill directly towards them. Some of them were already at the peak of the hill, engaging the ones who had arrived before them.

King Mickey was leaping everywhere, taking down Heartless after Heartless after Nobody. He and his Keyblade were a red and gold blur. Sora had seen the king in action before, and still wondered how a creature with such small legs could jump so high and move so fast.

Goofy was bashing the dark beings away with his shield. Sora noticed it as the "Save the King" shield. A large blue heart with gold wings at the sides and a crown on top of it. While Goofy's method of fighting was unorthodox, it was nonetheless effective. With a good shield, he was protected for a great deal of time, and could attack from behind it.

Donald wielded the "Save the Queen" staff. The tip was a golden heart with light blue wings, and a spiral grip. Donald was expert at using it, focusing his magical energy through it as Sora would the Keyblade. Fireballs and shards of ice spewed from the tip at his command. Bursting into Nobodies or slicing through Heartless. And whenever they got a bit too close for comfort, it served as an effective club.

Sora was more surprised at the Twilight Town gang. He had assumed that they were merely anxious to get experience in the field, but they were faring quite well. In fact, Sora got the feeling that they were naturally gifted warriors.

Hayner was the best of the three, expertly ducking and dodging out of harm's way whenever something got too close. He struck out quickly every time he saw an opening. His sword had a blue and gold hilt, with the king's seal on it in red and black. The silver blade artistically thinned near the hilt, and widened into the blade itself.

_The Dream Sword._

Pence was using his newly-aquired shield to block and throw off attacks. It seemed that Hayner's mostly unimpressive appearance hid a solid wall of muscle. He smashed enemies to a pulp by charging them from behind it. Occasionally, he would take another approach, and slash at them with it's edges. The shield was dark red around the edges and black in the middle. At the very center (in red) was the king's seal outlined in yellow.

_The Dream Shield._

Olette's staff was actually glowing with all the activity. The glow seemed to get brighter with every Heartless it struck down. She was surprisingly agile, and easily avoided almost every attack. Those she couldn't get away from, she blocked. Her glowing staff was green and bronze. The head was blue, and shaped like the king's seal on top of a section of brown.

_The Dream Rod._

Sora took this all in for about five seconds before he dropped into a fighting stance. His hand emitted a strong light, and his Keyblade appeared. Currently, it was in the form of the Oblivion: a pure black Keyblade with a purple gem at the hilt. The keychain resembled Sora's pendant, only black.

He gripped his weapon with both hands, and braced himself. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kairi do the same. On his other side, Riku's Keyblade appeared. Way to the Dawn resembled a bat's leathery wing (much like his former weapon Soul Eater). At the tip was something that resembled the wing of an angel. An angel and bat wing combined formed the blade's hilt. The keychain was the Heartless symbol without the red cross.

Sora thought it's name and appearance suited Riku perfectly. Light and Dark combined.

The nine of them came together in a group. As far as Sora could tell, there were about fifty or sixty enemies still at the hill, and he voiced as much.

"Ah man, this'll be too easy." Riku said in a disappointed voice. Hayner, Pence and Olette sent him looks that said, 'Are you serious?'

Sora chuckled to himself and shot Kairi a quick smile of encouragement.

Sora rushed into the group of enemies first, swiping left and right with the Oblivion, taking out two or three of them with every swing.

Riku followed immediately behind him. He fell into step next to him, and sliced anything Sora missed. Kairi and Donald formed a sort of formation behind them, picking off Heartless and Nobodies from a distance with fireballs, while Goofy covered them. Hayner, Pence, and Olette worked as a team, tackling their opponents all at once.

King Mickey rushed up to Sora, and jumped onto his shoulders. He looked him in the face from the akward angle, and nodded. Mickey jumped directly up into the air, and flipped around to where he was facing him (still above him). The two pointed their Keyblades at eachother, and beams of gold light flew from their tips toward each other.

The beams met in the air, and seemed to split into many separate beams. Those lights flew outward, spearing into a dozen separate Heartless and three Nobodies. The beams faded, and the King landed directly in front of Sora.

They nodded, and took up their fighting stances again. Sora registered in the back of his mind that they were performing a Limit move. He thought it strange that he and the king –no _all_ of his allies on his journeys- had been able to pull it off with no practice beforehand.

"Fight now, think later!" Roxas repremended.

_Yeah, yeah._

Sora jumped at the nearest group of Nobodies (which had been giving Donald and Kairi a hard time with their constant evasion tactics) and slammed the ground with Oblivion. The resulting shockwave killed two and sent the rest flying. Mickey arrived right behind Sora. As fast as one could blink, the tiny king rushed in a circle around Sora and slashed those flying enemies with his own blade before they could hit the ground.

They repeated this process for a while until they felt it was time for the finishing move. The two Keybearers stood back to back and lifted the weapons into the air, pointing up.

"Light, give me power!" They cried.

Their blades glowed, and a miraculous image appeared fifteen feet above them. It looked a bit like a multi-pronged crown which was upside-down. It seemed to be composed entirely of light, and pulsed faintly.

Suddenly it's prongs flew from the crown and toward their enemies. As soon as they impacted, they exploded in brilliant, blinding flashes of light. Those unfortunate enough to be hit (which was all of them) were incinerated completely. The explosions occurred almost all at once, and even more prongs came pouring down from the crown. It seemed to go on for hours, but in reality it was only seconds.

The crown faded away, and as Sora and Mickey prepared to continue the fight, they realized that their Limit command had taken out every last one of their attackers.

Sora dismissed his blade and sent the king one of his usual grins. "We're going to have to remember that one!"

Riku was looking out across the town. "The town looks alright." He said "Those guys were probably just to attack us, not the townsfolk."

"Good." Hayner said in a voice dripping with relief.

Sora and Kairi went to stand next to Riku, and looked for themselves. He seemed right. The buildings were intact, and the people that they could see from this distance appeared perfectly calm. They were totally unaware of the battle that had taken place not one mile away.

"So what do we do now Your Majesty?" Donald quacked.

"We need to find Axel." Mickey responded "He's probably at that mansion. But the Heartless and Nobodies will still be after us."

"Why don't we split up?" Riku suggested. "We'll make our way to the mansion from different angles. They'll have to divide their forces to find all of us."

"What'll we do when we get there?" Goofy asked.

"If Axel is there, we'll have to give him whatever help he needs." The King answered, "We'll have to play it by ear from there." He turned to Hayner's group. "We can get there via the train and the tunnels, right?"

"Uh-huh."

He thought for a moment, and said finally, "Let's divide into three groups."

"Goofy, Olette and I will take the train. Riku, you take Donald and Pence through one set of tunnels. And Sora, Kairi, and Hayner will take the other tunnels. We'll all converge on the mansion from our separate directions."

"Sounds okay." Sora commented. Really, he was just satisfied that he'd be able to keep an eye on Kairi.

"Alright, then let's get moving." Hayner said enthusiastically.

They set off at a run down the hill, weapons ready for a fight. As they entered Sunset Terrace, the group split in two. Mickey, Goofy, and Olette ran toward the train station, while the rest took a left turn to the tunnels that honeycombed the entire town. Some of the locals stared at the three anthropomorphs dashing by, and the strange weapons the nine were carrying. But if they expected answers from them, they didn't get any.

Sora entered the tunnnels first, with Kairi and Riku directly behind him. There was blackness for a few moments, until they reached a large, lit square room. It may have been linked to the town's sewer system. The concrete floor was surrounded on all sides by water.

There was already a group of Heartless waiting for them.

Sora sighed in annoyance. "This is going to be a long day."

--

_How do you like it? That was Sora and Mickey's "Royal Treatment" limit by the way. I'll be gone for a few days, so I'll update when I get back. Review please!_

_Shinku Ryuuga: No. Sorry, I just don't write that stuff._

_Craxuan: Not funny._

_Heaven-Monument:Thanks! As for the rum, 'Couln't resist mate'._


	14. Chapter 13: Riding the Rails

_We don't get to see the king in action much, so this is for him! Your Highness?_

_Mickey: "Thanks! DarthKingdom does not own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else. If he did, my Keyblade wouldn't be a ripoff of Sora's."_

_--_

Chapter 13: Riding the Rails

Mickey, Goofy, and Olette arrived at the train station at the same time as the train. The three stood aside as eight people exited, and walked off into town, throwing confused glances toward Mickey and Goofy.

They rushed inside the second the train was empty. Olette walked up to the engineer in the room up front and said politely, "Twilight Station, please."

"Yes, ma'am." He threw a curious look toward the other two and started the train up again. He closed his door.

Mickey glanced out the train window nervously. They were going at an acceptable pace, but if they were attacked this speed simply wouldn't do.

He started pacing up and down the compartment, which was apparently annoying to his two companions. "Um... Your Majesty?" Goofy said after about five minutes of silence, "Are ya sure you're okay?"

Mickey snapped his head up to look at him. "Hmm? Oh! Sorry guys, I guess I'm just a bit antsy."

Olette nodded in sympathy. "I know. It's the adrenaline working. We just got out of a huge fight and now we have to sit around while we wait for the train to arrive."

"Gawrsh, I don't mind!" Goofy added cheerily, "It feels nice to rest for a little while!"

The King smiled a bit. "Well, I just wish I could..." His eyes widened in the middle of his sentence. "Get down!"

Instinctively, Goofy and Olette lept out of their seats and laid flat on the floor. No sooner had they done this than a wicked lance speared through the window directly behind Goofy's now vacant seat.

The King lept forward with Keyblade in hand, and whacked the lance aside. It clattered across the floor, slid under a seat, and vanished. It's wielder outside the window shrieked and flew away. Goofy stood up and pointed at the retreating creature. "That's a Dragoon Nobody!"

The mouse king stuck his head out the cracked window and peered around. As he had feared, the train was being swarmed by flying enemies. He saw a few more Dragoon Nobodies, along with Wyvern and Rapid Thruster Heartless. He grimaced and pulled his head back in.

"We've got company!" he exclaimed. Suddenly, the train was rammed, almost knocking it completely off the tracks. Thankfully, it managed to stay upright, and none of them were hurt. Olette dashed to the front of the train and threw open the door. She rushed inside to the thoroughly white-faced engineer.

"Sir, I know this is going to sound strange, but we're being chased down by evil creatures intent on sending us off track and crashing down to the ground two hundred feet below." She explained with a tone one would use when adressing a terminally ill patient. "We need you to get this train to the station as fast as possible so that we can stop them."

Understandably, he started adjusting controls. Soon the train was moving at twice it's original speed.

Mickey stuck his head out the window again, but nearly lost it to a Wyvern. Only his quick reflexes saved him from a rather nasty death. "They're all over us!" he shouted.

"What're we gonna do?" Goofy asked.

Mickey cast his eyes to the window. His face became set, and he clenched his fists in detirmination. "You guys wait here and keep our driver safe!"

"What're ya gonna do Your-" Goofy started. But his question remained unfinished. His eyes widened in shock at his king's next action.

King Mickey rushed at the window, and grabbed the top. He shoved his legs through with enough force to propel him directly upward into the sky. He backflipped in the air (seeming to defy gravity) and landed squarely on the roof of the train. He had definitely gotten their attention.

His flying adversaries sent looks his way. He glared at all of them for a few seconds as if challenging them. His palm opened, flashed, and the Dark Realm's Keyblade appeared.

At the sight of that feared blade, the creatures attacked. Mickey barely moved, and swiped at them as soon as they were in reach of his blade.

Mickey soon found that he needed to adapt his fighting style a bit. The wind whipping past him kept blowing his ears into his face. And if he made one leap too far (like he usually did) he'd fly completely off the train and dash his body against the rails.

Mickey backed up rapidly, parrying an attack from a Dragoon. They were engaged in a brief duel as the King apparently retreated. I lasted only a few seconds until the mouse stabbed it through the gut. The King took up a different fighting stance, with the blade held vertically at his side with both hands. His feet were planted firmly on the ground.

He waited for the enemies to come on, and they did.

Hard and fast.

Two Wyverns attacked at once, corkscrewing directly at him. Mickey met them with a large blast of electricity from his hand. It incinerated them. They were soon followed by a handful of Rapid Thrusters.

They lived up to their name, trying to take quick bites out of the king. They were fast, but King Mickey was faster. His Keyblade moved to intercept and counter-attack every time.

A squad of Dragoons were the next to attempt to kill him. He parried their attacks when they came, and eventually destroyed all of them as well.

And throughout all of this, his feet hadn't moved an inch.

A remarkable trait of King Mickey's was that he could almost always adapt to dangerous situations in a heartbeat. In this particular situation, he was able to change his fighting style to keep him planted firmly to the train, rather than risking flying off it. This ability to react instinctivly is why he was so deadly.

Despite the innocent appearance.

The King turned to look over his shoulder as soon as he sensed a pause in the fighting. The train was making good time, he could see their destination not too far away. They were rapidly closing in on the Twilight district, and the train station. From there, it would be only a matter of minutes to the Mansion. He only had to hold these things off a bit longer.

He turned his attention back to them just in time to defend against another Wyvern spiralling at him. He struck his blade out directly into it's thick skull. It was immediately replaced by another Wyvern and five Rapid Thrusters, all of which met similar fates.

Mickey couldn't help but be pleased with himself. He was taking down plenty of Heartless and Nobodies while standing in one place! It was just a shame that his opponents weren't capable of appreciating it.

He was forced to twist a little on the spot as a pair of Wyvern charged him from opposite directions. Their impact was so great that one died on the spot, and the other was sent reeling into the cliffs below. The King rolled his eyes.

Heartless could be so careless. Nobodies were definitely a bigger challenge.

Two Dragoons appeared to take heart from his silent thought (not that they actually _had_ hearts). They soared high into the air side-by-side with their lances raised. As fast as the wind their former master had commanded, they shot back at him with lances aimed at his heart.

The King pulled out his trump card. For the first time in several minutes, he lept directly into the air. The maneuver surprised the Nobodies, and they instinctively decreased their speed and changed their angle.

That one moment of divided attention was all Mickey needed. His blade flashed, beheading one and embedding itself half-way into the side of the other. They vanished into darkness before what was left of them could hit the ground.

He landed on the roof of the train, totally unscathed. He looked back toward the rear of the train, only to discover that he had just eliminated the last two threats to the train. He let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. He dismissed his weapon and turned. He could see the train station clearly, it's clock tower jutting into the sky like a titan's outstretched finger.

King Mickey sat down on the roof of the train with his legs dangling over the side. Nothing left to do now but enjoy the rest of the ride.

--

_Looking back, I probably should have combined this chapter with my next one. It feels like a filler chapter. Oh well. I'll update really soon to make up for it._

_Shinku Ryuuga: Oops. I didn't consider that plot hole. They're the 'reserve team' I guess you could say. In case anything happens to the others. They might be getting on each other's nerves up there._

_Heaven-Monument: You are too kind! I never thought my fights were that great, but thanks! And I promise that this is the __last__ 'filler' chapter._

_Craxuan: I didn't mean to offend, my apologies if I have. And no, they didn't do anything... 'carnal.' They seem to me like the kind who would wait, don't you think?_

_Unforgivable Bankai: Thanks! That's kind of what I was going for._


	15. Chapter 14: Saving the Committee

_Again, sorry about the last chapter. This one is better._

_Sora: "Thank God!"_

_Okay, I get it. Could you just do the disclaimer?_

_Sora: "DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything other than the plot and O.C.s. The first of which we get to see next chapter!_

_--_

Chapter 14: Saving the Committee

Sora, Kairi, and Hayner tore through the Heartless in the tunnel system like a sword through cloth.

They had seperated with Riku's group about ten minutes peviously. Those three had taken the eastern tunnels, which would take them to the Twilight Town square. They would find themselves in the town square, surrounded by a few shops and have the most direct access to the mansion.

Sora's group would come out somewhere near the "Usual Spot". A hidden area in a back alley near the Sandlot where Hayner, Pence and Olette would whittle away the hours. From there it wasn't too far to get to the mansion.

For the last ten minutes, they had been ripping through the Heartless lines, and there were still no injuries apart from a small bruise on Hayner's shin and a little scratch on Sora's left arm.

During a break in the fighting, Sora turned to his two friends.

"How are you liking your first day?" He asked with a grin. It felt great being back in the field.

Kairi smiled. "I'm having fun!" Out of the three of them, she had been the one using the most magic spells. He was pleased, she was becoming quite skilled in magic.

_Someday, maybe she'll even beat me..._

"Ooh, I want some front row tickets to that fight!" Roxas said.

_You'll be fighting Namine at the same time, you know._

"Oh..." Roxas flinched.

_Yeah "oh"._

Hayner had fought gallently, but it was obvious that he wasn't used to fighting too many opponents at once. The boy was definitely up for it, but he could be seen panting for breath on occasion. "You've been doing this for how long?"

He chuckled. "Me? About a year and a half. You get somewhat used to it after the first month."

Hayner groaned in frustration, while the other two shared a laugh at his expense.

"C'mon you lazy bums!" Kairi said, once again using her favorite nickname for Sora. "The mansion awaits!" She started walking in the general direction they had followed. Sora and Hayner followed dutifully behind her.

Eventually, they arrived at the exit to the tunnels. They cleared out a few Shadows (piece of cake) and stepped out into the sunlight. After the relative darkness of the tunnel system, the light took a while to get used to.

As they had predicted, they were in the back alley by the Sandlot. All they had to do was run a few more yards to the Sandlot, pass through, cut through the square, through the forest, and into the mansion.

Easy right?

Sora thought so. The three of them sprinted down the alley, they cast a glance at the red curtain and iron gate that concealed the "Usual Spot", but didn't stop. They thought it odd that the Heartless had stopped attacking them.

They decended into the Sandlot, and found a much different situation. There were four figures there, surrounded by Heartless. Sora knew them, not very well, but he could feel a surge of frustration in the back of his mind that belonged to Roxas.

The first of them was a young man (though older than them) with a constant scowl on his face and a pale scar on his nose and forehead. He wore a sleeveless, white coat over a blue vest, and a black beanie. In his hand was a weapon that Sora thought vaguely familiar. It appeared to be a dark-colored variant of the Gunblade he had seen Squall wield.

Seifer.

The second was a larger, muscular, dark-skinned man of about the same age. He wore a sleeveless orange shirt and black pants. He didn't really give you the impression of a great thinker, and he wasn't. He was fighting off the Heartless with a large double-headed club-like weapon.

Raijin.

The third was a young woman with silver hair. One of her eyes featured an unnerving red pupil, but the other was covered by her long bangs. She was wearing a blue sleeveless jacket and capri shorts. She wielded a blue and silver chakram, and used it well.

Fujin.

The final fighter was a small boy with a strange appearance. With his black skin and glowing yellow eyes, he could have passed for a Heartless himself (were it not for the clothes). He was wearing a tiny blue trench coat, and a pointy leather hat. He scurried back and forth, casting fairly impressive magic spells. Fireballs, ice shards, and a touch more.

Vivi.

Together, those four taking a stand in the Sandlot were the "Twilight Town Disciplinary Committee". And they were losing.

Seifer was apperently suffering from an injury in his side. He was on one knee, holding the injury with one hand, and firing at Heartless with the other. The others were panting heavily, and were soaked with sweat.

Sora wondered how long they had been fighting. They were all panting from exhaustion, and he was amazed they could even stand. As if to reinforce his point, Rai suddenly dropped his weapon and fell over in exhaustion.

"They need our help!" Kairi said, calling Destiny's Light to her hand.

"Do we _have_ to?" Hayner and Roxas moaned at the same time. Though, of course Sora was the only one who heard the latter.

"Unfortunately, yes." Sora said. He called Oblivion to his hand and raised it into the sky. "_Thundaga_!"

Bolts of lightning decended from the clear sky and incinerated a quarter of the Heartless menacing the Committee. All eyes turned to the newcomers, and the Heartless changed track immediately, charging at the two Keybearers and their ally.

"_Firaga_!" Kairi shouted, pointing her blade at the oncoming horde. A large fireball burst from the tip and into the group. Once the smoke cleared, they rushed in with weapons slashing.

Sora sprinted in first, taking the enemies out with furious slashes of his blade. Kairi and Hayner were right behind him. It wasn't long before the Heartless were completely focused on them. Drawn to the Keyblades like moths to a flame. And between Kairi and Sora threre were plenty of those flames, too.

Sora ducked under a strike from a Soldier, and struck it in the stomach. He twisted around on the spot and struck down an Assassin Nobody before it could explode against him. Kairi came up behind him and struck a Berserker in the back the instant before it brought it's claymore crashing down on her boyfriend's head.

A Dusk rushed toward Vivi. He had fallen flat on his back from exhaustion. Before it hit him, Hayner's blade flashed, and caught it in the back before it could take the boy's life. A Shadow charged toward him, but he swung horizontally, and took it out before it had a chance of taking him down.

After several minutes of fighting, they had beaten back all of them with little damage to themselves. The end came when Sora whacked away the final one (a Morning Star) into the side of a building as if it was a baseball just before it landed on top of Seifer.

And just like that, it was done. The Sandlot was enveloped in a peaceful quiet, without a trace of the struggle that had taken place moments before.

Sora turned around to see how Seifer and his gang were faring. All four of them were on the ground panting. Vivi was sitting on the ground, he was probably the least injured of the Disciplinary Committee, which was surprising. He was talking quietly with Hayner thanking him over and over for helping him. Kairi was trying to help Rai up, and he noticed the guy was leaning heavily against him.

"I'm fine... y'know." He muttered, though he was grimacing.

Seifer was still on the ground, clutching his side. Fuu was trying to tend to his wound, but it seemed he was to proud to accept assistance.

"Here, let me see it." Sora offered, walking over to him.

"I'm _fine_, kid." He snarled.

"No you're not." Sora countered. "Look, it'll take two seconds."

"I said I'm fine –augh!" He said, cut off by a sharp pain froom his wound.

Hayner walked up to Sora's side. "C'mon Sora, let's just get out of here." His hatred of the man was bubbling back up to the surface. But Sora would have none of it.

He lifted his hand into the air. In a second, it was glowing with swirling green energy. "_Cura_." The energy flew from his hand in the form of glowing green tendrils. They seperated into groups. Some wrapped around Vivi, Rai, and Fuu. The injuries they had sustained healed, and they stood straighter.

Seifer's injury shone brightly even through his fingers. After a second, he finally stood tall again. He pulled his hand away slowly, and to his astonishment, his wound was healed.

The four newly healed warriors examined themselves, stretched out their muscles, and then looked at the ones who had saved them. Their reaction was mixed.

Vivi rushed forward and hugged Sora's leg. "Thank you!" The boy exclaimed, now holding his leg in a death grip. "Thanks!"

Rai stepped forward and slapped Sora and Hayner on their backs, nearly knocking them over. "Hey, you guys ain't too bad, y'know? I mean, savin' us twice now, y'know?"

"Uh, thanks." Sora said. He saw Kairi trying to conceal a smile.

"Tough." Was all that Fuu said. He hadn't really expected anything more.

Seifer was silent. He looked down at Sora from his vantage point as if sizing him up. Sora looked right back. They just stared each other down for a full minute, before the taller one gave him a barely noticable nod.

He bent down and picked up his fallen Gunblade. He turned as he holstered it and walked off. Over his shoulder he said, "Come on." Fuu and Rai followed after him immediately. Vivi released Sora's leg.

"Thanks again guys! See you around!" He said cheerily. And with that he ran after Seifer.

Sora watched them go. It may have been a trick of the wind, but he thought he heard Seifer mutter, "The strongest guys in Twilight Town."

"Unbelievable." Roxas said incredulously. "You save his life, and the guy barely acknowledges you."

_Am I detecting a bit of hostility, Roxas?_

"Shut up."

Sora, Kairi, and Hayner stared after them for a while, looking after them. Kairi walked up to Sora and pecked him on the cheek. He gazed at her and lifted a hand to where her lips had touched. "What was that for?"

"It was good of you to heal them. I'm proud of you." She said with a smile.

"Maybe there's hope for you yet!" Hayner added, chuckling.

"Har har." He said. He leaned over and briefly kissed Kairi. "Now shouldn't we be getting to the mansion?"

They nodded, and he led them to the town square. The coast was clear from where they stood, but they could hear sounds of fighting in the opposite direction.

"Sounds like Riku, Pence, and Donald have arrived." Sora commented. Sure enough, he heard the familiar sound of crackling electricity; likely from one of Donald's lightning attacks. "Think we should lend them a hand?" he asked.

That was when they heard Riku's crazy laughter floating back to them, causing Sora and Kairi to laugh. "Nah," Kairi said, "Why spoil their fun?"

"Have I mentioned that you people freak me out?" Hayner said.

"You've implied it." Sora responded, "Now let's go!"

They cleared off a small group of Heartless as they made their way over to a large crack in the wall to the north. They proceeded through, and found themselves in a forest. Just enough sunlight made it through the canopy to make it quite a pretty scene. They walked through a bit farther, taking out a six Dusks and eight Shadows.

It didn't take them very long, and they found a small pathway that led west out of the forest. They took it without question.

And before them was the mansion they had been looking for. It was an impressive two story building, with bricks the color of the sunset. It's three towers stretched into the sky. It's beautiful stain-glass windows glittered in the permanent twilight. They gazed up at it, wondering if they would find a certain Nobody inside.

They didn't notice the figure cloaked in shadow, watching them from one of the highest windows.

--

_Cliffhanger, sort of. Review please!_

_Elevategirl: I already have parts (not chapters) like that planned out already._

_Shinku Ryuuga: Uh... Don't know where that came from. But I don't think Hayner would do that. But thank you about the fight scenes. And I'd rather not say what 'carnal' means, just look it up._

_Heaven-Monument: Awww... Shyucks. Who knew that Minnie could kick some Heartless tail? I could have just stood back and let her do the work!_


	16. Chapter 15: Memories of the Mansion

_I have just gotten my 50__th__ review! Just in time for the mansion. Yuffie?_

_Yuffie: "Alright! DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything other than his plot and O.C.s. And guess what? The first one shows up in this chapter! Woot!"_

_This is why Riku likes her. She's really excited._

_Yuffie: "He what?"_

_--_

Chapter 15: Memories of the Mansion

Sora, Kairi, and Hayner were soon joined by Riku's group.

"Beat you here!" Sora called when he saw them walking from the forest. They looked unharmed, for which he was grateful.

"Yeah, yeah, you beat us." Riku said, rolling his eyes.

"Tough going?"

"Nothing we couldn't handle." Riku said, he pointed at Pence. "You've gotta see this guy in action. He must've smashed like two hundred Heartless on his own!"

Pence smiled humbly as Hayner gave him a pat on the back.

"Welp, I see you're all here!" Came the squeaky voice from the forest. Everyone turned at the sound and saw the King walking out from the foliage, flanked by Goofy and Olette. "Is everyone alright?"

"Yeah." Sora said, "Hakuna Matata!"

"Excuse me?" Mickey asked, looking puzzled. Everyone was looking at Sora confused. All except Donald and Goofy, who grinned.

"I'll tell you later." Sora replied. He turned back to the mansion. "So shouldn't we be going in?"

"Yep, lets do it." The King said.

The group walked through the large stone gates of the mansion and into a kind of courtyard. Rose bushes lined the wall at either side of them. They walked up a cobblestone pathway leading to the front doors. Sora, Kairi, and Riku were at the front.

Sora pointed his blade at the doors, and heard the tell-tale clicks of the tumblers. He pushed the two doors open.

The huge foryer was before them. The paint on the walls was more chipped than Sora remembered it. There were bits of dried spackle littering the floor. Most of the window panes at the far end of the room (which showed the mansion's back yard) were cracked. A few bits of rubble were scattered across the room.

He didn't remember so much rubble being here.

As if reading his thoughts, Riku spoke. "Something happened here." Riku leaned down and picked up a chunk of stone that had probably once been a statue of some sort. "Recently. This thing is _warm_."

"That's weird..." Sora said. The wierdness continued.

As soon as Sora, Kairi, and Riku were all fully in the mansion, the empty doorway flashed briefly. The trio looked at the spot from one side, and the rest from the other. Donald walked forward to test it out, and regretted it.

His fingers met something. For the briefest of moments the nine of them saw a transparent, but very solid barrier. A half second later, Donald was tossed backwards by some invisible force all the way back to the front gate. He landed with a thud, causing the others to worry and call his name.

He got up a few seconds later with rumpled feathers and a bump on his head. He was grumbling to himself while he glared at the doorway as if it had just insulted his mother.

Sora had just enough time to make eye contact with King Mickey as he turned around. But then the doors slammed shut with a resounding crash that echoed through the old room, shaking a bit of loose debri from it's resting place.

Sora spun around immediately, and scanned the room. His hand was out in front of him, ready to summon the Keyblade if necessary. But nothing stepped forth to challenge them, and it was silent.

In fact it was _too_ silent, he decided. There was absolutely no noise but their barely noticable breathing. The silence was somehow louder and more oppressive than any battle or explosion. Looking back later , he found a perfect way to phrase it:

_The calm before the storm._

"I don't like this." Kairi muttered.

"I know." Sora agreed, "There's something here."

"Something from the dark." Riku added.

"Axel?" Kairi suggested. He doubted it. This didn't feel quite like Axel's style (which he knew about through Roxas). Plus, he wasn't so sure that Axel was against them anymore.

"No, I don't think so." Sora said. "If it were, he'd be standing right over there, monologing to us. And making sure he slipped 'Got it memorized' into his speech, somewhere."

They all had a good chuckle, which lightened the mood considerably. That was always one of Sora's best qualities, he could make you laugh. It was one of the reason's Kairi fell so hard for him.

"Let's check the rooms, and see what we can find."

Sora led the way up the stairway, and took a left. He pushed open the door he found there, and stepped into a room that Roxas remembered well.

The room was totally white. The smooth floor, walls, and ceiling shone pure white –in stark contrast to the crumbling, dark rooms behind them. The long table and it's chairs were white, the mantle place was white. Evan the vase and flowers on the table were totally white.

All about the room were drawings, all of them done with colored pencils. As Sora strode slowly through the room, he saw that many of them portrayed people, places or events that he recognized. He wondered what this place was. Who had made these drawings?

His question was soon answered. He felt a strange tingling sensation on his temple, and seconds later, a transparent Roxas was standing next to him looking at one of the drawings. He was smiling.

"I remember when I came here..." Roxas said.

"So do I." said a new voice. Sora turned around and saw a transparent blonde girl with blue eyes in a white dress. Namine walked to Roxas's side and looked at the same picture. He could see him grasp her hand.

"My entire life changed in this room." Roxas said reminiscantly. Sora and Kairi craned their necks to get a better view of the drawing they were looking at. A drawing of Sora and Roxas together.

"'You and Sora are connected'." Roxas quoted, ""And in order for Sora to become completely whole again, he needs you, Roxas'."

Sora's eyes widened a bit, and he traded a glance with Kairi. This was something private going on between their Nobodies, so they retreated into a corner and tried to be invisible. Riku stepped back into the hallway.

"I owe you a lot Namine." Roxas was saying. "You were there for me when I needed some guidance. I'd probably have been re-captured by the Organization if you hadn't helped me."

"It was my pleasure." She said, smiling up at him. "You needed help, and I wanted to be there for you."

"Thank you." Roxas said. He leaned down and kissed Namine gently. Namine smiled against their kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Back in the corner, Sora and Kairi smiled. He put his arm around her shoulders. Roxas and Namine's kiss was so strong that it actually made them shiver.

After a minute, they pulled away and turned to their others.

"Kairi, Sora?" Namine asked, "Would you please take these drawings away from here? I'd like them to be safe."

"Sure." Kiair responded with an understanding smile. The two ex-Nobodies smiled gratefully, and then vanished in twin flashes of gold and blue.

As Kairi went about collecting the drawings and placing them carefully in an inside pocket of her robe, Sora walked over to the single long window in the room and pulled back the curtains (also white). He looked down at the courtyard for his friends still outside. They appeared nervous wrecks, and Sora could only assume that there was no way around the shield at the door.

He hated seeing his friends worried, so he started waving his arms back and forth and hopping up and down. He was aware that he would look silly, but he had to get their attention. After a few moments, Goofy finally looked up and alerted the others.

As soon as they saw Sora in the window, their expressions softened. They were relieved beyond belief to see their friend safe. He gave them a noticable thumbs up, which they returned.

When he turned around again, he saw that Kairi had collected all of Namine's drawings. "We ready to go?" He asked.

"Yeah, let's go."

They crept out of the room and rejoined Riku. He was leaning against the wall overlooking the foryer, and turned his head at their approach. He smiled, "How are my four little lovebirds doing?"

"And how are my little Riku and Yuffie doing?" Sora countered. Riku's smirk was replaced by an embarrased blush.

"Come on. Let's check out the basement." He said.

The group walked across to another door on the second story. They stepped cautiosly through, and peered around the library. It was empty, and there was the staircase leading to Ansem's old poop headquarters. The three walked carefully down the stairs, and into the darkened hallway under the mansion.

Sora led the way, listening for anything unusual, keeping his eyes trained ahead for any sign of movement. They made a left turn, and saw the door to the computer room. It was closed, but through the crack it's edge, faint light was shining through.

He turned and whispered very quietly, "Be ready." They nodded in affirmation. They crept closer to the door, and Sora shoved it open quickly.

At the other side of the room standing at the computer with his back to them was a young man. Unconscious at his feet was the man that they had been sent to help. Axel had been bruised and beaten quite a bit. The figure didn't move at all when Sora entered with his friends right behind him.

The man was covered in red and black. He wore a blood red jacket that went down to his knees with artistically painted black flames at the hems, it's hood was up. His pants and boots were black as well. He had a dark aura about him, this was clearly a powerful being.

"Riku," He said with his back still to them. "Sora, Princess. I'm happy to finally meet you."

"Turn around and step away from Axel and we'll see how happy you are." Sora said threateningly.

"As you wish..." He said.

Slowly, he turned around. His jacket was open in the front, revealing a black T-shirt. A strange symbol was on it. It was a strange red three-pronged symbol surrounded by a circle of black, with spikes at the end of each prong. The hood covered up most of his face, so Sora couldn't see much other than the smirk on the man's lips.

_That smirk looks familiar..._

"Who are you?" Sora asked.

The man lifted his hands slowly to grasp either side of his hood. Just as slowly, he pushed it back off his head.

He had jet black hair that was spiked and flowing off his head to just below his shoulder blades. His eyes were a sickly yellow color. Both of these traits were foreign to Sora, but he had a face that he knew quite well. His previous question was answered before the man even opened his mouth.

"My name is Ruxik." He said with that same smirk. "And I am your Nobody, Riku."

--

_Bum Bum BUUUM! I'll explain it in the next chapter. So how many of you expected that? Sorry if this chapter was too boring for your tastes, there's a boss battle soon. Please review._

_Elevategirl: Thank you!_

_Shinku Ryuuga: I've had moments like that. Never turns out so well for me._

_Craxuan: Thank you!_

_Sniper Rifle Chief: Thank you. I hope you like it more later._

_Voltair27: Yeah, I'm working on it._

_Silk Dragon: (winks) Thank you. And you really should try them out, they're awesome!_


	17. Chapter 16: Ruxik

_This chapter is short, but it's got some important stuff in it. I thought since Sora and Kairi got their very own Nobodies, why don't we give Riku one?_

_Riku: "DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else.If he did, well like he said, I'd have a Nobody."_

_--_

Chapter 16: Ruxik

All of their jaws dropped.

"Did he just say he was _Riku's_ Nobody!?" Roxas exclaimed.

Riku's Keyblade was in his hand immediately. He flourished it and took a menacing step toward Ruxik. "How can I have a Nobody?"

"Don't you remember?" He replied with a smirk.

"_The Keyhole is now complete. You have served your purpose. But now it's over." Said "Ansem". He took a few steps toward Kairi, Donald, and Goofy, murder in his eyes. Suddenly, he found himself stopping dead in his tracks._

"_Impossible..."_

_A glowing, transparent image of Riku appeared before him._

"_NO! You won't use me for this!" He shouted. Xehanort snarled at the insolent boy._

"_Riku!" Kairi cried._

"_You've got to run!" The figure shouted. "The Heartless are coming!_

_Right on cue, the five of them were surrounded by Shadow Heartless. Looking as if it was the hardest decision of her life, Kairi nodded and ran. Donald and Goofy followed after her._

"_What about the Keyhole!?"_

"_Let's just get out of here!"_

_Interestingly, one Shadow appeared later than the others, and took off in a completely new direction. Xehanort noticed this, but didn't particularly care._

_He was too angry._

_The second Riku began losing control, he reached out and grabbed him around the throat. The glowing being proved lighter than air, and Xehanort understood now that it was a manifestation of the boy's heart._

_He lifted him off the ground and pulled him close to his face. "Thanks for the body."_

_He reeled back, and tossed "Riku" into the depths of the final Keyhole. He began to lose his shape, and became a glowing ball; a heart._

_Xehanort smiled evilly as the Princesses of Heart began to wake behind him. "Back to the Darkness."_

_--_

"_Kingdom Hearts!" Xehanort, horribly wounded exclaimed. "Fill me with the power of darkness!"_

_The enormous white door opened slowly. Behind him, Sora called out, "You're wrong! I know now, without a doubt, Kingdom Hearts... is light!"_

_Before Xehanort could laugh at him for his outright foolishness, something poured out of the door that he would never have suspected:_

_Light. Pure, white Light._

"_Impossible..."_

_That was all he could say. All of his beliefs had just been shattered._

_The light blasted into him, and he was scattered. Most of him returned to the Darkness. But one piece miraculously made it's way to the lingering heart of Riku; the very boy who's old body he had stolen._

_Somehow, the power of Kingdom Hearts, the release of Darkness from Xehanort, and the fact that Riku's heart was so strong created a strange burst of power. This resulted in the creation of a brand new body for Riku; exactly as it had been._

_--_

_In all the confusion, it was easy for Sora, Riku, and the others to miss._

_Riku's old body that was taken by Xehanort began to reassemble itself in the black abyss around Kingdom Hearts. Far below Kingdom Hearts, each individual particle came together again to form a new body. It rather resembled what it once had been._

_--_

"And so, I was born." Ruxik finished.

There was silence for a long time. Sora was stunned. How could they have overlooked the fact that Riku had indeed, lost his heart? He just hadn't become a Heartless.

Ruxik seemed to really enjoy the impression he had made. That arrogant smirk that Riku had nailed so long ago was still firmly in place on his face. He laughed quietly, but Sora knew good and well that he was only putting on a show for them, Nobodies weren't amused by anything.

"Such a powerful enemy." He said, "Formed from your own body, Riku. And you never evan realized!" He laughed more.

Riku couldn't take it. With a howl, he charged at his Nobody with his Keyblade coming down. Only Ruxik wasn't there anymore. In an impossible move, he had side-stepped the falling blade. Lightning fast, he delivered an uppercut the the point of his chin that knocked him onto his back.

"Yes, give into your anger Riku..." He said, "I've always wanted a Heartless partner."

"Quit antagonizing him!" Kairi shouted, summoning her Keyblade as Sora drew his own.

Ruxik eyed the Keyblades for a moment and chuckled. As Riku stood up he said, in an annoyingly arrogant tone, "Must this all end in violence? I could just take this traitorous annoyance back to headquarters and leave you well enough alone." He pointed to the unconscious Axel.

Riku moved to block Axel from him immediately. "We like the sound of the second part." Sora said.

"And what do you mean 'headquarters'?" Riku asked, raising Way to the Dawn again.

"As if I'm actually going to tell you where the Brotherhood of the Dark has set up shop?" Ruxik said, his smirk widening.

"So you're part of the Brotherhood?" Sora asked.

"_Duh_, Keyboy." The Nobody replied with a roll of his head. "Oh, a little advice; stay away from this one." He nodded his head at Riku. "He has _far_ too much darkness in heart to be trusted."

Riku snarled and lunged at Ruxik again. The Nobody smiled wickedly and lept back from his blade. He jumped clear over Sora and Kairi and sprinted back down the hallway. Over his shoulder he cried, "Come on then! Show me some of that dark power!"

As Riku began to give chase, Sora and Kairi rushed to block his path. Before he could go anywhere, they had each grabbed an arm. While Riku was physically stronger, he couldn't throw the two off, even under the influence of pure rage.

"Let me go!" He shouted.

"Riku!" Kairi exclaimed, "He's just trying to make you angry! Don't listen to him!"

"She's right!" Sora added, "Riku if you go along with this, he wins! Don't let him get inside your head!"

"Don't lose your temper!" Kairi implored.

Riku stopped struggling against their grip. He lowered his head, and was silent for a minute. Sora and Kairi thought it safe to let go. Eventually, Riku's heart beat slowed down and his breathing returned to normal.

Still with his head down, he sighed. "I won't give in to the darkness." He muttered. "Not again." He looked up. "Thanks guys."

They smiled at him.

"Now let's go!" Sora said, though he was smiling, "We've got a Nobody to fight!"

Ready for battle, the three friends ran down the hallway.

--

_Well, I hope that some of that made some sort of sense. I'm not entirely sure if it did. But it's a story, (and you're not part of it)! In unrelated news, I turned sixteen yesterday! Woot! Please review!_

_SamuraiJedi: Thank you, I try._

_DaemonArts: I figured those three diserved a little glory. Riku and Yuffie pairings just seem right somehow, regardless of the fact they've never met. How did you know?_

_Reigning Chaos: Hense this chapter._

_Voltair27: Thank you. But how exactly do you half expect something? (winks)_

_Heaven-Monument: Well, I do love cookies. I'll do everything I can!_


	18. Chapter 17: Battling the Dark Bearer

_Time for a nice boss fight. Now, Ruxik?_

_Ruxik: "I'm the first O.C. to do the disclaimer. Sweet! DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else. Just his plot and O.C.s like me._

_--_

Chapter 17: Battling the Dark Bearer

Sora, Kairi, and Riku re-entered the foryer, only to find it empty.

"Huh?"

"Where is he?" Sora wondered out loud.

"Up here Keyboy." Said a malicious voice from behind them. They turned and saw their target leaning casually against the wall above them. Riku had been in that exact same position earlier, and the resemblance made Sora uncomfortable.

Ruxik walked forward and put his hands on the banister, overlooking them with that horrible smirk. "You three are a threat to our plans." He said, "And it looks like I have the honor of eliminating you. How lucky for me."

"Unless of course Riku would like to join us?" He added, almost as if it were an after thought. "All that untapped potential... I'd hate to see it go to waste."

Riku glared at his Nobody. But, to Sora's great relief, he didn't charge at Ruxik blindly like he had before. All he did was point Way to the Dawn at him. He and Kairi did the same with Oblivion and Destiny's Light.

Ruxik seemed unsurprised. "So be it."

He stretched out his hand. A replica of Way to the Dawn appeared in his hand. There were a few key differences, however. While Riku's Keyblade was part angel wings and part demon wings, Ruxik's was all demonic. The bat wings were jet black instead of dark blue, the eye shape on the hilt was yellow rather than blue. And the Keychain was the full Heartless emblem.

"The Way to Dusk." He smiled and whirled it in an X-shaped pattern; a salute.

Sora, Kairi, and Riku took up their fighting stances and faced him. Ruxik gripped his Nobody Keyblade in both hands, and swung it hard into the space in front of him. A huge disk of dark energy sped through the air directly at Sora. Only a quick block and years of training saved him.

Not stopping for a second, Ruxik lept off the balcony and came at them fast. Riku rushed forward to meet him, and their identical blades met with a sharp noise. They disengaged and lept apart. Riku jumped in first slashing left to right. The blow was easily caught by his Nobody, who tossed it away and stabbed forward. Riku slipped to the side to avoid it and delivered a slash at his neck, which he ducked.

They seemed equals, exchanging blows at unbelievable speeds. Their blades were dark blurs. When Sora and Kairi came in with their own blows, however the rules of the game changed.

Sora jumped toward him and struck at him from midair. They proved difficult to deflect, and so Ruxik was forced to give ground, and in the process nearly lost an arm to his other. Then Kairi came in from his left, stabbing forward. He just barely managed to dodge, but ended up with a large tear in his jacket.

She kept on swinging at him, but he was able to parry most of her strikes, then Sora came in from the exact opposite direction, making it twice as difficult to protect himself. Three times when Riku reentered the fight.

The phrase "strength in numbers" was demonstrated perfectly at that moment in the fight. Ruxik was only one person, and he was facing three warriors who were at least his equal.

No matter how much the Nobody hated to admit it, for all his talk of superiority he couldn't win against all three of them. He'd have to get creative.

Disengaging from Kairi and Sora's blades and kicking Riku in the chest, he lept backwards toward the window. He twisted around and shot a blast of dark energy from his palm. It streaked towards the window and shattered it easily. He ran to the opening he had just made and ran through it into the mansion's old garden. The other three gave chase.

The garden was enormous, and still mantained traces of it's former beauty. Dried and withered plants were planted all along it's walls, and in extra open spaces. Some were sitting in elegent pots with brilliant patterns. A cobblestone pathway wound through the garden. Ruxik awaited them in the center of it all.

Sora rushed in, slashing right to left with the Keyblade. Ruxik blocked it and the following strikes at his head and legs. Kairi and Riku moved to his opposite sides, creating a triangle with the Nobody at the center.

They all moved it at once. Ruxik blocked a downward stroke from Riku, and used a dark shield to slam into Sora and Kairi with his free hand. The latter two were thrown backwards several meters, but sprang back onto their feet immediately.

Ruxik dueled with Riku for a moment, and seemed to be gaining ground. But once again, the advantage of numbers came back to Riku. Sora jumped at the Nobody, bringing the Keyblade down hard. Ruxik was barely able to move out of the way, but Sora managed to graze his shoulder.

Out of the large cut in his arm came not blood, but a kind of black smoke. Ruxik clutched the wound for a moment, before snarling at Sora. "_Now_ I'm angry!"

"No you're not." He retorted as Kairi rejoined them.

Simultaneously, they fired spells at Ruxik. Kairi delivered a blast of fire the size of a man. Sora delivered a crackling bolt of electricity from the tip of his blade. Riku shot three smaller blasts of dark energy.

Ruxik immediately raised a shield to defend himself, but it wasn't enough. The attacks overwhelmed the shield and came crashing into the Nobody. He flew backwards to the other end of the garden, smoking.

The three approached warily, a wounded opponent could still attack. They were amazed when Ruxik picked himself up off the ground and stood nearly straight again. He snarled at them, and fired a ball of darkness at the three.

They dodged to the sides, and landed perfectly on their feet. Both parties ran to meet the other with their blades slashing. Ruxik was drawing more heavily on the darkness now, his movements were faster, swifter and stronger. It was becoming increasingly harder for the trio to protect themselves.

Ruxik suddenly stopped, and backtracked. His blade was enveloped in dark energy, and tripled in size. He summoned all his strength, and swung it in an arc. The blade connected with Sora and Riku's. They kept it away from their flesh, but the sheer power packed behind the blow was enough to knock the Keyblades from their hands and send the two Keybearers reeling back across the yard.

Kairi was more fortunate. She jumped over the blade and to the other side of the Nobody. Just like the Shadow in the simulator, she spun on the spot and slashed Ruxik across the back.

He cried out in pain, and staggered forward a few steps. Two seconds later and let out a feral cry and sprang at Kairi. He rained blows down upon her, forcing her to give ground. She counter-attacked at every opportunity, and showed no sign of fear at all. Kairi's blade was a red and gold blur, while Ruxik's was one of black.

Sora struggled back to his feet, and charged at the Nobody's back. He wasn't about to let that twisted immitation of his best friend hurt the love of his life.

What happened was a bit unexpected. The instant before Sora could strike, Ruxik twisted around and grabbed Sora by the throat.

"Going up Keyboy?" He said with that smirk.

His feet left the ground all together, and he flew toward the roof of the mansion with Sora's neck still held in one hand. He slammed his victom into the roof, dislodging tiles and dirt. Sora grunted in pain as Ruxik kept him pinned there, and flew higher, scraping his body against the roof.

Below, Kairi and Riku were leaping onto the roof, fully intent on reaching him before Ruxik could do him any more harm. They managed to make it up several feet, but the incline was just too steep, and Ruxik was nearly to the peak of the mansion's tallest tower.

After the third failed attempt at persuing the old fashioned way, Riku dismissed his Keyblade and filled both hands with dark energy. Aiming as well as he could, he tossed blast after blast at his Nobody.

Kairi had another idea. She stood perfectly still, and then extended her arms away from her sides. She closed her eyes.

"Angel in flight!"

There was a flash of light, and she stood there in her Angelic Form –wings and all. As Riku stupidly stared at her, mouth agape, she blasted into the air. Her Keyblade appeared in her hand, but it had a drastically different appearance. She recognized it from Sora's descriptions; a silver, angelic looking Keyblade with a star-like point. The Keychain was actually her lucky charm.

The Oathkeeper.

As Ruxik flew above the house. He smirked at the semiconcious Sora as he held him at least one hundred feet above the ground This would be a nasty fall.

"See ya!" He said, and dropped him.

Sora tumbled, causing everyone to gasp. At this point evan the group at the front of the house could see him. Kairi immediately changed course, and aimed at Sora. Time seemed to have frozen with Sora in midair and Kairi streaking toward him like a bullet.

And suddenly, she caught him. And everyone let out the breath they hadn't realized they were holding. Sora gazed up at her through half-lidded eyes, and gave her a pained smile. She smiled back and pecked him on the lips. She flew toward the ground and set him down gently in front of Riku.

"Help him." She said to Riku. She kissed Sora again, and straightened. Her head turned to glare at the figure of Ruxik high above them. He seemed totally shocked. Destiny's Light appeared in Kairi's hand, and she took off at an unbelievable speed.

She soared up to Ruxik's hight and stopped, facing him from ten feet away. "You shouldn't have done that." She said with narrowed eyes.

Ruxik sent her a similar look. "So the Princess can fly now? As if you weren't horrid enough."

"Woah. Just imagine if Sora had heard that." Namine commented in her head.

Kairi rocketed toward Ruxik, her Keyblade flew all over, meeting his and creating sparks with the force of the impact. This time around, her strikes were faster and more precise, and her enemy was the one on the defensive.

He tried to get some space in between them, but Kairi's wings propelled her toward him to cut off his escape any time he tried. She met him with a flurry of attacks, many of which left him with numerous cuts and abrasions.

She swung at his head, but he went backwards in the air. She followed after him and swung at his chest, leaving a narrow gash. He cried in pain and stabbed at her, but she descended and swept at his legs, causing a fracture.

She ruled the skies.

--

Below them, Riku was trying desperately to heal Sora, they were both out of potions and hadn't thouhgt to bring any extras.

"Come on, Sora! You've got to make it through!"

He was examining his back, it was covered with so many deep cuts and bruises that he was amazed that he wasn't screaming in pain. He was bleading very heavily, and he thought he saw a bit of his shoulder plate.

Out of nowhere came a small yellow sphere. It cracked open over Sora's back, and out poured strange, multicolored streams of _something_. When they touched Sora's wounds, their miraculous powers regrew skin, stopped bleeding, repaired damaged body parts, and finally closed the wounds completely. In thirty seconds, nothing remained of Sora's horrible injuries but a few pale scars.

Sora, filled with new energy stood up. As he did so, the magical properties of his clothes caused them to mend immediately.

The two turned around. Exiting the mansion through the cracked window, walking casually toward them with a smile on his face was Axel.

"_Always_ carry medical supplies to a battle, boys." He said, coming nearer. "Got it memorized?"

"Thanks." Sora said, holding out his hand. He shook it eagerly. "We owe you our lives."

Just as Riku was about to ask what he meant by 'we' and 'our', the image of Roxas emerged with a grin on his face.

"Hey Hothead! Could you please stop it with the 'Got it memorized' thing?" He said jokingly.

"It's been engraved in my head. Sorry." Axel said with a shrug, waving a hand through his old friend.

Everyone turned their attention to the ferocious arial battle going on above them. Kairi appeared the superior. She was flying circles around Ruxik (sometimes literally) and striking unbelievably fast.

"Shouldn't we help her?" Axel asked.

"We've tried to get up there, but nothing seems to work. The roof is too steep." Riku said. "I think we'll have to leave this to her."

"Actually, I've got an idea." Sora said, a curious expression coming over his face. He smiled deviously and stepped back a few steps away from the other three. "Valor!"

His clothes flashed as he entered his personal favorite Drive Form. His clothes changed to scarlet and black. On his sleeves and pants formed four fleur-de-lis. Sora took up a new fighting stance with his legs fugi fugi fugi spread out. Both of his hands flashed, and two Keyblades appeared in them.

The first was Oblivion, as always. The second was Gaurdian Soul, which he had received from his old "friend" Auron. It was a long, deep red blade with a white symbol and three black prongs at the end. The hilt and handgaurd resembled the head of some horrible beast. The keychain was a sake jug.

Sora examined both Keyblades, slung one over his shoulder and rushed toward the side of the house. He jumped into the air –much higher than he could have normally- and landed easily on the roof. Immediately, he ran up the roof. He didn't lose any speed or momentum as he made his way up along the trail of missing ceiling tiles Ruxik had made with his own body.

Kairi apparently saw him coming, and directed the fight back toward the spire of the mansion. Ruxik was unaware of the second Keybearer rapidly approaching from below him.

The double attack was timed perfectly.

The instant Sora reached the top of the spire, he lept straight up at the Nobody, slashing him across the back with his two blades. Within one second, Kairi delivered a hard slash across his stomach.

Ruxik howled in pain and fell, his Kayblade vanishing. He bounced off the side roof as he fell, some of his "blood" streaming from him. Somehow through his pain, he managed to grab onto the side of the roof. He pulled himself up with a great amount of difficulty, clutching at his wounds.

He glared up at Sora and Kairi, still very high above him. Sora was holding onto the side of the spire with one hand, and Kairi hovered next to him. They looked down at their injured enemy.

Ruxik let a low growl escape his throat. "This isn't over!" He shouted, and jumped off the roof and into a waiting corridor of darkness that appeared out of nowhere.

Sora and Kairi looked at each other and shared a smile.

"I have a gaurdian angel." Sora said softly. He reached out and ran a hand through her hair.

"And she's the most beautiful one I've ever seen." He added. "Thanks for saving me."

"Well that makes us about even right?" Kairi said with a laugh. She leaned over, took his face in her hands and kissed him deeply. Below them, Axel and Roxas wolf-whistled. By the time Sora and Kairi pulled away, they were both a bit woozy, and Sora nearly fell off the roof. Kairi grinned mischeviously. "Race you down! Ready...setgo!"

She rocketed toward the ground before he had evan fully registered what she had said. She was halfway there before he sprinted back down the way he came. His momentum carried him down in seconds. She beat him by a half inch.

All Riku could do was smile and shake his head. "I've got to learn a Drive Form."

--

_So, how was it? Is my version of Riku's Nobody/Heartless as good as others you've read? Review please._

_Shire Folk: A few things. I partially agree about the Riku/Yuffie thing, but to be honest, I liked the pairing before I read your story (which I love). I also agree about the sappiness, we just can't help ourselves, huh? I have an idea of how to get rid of the 'extra' characters later. Thanks about the outfit, Keyblade, Genie, and pointing out that word. My idiot brother must have gotten to my computer. And thank you for the support about my 'theory'._

_And sure, you can use the _Unity_ if you'd like. But could I please use Riku's 'Dawn'? It's a great idea that I wouldn't mind playing with if you'd allow it._

_Craxuan: I said it might not make sense. So, I made him another 'unconventional Nobody.'_


	19. Chapter 18: Axel's Tale

_Unfortunately, I will be gone for the next two weeks in Minnesota (and I live in Texas). Without acess to my story, or a computer, sadly. So here's a chapter to tide you over while I'm gone._

_Axel: "DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else. If he did, I might not have died in the last game."_

_--_

Chapter 18: Axel's Tale

"You got a head start!" Sora said, faking frustration. Kairi just laughed as she returned to her normal form. Sora followed suit, and his red clothing turned black again.

"Not bad, not bad." Axel said admiringly. Namine's shadow emerged from Kairi. "Namine! Good to see you."

He through a tiny smirk at Roxas. "You really know how to pick 'em man."

Roxas's transparent cheeks darkened with a blush. Namine giggled and pecked his cheek.

"And down to bussiness. I suppose you're here to 'collect' me?" Axel said, looking over them all.

"Yeah." Roxas said. "But would you mind telling us how it is you're still alive?"

Axel nodded. "Come inside, we'll talk some more." He led the group back into the mansion's foryer, and the door opened. The King and the rest of the group walked in and cast worried looks at Sora and the others. "Are you fellas alright?" Mickey asked.

"We're fine." Sora said. "It takes more than an uber-powerful Nobody to take us down."

"I'd say I came pretty close." Roxas said off-handedly. When Sora gave him an annoyed look, he laughed.

"Oh Roxas, Namine!" Mickey said, "How are you?"

"We're fine." They said, entwining their hands.

Axel said to the whole group, "Follow me downstairs, I'll explain everything I know."

As they walked back to the basement, Hayner turned to Roxas and asked hesitantly, "Have we met?" Roxas's face split into a wide grin, and Sora chuckled.

"There's an interesting story behind that." Roxas said to Hayner, Pence and Olette. "I knew you from the _other_ Twilight Town. Hayner, Pance and Olette."

Their eyes grew wide, and Roxas laughed. Namine nudged him in the ribs in annoyance. "I was placed in Twilight Town ( which is a big computer program) to help Sora. He had lost his memories and Namine here had him go to sleep so she could put them back together. Since I'm his Nobody, I may have been able to help the process along. The only catch was that all of my memories were erased until the job was nearly done."

"Wow." Pence said as they walked down the dark hallway to the computer room. "So Namine was doing this alone?"

"Actually," She said. "Riku over there had a hand in it, and the original Ansem did a lot of work."

"They all placed me in the virtual Twilight Town to live out my life as a normal teenager until I could rejoin with Sora." Roxas continued, "While I was there, you guys were my best friends."

"Really?" Olette asked. Then a thought hit her. "Maybe _that's_ why we felt like we needed to see Sora off when he left town!"

"Yep." Roxas said. He remembered distantly that moment. A tear had fallen from Sora's eye. "It wasn't easy to leave the place I had thought of as home for so long." He could never quite forgive Ansem for tampering with his life like he did. But if he hadn't, he might never have met Namine, and Sora would've woken up much later than he did.

"Well then," Hayner said, extending his hand, "It's uh, good to have you back, Roxas!"

Roxas smiled and passed his hand through Hayner's.

The group of twelve arrived at the computer room. Axel strode over to the seat by the computer,and swung it around to face them. He sat down. "Pull up a patch of floor rest a while!"

When everyone had seated, Axel continued. "Have you heard of the Brotherhood of the Dark?"

"Yep. We've alerted as many people as we can on other worlds." The King said, "And we know that they're after Kingdom Hearts."

"And that they've got control over most of the Heartless and Nobodies out there." Riku added.

"Well then that saves me a lot of trouble." Axel said. "What don't you know?"

"How you're alive right now." Roxas said.

Axel settled back in his chair. "I'm not sure of all the details, so bear with me. When I 'died' my soul stayed on this plane of existance. Probably because I didn't die in the conventional way. What it did then, I don't know, but I think it found what was left of my body somewhere in the Darkness."

"Later, when the Organization's Kingdom Hearts exploded, it turned out that my heart was in it. I think it sought out my soul, which was the remains of my body. Together, they rebuilt it."

"I woke up very confused at the base of the Castle That Never Was, and there were Heartless swarming the place." Axel went on. "I fought a bunch of them off, but they seemed more interested in the castle than me."

"By the time they left me alone, I was exhausted. Unfortunately, that made me a perfect target for the Brotherhood. One of their guys overpowered me pretty easily and took me through a portal of darkness. When I came to, I was in a dungeon and one of them started interrogating me. Roughly." He finished, running a finger along the scar on his forehead.

"Why?" Sora asked. "What did they think you knew?"

"I'm not too sure." He said, shrugging. "They asked me a few things about you guys though. Who you were closest to, your combat styles, stuff like that." He gave a significant look to Sora, Kairi, and Riku. "They want to find out everything they can about you, to decide the best way to beat you. They fear the Keyblades, and rightly so."

"Did you tell them anything?" Kairi asked.

"Now have I ever given you a reason not to trust me?"

"Yes."

"Oh... right." He said. "Kindnapping you, and attacking Roxas in a fit of rage, yeah. Well I didn't tell them anything! They even offered me a position in the Brotherhood, but I didn't break!"

"Well, thank you for that." Sora said.

"Anything else?" Mickey asked.

"They asked me about something called the 'Cornerstone of Light'." He answered. "I'm assuming that you know more about it than I did?"

"The Cornerstone is an ancient relic of pure light." The King explained. "Disney Castle was built around it, and it rests inside. It's kept dark creatures away for years. I don't know what they'd want with it..."

"Maybe they want to destroy it?" Goofy suggested.

"Possibly."

"Axel? How did you escape?" Roxas asked.

--

"_I will not ask you again." The man said. He wore a black vest marked with two strips of blood red running down the side. Looking at him, he thought he looked a little like Vexen._

_Axel was strapped to a wall by two chains made of dark energy. On his forehead was a strange mark in green ink. It glowed eerily in the darkness of the room. The mark and the pure darkness surrounding him succesfully blocked Axel's power. Perfect conditions for an interrogation._

"_Why do I doubt that?" Axel responded, smirking at his interrogator just to agrivate him. He earned himself a firm punch in the jaw._

"_You're making this more diffucult than it has to be Axel." He said. "If you simply tell me what you know of the Keybearers, you can join us! Ultimate power! Stand by the almighty Serndask!"_

"_I won't tell you _anything_! Got it memorized?"_

"_So you have said." The man muttered. He gave him another punch, this time in the stomach. "Perhaps it is time I take more serious measures..."_

_In the man's hand appeared a long, narrow dagger. In the blink of an eye, he had plundged it into Axel's side, eliciting a grunt of excruciating pain. He withdrew it very slowly, relishing the pain he was causing._

"_Hurts doesn't it?" He asked with a wicked smile. "Does Sora have someone he cares for, dearly? A lover, perhaps?"_

"_I'm not telling." Axel said, trying to keep a lid on his pain._

_The dagger flashed. And a large gash appeared on Axel's opposite shoulder. He struggled to keep a scream from passing his lips._

"_Has Riku fully mastered his darkness?" The man asked. "I can make the pain stop, you know. All you have to do is answer me."_

_Axel responded by spitting in the man's face. He hit him right between his dull green eyes._

_He didn't take that well at all. The dagger flashed again, and a narrow gash appeared on Axel's forehead. As a narrow trickle of blood dripped down his face, Axel did something totally unexpected._

_He started laughing._

"_What is so funny, you impudent-" He soon realized the horrible mistake he had made._

_The mark on his forehead was no longer perfect. In his anger, he had altered it's shape slightly._

"_Thanks, man!" Axel exclaimed. From his open palms burst waves of fire. The man had no time to defend himself before the flames hit him. He fell to the ground trying to put himself out. With his concentration broken, the shadowy chains vanished, freeing Axel's wrists._

_He hosed his torturer with fire for a little longer, then sprinted out the only door in the room. His chakrams appeared in his hands when Nobodies appeared in the hallway, and despite his injuries, he defeated them all._

_He ran down the empty hallways, looking desperately for the means to leave his prison. A Gummi ship, a gateway, something, anything._

_He threw open doors whenever he found them, and eventually came to what looked like a hanger. He ran inside, and took out a few Heartless. He found a purple Gummi ship, and walked towards it. The cockpit hissed open at his approach, and he jumped inside._

_He fastened himself in, turned on the engines, and set a course for the first world he could think of: Twilight Town._

_As the ship was lifting off, however, his torturer appeared in the doorway flanked by Sniper Nobodies. They opened fire on the ship, doing only cosmetic damage. But the torturer threw something much different._

_A small tracking device._

_It latched onto the hull of the departing Gummi. He watched as Axel's commendeered ship blasted into the night sky, and vanished from sight almost immediately._

_--_

"My ship crashed in the oceans not far from here." Axel finished. "I tended to some of my wounds, and took a walk around town. When I got to Sunset Hill, I was attacked by the Heartless, and I've been fighting ever since."

Everyone was silent for a moment as they let the story of his brief adventure sink in. The King broke it after almost a minute.

"You were very brave, Axel."

He smiled lightly and shrugged. He apperantly agrivated an injury while doing so, because he flinched. "I got a bit of information from my captor while he was monologing to me." He rolled his eyes. "Apperantly, they plan on attacking the World That Never Was."

"Then we know where to go next. How would you like to join us?" Mickey asked.

Axel smiled. "Why not? I've got a couple thousand evil creatures coming after me anyway. Why not stay among friends?"

"Welcome aboard, Hot-Head!" Roxas cheered. He stood up and acted as if giving his friend a high-five. His hand passed right through him, but Axel got the gist of it all the same.

"Mission accomplished, guys." Sora said, wrapping his arm around Kairi, and putting a hand on Riku's shoulder. "I think we're doing well, don't you?"

All they could do was smile.

--

_SamuraiJedi: Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed the fight!_

_Vigga: I just couldn't stand keeping them apart._

_Elevategirl: Well, thank you! Chapters are getting longer as I write them. I'm glad you like Ruxik._

_ConfederateofZ: Thank you very much! And I guess I can help you, if I can figure this thing out a bit better. I look forward to working with you._

_Disneytiger: Hmmmm...(thinking)_

_Heaven-monument: Yeah, I may have overdid him a wee bit. What I was trying to get across is that he loves tormenting Riku. He's trying to get him as angry as possible, and he may become a Heartless, like what Xaldin tried to do with Beast._

_Shinku Ryuuga: My idiot brother strikes again. Sorry, from now on I'm going to check these more thoroughly. But thanks about Ruxik._

_Hay Lin La: Verity has a point. But Roxas wasn't supposed to be a great surprise anyway. And don't worry, I won't accuse you of stealing my ideas._

_See you in two weeks!_


	20. Chapter 19: ShiptoShip

_I'm baaa-aaack! Who missed me?Crickets chirping Ouch..._

_Riku: "You're not that popular. DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else."_

_--_

Chapter 19: Ship-To-Ship

The group exited the mansion back to Sunset Hill, chatting companionably. Axel had revealed that the portal to the World That Never Was through the virtual Twilight Town had disappeared after the defeat of Xemnas. That meant they had to take the longer route using the _Unity_.

King Mickey pressed a small button on the back of his glove. He spoke into thin air, "Okay, guys. We're done here, you can take us back up."

He, Donald, and Goofy immediately started glowing, and in a flash of red light, they were gone. Hayner, Pence and Olette vanished next, soon followed by Riku, Kairi, Axel, and Namine.

As Sora waited to be brought back aboard the ship, he saw Roxas staring out over the town below, an unidentifiable expression on his face. He seemed to be reminiscing. He walked over to his side.

"I wish we could stay a bit longer." Roxas muttered.

"It never does feel easy to leave home." Sora said, understanding. "When you don't know when you'll be back."

"Or if you can ever come back at all." Roxas added glumly.

"When this is all done, we'll come back here for a while." He said. "I promise." Roxas smiled at him gratefully. That was when Sora noticed something on the ground at his feet. He bent down and picked it up.

It was a tiny, oval-shaped pendant. On the oval was the image of a green _Iguanadon_, which was outlined in black. Sora recognized what it was immediately: A Summon Charm.

He and Roxas dubbed it the 'Dino Charm', before they were pulled back up to the ship in a flash of red light.

A few hours later, the _Unity_ was well on it's way to the World That Never Was. Sora was at the pilot's seat again. This route was unfamiliar to him, and there could be enemy ships waiting along it.

Most of their group was on the bridge, going about their bussiness. Axel and Roxas were sitting at the meeting table behind them, catching up. Namine was with them. Riku was talking with Yuffie (again). Jack was apparently trying to barter Hercules's sword off of him. Donald was once again arguing pointlessly with Stitch. Barret was polishing his arm.

Kairi was standing next to Sora, and she shot a glance over at Riku and Yuffie.

"They already look a lot like a couple."

"So did we." Sora said, smiling. "And look at us now, we're walking PDAs."

She rolled her eyes and kissed his cheek. "How much longer do you think it will take for them to cave in and admit that they like each other?"

"Judging by that hug she gave him earlier, and what can happen in the heat of the moment?" He thought for a moment. "Two months tops."

"But until then it's going to be a lot of fun picking at him about it." Kairi said with a mischievious smile.

"I love you more and more by the second." Sora said, mirroring her grin.

She lent down and kissed him again. At the same time that alarms started blaring.

Donald and Stitch rushed back to their positions manning weapons and RADAR. "Strap yourselves in!" Sora cried.

The remaining people in the group rushed to the crash seats around the bridge (Kiara was forced to go below decks, and Roxas and Namine returned to Sora and Kairi) and strapped into them. The view in front of them changed drastically.

"We're being pulled out of warp drive!" Donald quacked unneccisarily.

Space was now a deep purple with occasional blasts of what looked like lightning in the distance. Closer to their ship were several long, grey shapes coming closer and closer. They almost looked like roads. Some of the "roads" were dotted with small weapons emplacements.

Pouring out of openings in the roads were dozens of average-sized Heartless and Nobody ships.

The second they were out, they began to speed directly at the _Unity_.

"Enemy ships at twelve 'o clock!" Donald said.

"Let's see what this thing can really do." Sora said, his grin appearing again. He looked at the blue creature to his left. "You ready Stitch?"

Stitch suddenly grew spines out of his back, sprouted two antenae and an extra set of arms. He growled at the ships as if he believed he could really intimidate them, and said, "Ih."

Sora wasn't totally sure what that meant, but he didn't have time to worry about that now. The ships had just begun their attack. "Fire at will!"

And fire he did.

The viewports were filled up with streaks of blue and green light from their eight laser turrets on the top and sides. The smaller ships exploded all around them, their lasers doing very little damage to the enormous ship.

Sora's piloting skills brought them clear of most attacks. Despite the ship's great size, it was incredibly fast and nimble. With Sora's skill it was capable of amazing, and seemingly impossible maneuvers.

No matter how much the ships fired, they couldn't seem to do any real damage. The worst the _Unity_ took were a few scorch marks left by laser cannons. And even those were barely noticable.

That was around the time that the weapons emplacements opened fire on the ship. Large, double-barrel energy cannons blasted red bolts into space.

The first impact had a much more noticable effect on the Unity. The ship shook, and was thrown of course a bit. In the cockpit, it didn't go unnoticed. If not for the crash seats, half the room's occupants would have been tossed into the opposite wall.

"Stitch!" Sora called over the roar of the battle. "Target the weapons emplacements with proton torpedos, but don't stop shooting the little guys."

Stitch's secondary arms pressed some buttons, and another control arm appeared at his station. On the little screen in front of him appeared an added targeting reticle. He motioned it into position around every turret in sight one at a time. All the while, the primary arms never stopped firing the main weapons.

Laughing crazily, he let loose the missles, which soared from hidden gun ports on the underside of the ship and collided with the turrets in impressive explosions.

"Eighteen direct hits!" Donald said.

"Nice going!" Sora said as he barrel-rolled completely over a group of incoming ships and kept cruising forward. Some of Stitch's guns rotated one-hundred eighty degrees to blast them before they even turned back around.

And just like that, all was quiet. Everything was peaceful for several minutes, and it seemed that the danger had passed. But then in the distance, what looked like a massive grey cloud appeared. Sora magnified the image seen on the viewscreen. What he saw didn't please him.

An enormous wave of ships was approaching rapidly. Clustered together with weapons ready to fire.

"How do we get past that?" Goofy asked, voice trembling.

Sora looked back at the alien at the gun controls. "How many torpedos are left?"

Stitch did a quick count. "Eh. Fitty too."

Sora believed he had meant 'fifty-two', but didn't press the matter. "Focus all of them at the center of that group of ships. Then follow up with more fire."

"Ih."

Stitch locked on to the heart of the incoming ships. His ears laid flat down on his furry head and he growled low in his throat. He waited for the signal for Sora.

"LET 'EM FLY!" Sora said, accelerating to give the projectiles some extra push.

There were fifty two proton torpedos left in the _Unity_, which had two missle launchers. Each missle tube fired two torpedos per second. This means that in twenty-six seconds, fifty-two proton torpedos were launched at the center of a group of exactly five hundred eighty-four Brotherhood ships. Proton torpedos carry a blast radius of aproximately two-hundred feet. When those ships were destroyed, they carried an explosive radius of seventy-five feet.

In a word: BOOOOOOM.

A large series of explosions incinerated the enemy ships, totally destroying them and taking chunks out of the strange structures around them. The resulting shockwave was so great that it even rocked the giant _Unity_.

The group in the cockpit looked at the huge cloud of dark smoke that was once five hundred eighty-four Brotherhood vessels. There was no return fire, and they passed through the cloud with no problems. Sora smiled as he saw the familiar flash of light that indicated they were exiting a combat zone.

"Alright!" Sora said, punching the air. Stitch enthusiastically jumped out of his seat and licked Sora all over. "Yeah, yeah. Good job buddy!" He turned around. "Everybody alright?"

For the most part, they were. The Twilight Town gang seemed glued to their seats. Hayner's right eye was twitching. Sora laughed.

"Wooh! That was the best bit of piloting I've seen in a _long_ time!" Barret said, with a feral smile, "You're alright, kid!"

"That's why we chose you to pilot the ship, Sora." Mickey said, as Genie conjured up a barf bag for Pence.

"You did this every time during your other journeys?" He said when he emerged.

"No. The explosions weren't that impressive then." He responded with a grin. He patted the control pannel affectionately. "I love this thing!"

Kairi rolled her eyes.

--

_I never really showed off my new ship, so... Who can guess who the first Summon is? He's a Disney-Pixar character._

_SamuraiJedi: Thank you._

_Voltair27: Yep!_

_Craxuan: Do you mean the part with the Ether? Just making sure._

_Disneytiger: (Smiles evilly) You may not like me for this, but this will not be a Larxel story._

_Heaven-Monument: (Continues smiling evilly). None of those names ever sounded right, so I was forced to come up with an explanation for using his Nobody name. He's technically still a Nobody, just with his heart replaced. So he's not 'Ale', 'Lae', or 'Eal' anymore. Hope that made sense._

_ConfederateofZ: If you're talking about the one interrogating Axel, he's not a Heartless or Ruxik._

_Garuto: Thanks! But don't talk to me about being nerdy. I'M nerdy!_


	21. Chapter 20: The Castle That is No More

_Well, that title doesn't give much away, now does it? It's short, so I'll update sooner than usual this time._

_Sora: "DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else. If he did, the World That Never Was would be less creepy."_

_No it wouldn't. Where'd you get that idea?_

_Sora: "Your brother."_

_--_

Chapter 20: The Castle That Is No More

The _Unity_ orbited slowly around the in-between world. It was a dark little ball, and seemed like a perfect place for Organization's XIII's headquarters. The group looked down at it, wondering what they'd find down there.

"So which of us are going down?" Kairi asked.

"You, Sora, Riku, me, Donald, Goofy, and Axel." The King said. He was wearing his crimson traveling robe again.

"That's almost the same as last time." Sora observed.

"Yeah man," Barret said, "Why bring us along if you ain't gonna use us?"

"We can fight too, you know." Yuffie added.

"Good point." Mickey admitted. "Okay, you two can come."

"SWEET!" Riku and Yuffie shouted at the same time. They looked at each other for a moment, blushed, and turned away. Sora and Kairi grinned.

"Let's head down." Mickey said.

"Coordinates are set for the Alley-in-Between." Axel said. "We'll work our way to the castle from there."

Mickey, Donald and Goofy beamed down to the surface. Then Axel, Barret, and Yuffie. As Sora stepped toward the platform with Riku and Kairi, he desperately hoped that Ruxik wasn't waiting for them.

They touched down, and found the rest of the group waiting for them. All of them were staring up at a point in the sky.

Sora followed their gaze, and saw nothing unexpected. The same old rolling black clouds that never seemed to end were still there. A slight drizzle was coming down. The black buildings of the Dark City were still the same, seemingly vacant with their neon signs barely illuminating the streets.

"What's everyone staring at?" He asked, walking up behind the King and Axel. "I don't see anything."

"Exactly." Axel said. He raised his finger and pointed at a spot. "What was left of our Kingdom Hearts should be right there." He moved his finger slightly. "And the Castle That Never Was should be there."

Sora's eyebrows raised. "Could they have been moved?" He suggested.

"The castle should be permanently held in place by a magical force below it." Axel responded. "I'm not so sure of all those hearts, though. I don't know how you'd move them"

"Let's go see." Donald said, and set off out of the alley down the street. The rest of them followed.

"What happened to the Nobodies?" Goofy asked. "Did they all just leave?"

"This place stinks of darkness." Riku said. "But it's a different kind than was here before. Be ready for anything."

The group of nine wandered through the twists and turns of the city, not finding anything very suspicious. There was nothing that indicated a great struggle of any kind. No invasion. And not a trace of the Heartless or Nobodies anywhere. Sora was beginning to grow uneasy.

As the group approached Memory's Skyscraper, Roxas spoke to Sora.

"Remember this place?" He said.

_How could I forget? Both you and Xemnas tried to kill me here!_

"Yeah. Sorry about that, dude."

_You are forgiven. What's so important about this place anyway?_

"It keeps watch over residents of the dark. It's sort of a monument. But to just _what_, I was never told."

"I fought Riku here, you know. This is where he transformed into Xehanort."

_Really?_

Sora looked over at his friend. He seemed a bit uncomfortable in the shadow of the scyscraper. As if the memory of his transformation was coming back to haunt him. He would have to let go of his guilt sooner or later.

The rain started to come down harder, as if mirroring Riku's emotions. Sora, Kairi, Axel and Mickey pulled their hoods up. Sora took the first opportunity to wrap his arm around Kairi's shoulder. She smiled at him.

They walked on, not saying anything until they reached the Brink of Despair. Jaws dropped.

The Castle That Never Was had become the Castle That Is No More.

The bowl-like area that had held it in place was now filled with millions of pounds of debri. Giant slabs of white polished marble marked occasionally with the Nobody symbol were strewn about inside. Chunks of metal or other materials littered the bowl and the area just outside it. The debri piled up until it was only fifty feet short of the rim.

"No way..." Sora said. The castle had looked invincible from the outside, and even more so from the inside. It was impossible to imagine it being destroyed, yet there were the ruins piled up in front of them.

He looked at Axel, who was significantly pale.

_You two must be taking this pretty hard. This was your home once. I'm sorry._

"Actually, I never had much love for this place." Roxas said. "Depressing, you know? The real Nobodies probably didn't feel it. Though I think that Axel's just a bit surprised. He'll be fine."

"How could this have happened?" King Mickey wondered aloud.

"Do you think the Brotherhood destroyed it?" Kairi asked.

"That's what I was trying to figure out." Said an unfamiliar voice from above them.

--

_Next chapter I introduce my favorite O.C.! As always, reviews are very much appreciated._

_But while I've got your attention, does anyone really know what Memory's Skyscraper is really for? Aside from being a cool place to fight Xemnas?_

_SamuraiJedi: You gotta love him, right?_

_Krystal Lily Potter: Oh, I figured the Summon was fairly obvious. Ah well, it's several chapters before I use him anyway._

_Disneytiger: Woops! I'd better check my sources more closely. But who said I wouldn't bring back Demyx? (Evil smile)_

_ConfederateofZ: Thanks dude! Though I should warn you that I sort of stumbled along when it came to the terminology._

_Garuto: We're nerds. Both of us._

_JoBrosCupcakeSwirl: Thank you!_

_Craxuan: Ha ha! Thanks._

_Voltair27: Thanks, I missed you too Volt. And that's sound advice, I'll work on it. Though just so you know, I have like sixty chapters already written out._

_Spirit Okami: Thanks! And you may be correct._


	22. Chapter 21: Nehrut and Xaynew

_Two O.C.s in one chapter! I really hope you like them, I put a lot of work into them. Now Xemnas?_

_Xemnas: "DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else. If he did-"_

_You would NOT own Kingdom Hearts! I just got done explaining this to your Heartless!... Please don't kill me._

_--_

Chapter 21: Nehrut and Xaynew

Weapons appeared in everyone's hands immediately. They were all pointed directly at the edge of the building nearest them. A man stood there with his arms folded across his chest.

Before anyone could respond however, the man raised his hand. "_Salus Pax Pacis_... Safety and peace."

Confused, the group lowered their weapons –but only slightly.

The man lept down from the building and landed easily on his feet. He was wearing a thin cloak and hood of midnight blue. He wore a thin, flexible breastplate of the same color with some sort of crest on it. It was gold and resembled the letter 'H'. His pants and traveling boots were black. A saber was sheathed at his belt, only it's intricate gold handle could be seen. They couldn't see his face from under the hood. Sora was eerily reminded of the Organization and Ruxik in this respect.

"'Safety and peace'?" He repeated. "Doesn't sound much like the Brotherhood's style to me."

"The _Brotherhood_?" He said the name as if it were a curse. "Sora, I am _hurt_."

"How do you know me?"

"I've read Jiminy's reports. I know all about your adventures, and I must say; Bravo! Few others could do any of the things that you have." He gave him a small bit of applause.

This was greeted by silence. "Tell us who you are." Kairi demanded finally.

"As you command, Princess." He said with a small chuckle. He lifted his hands to the hood and pulled it down. A mop of messy dark brown hair that nearly covered his eyes was the first thing everyone noticed. He had dark green eyes and a lopsided smile. He couldn't have been much older than Sora. "My name is Nehrut. And it's a pleasure to meet you all."

He looked vaguely familiar to Sora, but he couldn't place where from. He was about to ask if they had met before, but then...

"Nehrut!" Mickey, Donald, and Goofy exclaimed, and ran forward to hug him.

"I just said that!" He said, and returned their embraces.

Everyone gazed at the four of them for a while before an extremely relieved Sora finally broke the silence. "You guys know each other?"

"We met about three years ago when his world was attacked by the Heartless." Mickey explained. "A portal of darkness sent him to Traverse Town where I was visiting. We've been friends ever since."

"Uh, how come we haven't met you before?" Sora asked, walking forward to meet him.

"I've been, uh," His face fell for some reason, but his smile was back on his face in an instant, "_around_ for a while. The King is gracious enough to allow me to stay at Disney Castle on occasion."

"Well a friend of the King's is a friend of mine." Riku said shaking his hand. "Riku."

"Oh, I know you. And it's an honor."

He shook hands with Sora, Kairi, Axel, and Yuffie, addressing them by their names each time. When he got to Barret however, "Um, I'm sorry I'm afraid I don't know you."

"Barret Wallace, boy." He extended his mechanical hand. "You seem alright."

_There's that crunching sound again._

"What're you doin' out here Nehrut?" Goofy asked.

"Working for the King." All eyes went toward the mouse king.

"Oh!" He said. Slapping his palm to his forehead. "Yes, I forgot to mention. I briefed Nehrut about the Brotherhood when we first found out about them. He was at the castle at the time, and well... He knows one of it's members."

"You do?" Sora asked. Nehrut nodded glumly.

"Yes, I tracked him here and found this castle demolished." He swept a hand toward the wreckage. "I searched around for a while. The Brotherhood seems to have left, but I did find somebody, and you'll never guess who."

He got a running start, and actually ran up the side of the building he had come from. He landed easily on the roof and walked out of sight for a few moments. The sounds of a muffled argument filled their ears, and then he reappeared with something large and struggling on his shoulder.

When he landed back on the ground (not quite as gracefully this time because of the added wieght) they saw that it was a person. A very overwieght person. When he set the man down on his backside, Sora, Donald, and Goofy gasped.

"Pete?!"

The large cat-like man glared at them from under half closed eyes. His arms were tied behind his back, and his feet were shackled together. He was sporting several fresh bruises.

"How did you find him?" Mickey asked.

"He was wandering the city, a bit messed up, too. When I arrived, he freaked out and attacked me." At this point he leaned down to Pete's level. "But the fight didn't last very long, did it Petey?"

He growled at him.

"I managed to get a few interesting things out of him, though." He went on.

"Apparently, your old pal Maleficent set up shop in the castle after you guys drove Xemnas out. Though, she didn't have time to do too much. The Brotherhood attacked about a week ago. She fought hard for a while, but it wasn't enough." He smirked. "Her precious Heartless stopped listening to her."

"Told her..." Pete muttered.

"And that's about the only time you've ever been right in your life." Sora said.

Nehrut smiled and continued, "I don't know why they attacked this castle exactly. But my theory is that the Brotherhood wanted her 'removed from the game board', so to speak. Didn't want any competition for Kingdom Hearts this time around."

"Do you know what they did with her?" Riku asked.

"Sorry, but that's all I know. I don't exactly have a reliable source of information." He incined his head toward Pete. "She may be dead, maybe captured, or maybe turned into a Heartless. And although this is pretty grim for me, I personally would prefer the first one."

"Hear hear!" Sora, Riku, and Kairi chorased.

"Oh, I like you three."

Everyone looked out at the remains of the castle. "I guess that there's nothing left to do here, then." Mickey said.

"Oh not so!" Came a voice. "You can die."

Everyone looked around. The voice had come from nowhere and everywhere at the same time. Suddenly the rain around them poured down harder, and the wind started blowing. Thunder roared, and lightning flashed. Their clothes were all whipping around them as they drew their weapons again.

"Show yourself!" Sora shouted.

"I'm right here!"

A narrow funnel cloud formed where the castle used to be. It touched down in the middle of the ruins, tossing massive chunks of the building into the city around it. Sora and the others struggled to keep their ground.

The funnel died out not long after it touched down, but the storm continued. Floating on the air where the funnel had been was the figure of a man. His arms were crossed, and he looked down on all of them with a look that suggested that they were far inferior to him.

His clothing surprised Sora. It was shockingly similar to Nehrut's, but with glaring differences. The only thing that was completely the same was the color of boots and pants. The cloak and breastplate were dull red, rather than blue. The 'H' shaped crest had been replaced by the same symbol that had been on Ruxik's shirt: The Brotherhood's emblem. On his belt was yet another saber. The hilt was black.

His hood couldn't stay on in the gale he was creating. Sora saw straw-colored hair, and could just make out a pair of blue eyes. He seemed to be about their age.

Sora flicked his eyes back and forth between Nehrut and the newcomer. The similarites were disturbing. But the look on Nehrut's face was more disturbing still.

He was glaring at the man with absolute hatred. The cheery young man that had stood there not long ago was replaced by an extremely angry warrior. His saber was in his hand now, and apart from the Keyblades, it was the strangest weapon he had yet seen (and he had seen some doozies).

The blade was approximately one meter long, and appeared to be made of a pure blue crystal. The crystal blade was glowing brightly with a blue light. When he lowered it slightly, it singed the pavement where it touched, leaving a lightly smoking burn mark on the ground. The puddle of ash inside was glowing blue.

"Yenaw!" He cried.

The man snarled. "I abandoned that name and you know it!"

Nehrut smirked comteptuously. "Old habits die hard!"

A lightning bolt struck the ground at his feet. "It ...is ...Xaynew!"

"Temper, temper!"

Xaynew growled low in his throat, and started spinning in the air. His cloak flapped all around him, and he howled like an animal. The air around him grew violent, forming a raging tornado around his spinning form.

Dust, pieces of buildings, and drops of rain flew everywhere. "Grab a friend!" Someone shouted.

Sora wrapped his arms around Kairi as Riku did the same to Yuffie. Barret and Axel took either of his arms. Goofy scooped Donald and Mickey up into a standing group hug.

That was when the whole group was blasted off the ground by Xaynew's gale.

Sora held on to Kairi for dear life, detirmined not to let her slip away from him even as they tumbled through the air at an unbelievable speed. As the groups spun in every direction, Kairi barried her face into his chest and let out a scream.

He spun wildly, clinging desperately to the girl in his arms. He saw quick flashes that revealed the locations of his other friends. He saw a few sparkling lights far off that might have been emitting from Barret's arm gun. He could see a few bursts of fire in another direction that were either from Donald or Axel. He also thought he heard some bellowing that may have been Pete.

But where was their newest member?

But he didn't have time to dwell on that. A huge, thick slab of the castle was soaring directly at him. Both hands were holding onto Kairi, and he wouldn't be able to let go and summon his Keyblade in time to get rid of it.

So it was quite fortunate that Nehrut was right behind it. Displaying a remarkable sense of coordination, he was able to swing the blade in a wide arc, cutting the slab neatly in two. Both pieces tumbled away and changed course a bit, narrowly missing Sora and Kairi, instead of smashing them like bugs on a windshield.

Sora was about to try and thank him, but he felt the air around him becoming less heavy. They were decending.

Fast.

Sora peered over his shoulder, and saw the ground coming on fast. Reacting purely on instinct, he spun around in the air. He came toward the ground in a kind of backwards midair summersault. His feet did touch the ground, but his momentum was greater than he expected. His feet were on the ground for less than half a second before that same momentum flipped him over again, sending him skidding backwards twenty feet.

He grunted in pain, his back was extremely sore, and he hoped that the wounds from the battle with Ruxik wouldn't reopen. He looked down at Kairi, whom he had still managed to keep a firm hold on. She looked into his face, she was miraculously unharmed, but she was shaking, and her hair was sticking up at odd angles.

"Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, thanks to you." She pecked him on the tip of the nose. "And you?"

She rolled off him and extended a hand to help him up. He took it, but half way up he let out a grunt of pain. His back was killing him. "I've been better." He reached into one of the pouches on his pants and pulled out a small blue sphere: a standard potion.

He cracked it open over his back, and the magical substance treated his wounds the way that little else could. He stretched out his muscles, feeling rejuvinated.

"It's a good thing that Nehrut –LOOK OUT!" He shoved her out of the way of another large slab that had fallen from the sky. There was a loud cracking noise behind them as it collided with the ground and crunched into many smaller pieces.

Sora and Kairi stayed where they were for a moment. That had been far too close for comfort.

They stood up straight again, and looked for a moment at the stone that had nearly killed them. Kairi tossed her arms around Sora and gratefully kissed him hard on the mouth.

"You just have to keep saving me, don't you?" She asked with a coy smile.

"I told you I'd do anything to keep you safe."

The two parted and looked around. They stood in an unrecognizable part of the city, plenty of debri had been blown from the castle, and lay scattered all about them. The thunder and lightning was still going on in full force, but the rain had softened just a bit. Occasionally, a bolt struck one of the buildings, tearing off bits of it which tumbled to the ground.

"Well now what?" Kairi asked.

"We have to meet up with our friends." Came a voice.

The two looked up and saw Nehrut. His sword was embeded up to the hilt in the side of one of the buildings, and he was hanging from it one handed. He smiled at them. Using his legs for better leverage, he pulled the weapon out. He fell several stories, and landed on his feet. He looked fine, the only difference was that his hair was evan messier than before.

"Sorry to intrude on your private moment, but my arm was getting tired." he said grinning.

Sora rubbed the back of his neck; a sign of his embarresment. The two of them still remembered Sora's comment earlier about them being 'walking PDAs'.

"Tell me, do you _always_ make out in the middle of a battle?" Nehrut continued. "Or was that just melodrama for my benefit?"

"Okay, okay, we get it. We'll tone it down." Kairi muttered.

"Oh no!" He retracted. "Really, I don't mind, I just like to poke fun. I'm fine with it."

Sora blinked.

"If there was a bit more love in the worlds," Nehrut went on with a small smile, and a shrug, "We'd probably all act like that. Don't be afraid of showing your love to others."

They both smiled at him. They were liking him more and more every minute. "Thanks."

"Now come on love birds, we've got friends to find, and a little brat to beat the pulp out of." He drew his sword and walked back toward the castle.

--

_And there you go! Nehrut is loosely based off a guy I know. Please review!_

_JoBrosCupcakeSwirl: Well, you've met him! How do you like him?_

_Spirit Okari: Thank you!_

_SamuraiJedi: Who knew that the Organization would be filled with neat freaks right? Except Proof of Existance. They could have at least picked up the rubble from the smashed tombstones._

_Krystal Lily Potter: I can sympathize, my friend. I'm not blonde, but I'm like that too sometimes._

_ConfederateofZ: "Your dear Maleficent?" Are you that desperate? (Laughter) Nah, just kidding man. Now you know. And I look forward to your story! And I promise you that I will see my own story through to the very end._

_Garuto: Fair point. Anyway, thanks._

_Shire Folk: Thank you so much man! I'm glad that I got my point across about Riku and Yuffie, they're just awesome! I'm glad that you seem to enjoy everything, and welcome back!_


	23. Chapter 22: Psychic Swordsman

_I'm showcasing Nehrut a little more in this chapter. I'm glad that a lot of you guys seem to like him so far. See what you think at the end of this chapter._

_Nehrut: "DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else. Just the story, me, and the other O.C.s."_

_--_

Chapter 22: Psychic Swordsman

"Xaynew controls storms." Nehrut was saying.

The three of them were jogging along the streets to where they assumed they would find the others. "He can manipulate the weather into creating rain, thunder, or tornadoes. I suppose it suits him. For a Nobody, he's particulary violent."

He muttered under his breath. "He always was."

Sora and Kairi wondered what he meant by that.

"How do you know this Xaynew?"

Nehrut was silent for a moment, and Sora began to suspect that he wouldn't answer. But then he said something shocking, "He's my brother."

They froze, and stared at his back as he walked away.

_His brother? He's going to have to tell us more sooner or later._

For now, they decided to put it aside. Now probably wasn't the best time for a story. In any case, there wasn't time for questions. About a dozen Heartless had materialized in front of them.

Sora observed his new companion's fighting stance. It seemed a variant of a classic fencing style. His glowing blade, instead of pointing at the enemy, was held away from the body, horizontally across his chest in one hand. He gazed calmly ahead at the Heartless.

The first Armored Knight rushed forward and brought it's sword down on his head. He lifted his blade to intercept it. He parried the strike, and sent the attack flying harmlessly to the right. Quick as a flash, he slashed the knight across the chest. It vanished.

Sora was impressed. That little engagment had lasted only four seconds. He smiled, and rushed toward the remaining Heartless with Kairi.

They worked very well together. They had just met for the first time less than thirty minutes ago, yet they were fighting as smoothly as if they had rehersed it. Their blades flashed all over the place, and Heartless fell. Eight Shadows, two Armored Knights, and three Minute Bombs later, the three humans were the only ones left standing.

"You two are good." Nehrut said. "I've never seen moves quite like that."

"Thanks." Kairi said, smiling. "You're pretty good yourself."

"You're too kind, Princess." He responded with a smile and a little bow. "And the best is yet to come."

"Really?"

His only response was a lopsided smile.

They continued on through the city, plowing through the downpoar (and a few Heartless). They searched frantically all over, with no sign of their friends. Sora was starting to get worried.

"How are we supposed to find any of them?" He asked.

Then he realized that it had gotten unusually silent. He looked at his friends, and discovered that Nehrut was kneeling on the ground, with his eyes closed. He traded a glance with Kairi, who looked just as confused as he was.

"Um..." He asked, "Nehrut? What are you doing?"

"Shhhhh..." He responded in a voice that could just barely be heard over the wind and rain. "_Mens Quero_ Meditation."

Sora had no idea what he meant, but remained silent. Whatever he was doing, it was apparently important. They sat there for a few minutes.

Right out of the blue, Nehrut sprung to his feet, surprising the other two. He pointed to the northwest and said, "Riku, Yuffie, Barret, and Axel are fighting over there." He pointed to the east. "Mickey, Donald, and Goofy are searching for someone (probably us) over there." He pointed to the north, "Pete's blubbering over there." He pointed farther up. "And my dear brother is up there."

Their eyes widened. "How do you know that?" Kairi asked, astonished.

"The _Mens Quero_ Meditation lets me link to other's minds for a few moments." He explained, "In my homeworld that translates into 'Mind Search'."

"So, wait..." Sora said, "You're like _psychic_, or something?"

"I told you the best was yet to come." He said with a smirk. "Riku's group is closest. Let's go."

Still astonished at their friend's revelation, they set off at a run through the city. They came across more rubble from the castle, and soon heard the sounds of a battle. They could distinctly hear someone shouting, "BURN baby! BURN!"

"Yeah, I think we're close." Kairi commented.

Soon, they could hear other sounds, like the rapid fire of a machine gun and the whistling sound of metal clanging against metal. Before long they arrived at the end of a long, wide street. No different from the rest of the streets on this dark world aside from the fact that it was absolutely packed with debri.

Riku, Yuffie, Axel, and Barret were fighting together against a massive group of Nobodies. Among them, Sora could see a variety of Nobody he hadn't seen before.

The Paladin Nododies were roughly human shaped, and silver (as was common among the lesser Nobodies). They were carrying golden double-bladed axes. Whenever they swung –surprisingly quickly- electricity crackled from the ends. The majority of the attacks missed, but when one of them scored a lucky hit against Riku's leg, he gave a few spastic jerks.

Minor electricution _hurts_. Especially when delivered by a sharp axe blade.

Sora held the Keyblade in both hands and rushed into the fray. Kairi and Nehrut fell into step beside him. When the Nobodies saw them, some of them rushed their direction. The fighting commensed, and Sora eventually found himself back-to-back with Riku on top of a large chunk of marble.

"Just like old times, huh Sora?" The silver-haired boy asked casually. Sora chuckled.

"What do you say we show them Eternal Session?"

"Sounds fun."

The two charged forward at a group of enemies hastling Yuffie and Kairi. "Out of our way!"

Sora delivered an upward blow that somehow caught two Nobodies at once. Riku followed up with two similar strikes that sent the rest of them into the air.

The two Keybearers then took to the air themselves, and flew all about the group of foes suspended in midair. They delivered dozens of lightning fast strikes at them, picking them off quickly one by one. Those particular enemies were down in less than ten seconds, and they had only finished the first tier of the Limit.

"Is that all you got?" Riku chastized, floating to Sora's side. They flew at another group of enemies that had just arrived on the battlefield. Before they had a chance to do anything at all, Riku and Sora were all over them.

The Keyblades flashed even faster, tearing the Nobodies to ribbons. They unleashed a flurry of high-speed stabs into them. More fell into place behind them to replace their fallen comrades. That was just fine with Sora and Riku, they weren't done yet.

They flew backwards quickly, and dismissed their weapons. They stretched out their hands. Their hands were immediately covered in dark fire. It was white-hot, but outlined with faint traces of blue and black. They aimed at the Nobodies, and football sized fireballs burst from their fingers.

They streaked at their targets and exploded on impact. The barrage of Dark Fire didn't cease for a long time, and when they finally did, the last of them was nothing more than a few smoking craters.

They turned their attention to a trio of Berserkers approaching Barret and Nehrut.

"Let's take 'em." They placed their Keyblades together, and in a surge of energy they transformed into a single huge blade. It shone blue like Riku's dark fire, but was outlined in pure gold light. Riku took the sword first, rushing toward the Berserkers with Sora floating behind his back.

He swung hard at the chests of the Nobodies. The blade covered a huge arc, tossing them backwards. He swung so hard, he rotated completely around in the air and handed it off to Sora. He swung it again in the opposite direction, tossing them back farther still.

The Nobodies were tough, but a few rounds of that was too much for almost any being. They were down soon.

They migrated to the center of the ring, where Axel was struggling against a group of the dark beings. They floated back to back and dismissed the blades again. Around them, thirteen scarlet energy blades rimmed with gold surrounded them, points facing up. They spun around them, then shifted to horizontal positions. As the two friends spun on the spot, so did the blades.

They cut through the Nobodies like a massive floating chainsaw. They sliced through even the Berserker's claymores, the Paladin's axes, and bits of building. Soon there were only twenty Nobodies left on the street, and it was time for the finisher.

Sora and Riku flew apart, and then swooped back at each other, tossing Oblivion and Way to the Dawn into the air. They hung suspended in the air six feet apart with their points facing each other.

"You're gonna lose it all!" Riku shouted. The blades started glowing, Oblivion was gold, Way to Dawn blue. The magical energy sucked all the surrounding enemies into the gap between the blades as the glow became stronger and stronger. Until eventually, it became absolutely blinding.

When the light faded they were gone, and Sora and Riku landed softly on the ground. "Time's up!" They said, and bumped fists.

The street was quiet again. "Is everybody alright?"

"Yep." Yuffie said. "And you guys totally _owned_ that round! Nice job!"

The two gave overly theatrical bows to her, which caused more than a bit of eye rolling.

"You're milking it, man." Roxas said.

"If you two are done milking it..." Nehrut began, though he was smiling.

"You see?"

"We should probably find the King." He pointed to the east. "I can feel that they're fighting right now, and it's tough going."

"Um, how do you know that?" Riku asked, confused. Sora jumped down to Nehrut's side and gave him a pat on the back.

"He's psychic!"

When Riku raised an eyebrow sceptically, Sora tried to defend his words. "How do you think we found you?"

"We were making a lot of noise."

Slowly, Nehrut raised his right hand. The chunk of debri on which Riku was standing started to rise into the air. His eyes widened, and he tried to stabalize himself. It was to no avail, however. The slab flipped over when it got six feet into the air, dumping the boy mercilessly onto the ground.

"It's called telepathy, Riku." Nehrut said with a wide grin. He casually tossed the slab through the air, where it landed over fifty feet away (unknowingly crushing a few Heartless). "It runs in the family."

Sora and Kairi tried desperately to talk through their laughter. But Nehrut was sporting about it, and extended his hand to help Riku up. "C'mon, let's get going." Then he whispered very quietly to Riku, "Sorry I embarassed you in front of your girlfriend."

The group set off at a steady pace to the east, fighting off a number of Heartless and Nobodies as they went. It felt like an hour before anything particularly interesting happened.

They turned a corner, and were almost crushed by the falling claymore of a Berserker. They looked up at the building they had arrived at. It was five stories tall, and several feet wide. They heard the fighting of Mickey, Donald, and Goofy from the very top. It didn't take a psychic to tell that they needed help.

Kairi searched around for a way up, but found none. "How do we get up there?"

Riku and Barret looked at Nehrut. He cast looks in between the two of them, and smiled. He knelt down on one knee, and closed his eyes. "You might feel an odd tingling sensation."

Sora slowly felt himself leave the ground. Looking around, he saw that the others were floating as well, the looser clothing was billowing around them softly and slowly.

_Wow, that is an interesting feeling._

The group floated up toward the building, but it was pretty slowly.

"Can't you speed this up any?" Yuffie asked. It was clear that she was itching to get into the fight. The hand holding her shuriken was twitching, eager to rid itself of it's burden.

"Ma'am would you like to drive?" He responded in an annoyed voice. But he was able to lift them a bit faster.

Thirty seconds later, they appeared over the edge of the building. The royal party was fighting off a group of both Heartless and Nobodies. Donald was nearest them, and as soon as he turned around and saw them all suspended in midair, he let out his usual cry of, "WAAAAAAK!"

Yuffie tossed her shuriken, Axel threw his chakrams, and Barret opened fire from his arm. Nehrut released them from his hold over the roof, and they charged into the fray.

Sora charged at the nearest Dusk, who "ran" to meet him. Less than one foot away, he twisted around, into a kind of spin around the Dusk (cutting a Creeper in half on the way). He wound up on the Dusk's other side. The Nobody looked back and forth for a second, wondering where he went. He had a good laugh at that, and cut it down before he could turn around.

Riku sent a barrage of dark fireballs at a pair of Dancers. The resulting explosions were enough to blow what was left of them completely off the building, and crashing to the street.

Kairi fired off Firaga spells left and right, incinerating them. A Paladin rushed at her, swinging a wide left-to-right arc. She met the powerful strike, holding her blade vertically, and keeping the axe away from her body. The electricity flowed into Kairi's Keyblade. She pushed the axe away from her, and took a huge swipe at the Nobody, frying it with it's own electricity. She smiled to herself and continued into the battle.

The skirmish was significantly shorter than the one they had foought in the debri-littered street. The attacking force was much smaller, and they were facing _ten_ extremely skilled warriors. It was over pretty quickly.

The group looked themselves over. They hadn't sustained any serious injuries as of yet.

"Now what?" Sora asked. "Should we go after Xaynew?"

"Probably." The King said. "We may be able to get more information out of him. We know next to nothing of the Brotherhood, so any information we can get at this point would be invaluable."

"Good luck actually getting him to tell you anything." Nehrut muttered darkly under his breath. Then he sighed resignedly, and pointed in the direction of the ruins. "He's over there."

"Let's get going then." Sora said detirminedly, facing that area where the storm clouds had suddenly grown fiercer. All around him, weapons were drawn.

"And prepare for a storm." Nehrut added.

--

_So how do you like Nehrut now? Do you think he might be too overpowered?I bet none of you guessed the brother thing, huh? Review please! And if you didn't know (and you probably didn't) 'Mens Quero' is loosely Latin for 'Mind Search'._

_SamuraiJedi: Thanks, it's sort of a combination between other fictional weapons._

_Shinku Ryuuga: Myrtle Beach sure blows my vacation out of the water. Lucky dog. And also, I'm glad to say that Shire Folk has!_

_Garuto: Thanks!_

_JoBrosCupcakeSwirl: Thanks about Nehrut, and as for Xaynew; You have no idea..._

_ConfederateofZ: You know, I didn't even realize that part about Axel until you pointed it out! And I'm sure you can finish _something_, and I'll be glad to help._

_SuperLardBucket: I hear you. I just can't help myself. So, in future chapters it is toned down a little. Though this is under the 'Romance' category._

_Krystal Lily Potter: Ha ha! I can picture that right now! And Nehrut and Riku are over on the side screaming at them to look over their shoulder and duck! And thank you about Nehrut, I put a lot of work into his story._

_Shire Folk: I'm glad you like him! He did just what my friend would have done, poked fun at them!_

_Silver-Twilight: Thank you!_


	24. Chapter 23: Catching the Wind

_Alright, it's the last chapter in the World That Never Was. I gotta tell you, I had a hard time getting through this chapter. Hope you like it._

_On another note, I'd like to recommend a story. My buddy, ConfederateofZ has started a Kingdom Hearts story of his own: Kingdom Hearts: Universal War. Check it out, it's great!_

_Riku: "DarthKingdom does not own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, ConfederateofZ's story, or anything else. Just his plot and O.C.s. I like Nehrut by the way."_

_Thanks! I hope nobody considers him a Gary-Stu._

_--_

Chapter 23: Catching the Wind

The group of ten warriors ran back to the castle, meeting little resistance. They found something very interesting there.

Small tornadoes seemed to be sifting through the remains. Where they touched down, they did little damage, but stirred up the debri, tossing aside select portions, while leaving what was under perfectly intact.

The group reached the ruins just as Xaynew's creations found what he was looking for.

They had revealed a room that had been (somehow) mostly preserved.

Proof of Existance.

The Organization's cematary. Sora knew what they wanted, and he almost wished he didn't. Above the ruins, floating on his own personal tornado, Xaynew smiled wickedly. He noticed the group's arrival.

"I think that the spirits of Organization XIII would be an excellent present for my master, don't you?"

He summoned ten Paladins. With powerful swings of their axes, they removed the headstones from their bases. Ten portals of darkness opened, and they were gone.

Xaynew floated a little lower, to where he was almost level with them, and pulled out his weapon. The horrible similarities to Nehrut never ended. The blade was almost an exact copy of Nehrut's strange blade. But it was glowing a fierce scarlet, not a calm blue.

He brought it up to where it's tip was pointing directly at their faces. The thunder boomed louder, and the lightning flashed. His manic smile grew.

"Master Serndask will love it when I tell him how I crushed you all."

Barret's gun fired. Axel's chakrams flew. Yuffie's shuriken cut at him.

None of those attacks touched him, because something had intercepted them. What really bothered Sora, was what had done it.

The bullets, chakrams, and shuriken were suspended in midair. Behind Xaynew had appeared a creature.

It carried two large, foot-long daggers that were hooked slightly at the end. They were totally black, like it's skin. It was muscular, and vaguely reminded Sora of the Invisible Heartless he had fought at End of the World. But the head wasn't horned, but normal-shaped with a protruding brow. It had the Heartless symbol branded on it's forehead. It's back had an ugly ridge all the way down it. It also had no tail or wings. It's hands were stretched forward, maintaining the invisible force that held the projectiles in the air.

"Say hello to my Heartless counterpart." Xaynew said. He smirked widely at their shock. "The Telekinetik."

Instantly, the projectile weapons were thrown back at the group. They dodged out of the way, and they embedded themselves in the ground. Axel and Yuffie sprinted toward their fallen weapons, and ripped them from the ground.

As the group took up fighting positions, the Telekinetik lifted it's hands. Donald, Goofy, Yuffie, Barret and Axel flew backwards a full fifty feet They were surrounded by Heartless and Nobodies the second they landed. The remaining five ran to the edge of the pit, and jumped at the Bringer of Storms with their weapons held high.

The Telekinetik flew in front of them and grabbed them with it's 'mind'. They froze in midair and found themselves unable to move any farther. Xaynew shifted his tornado to where he hovered in front of them.

"I would very much like to take you alive." He told them. "Well, exept for you brother, I'd much prefer you die."

Sora could see Riku's head snap toward Nehrut. He, of course hadn't been present when he told them. Sora really hoped that he wouldn't hold this against him –Riku was the kind to hold grudges.

"Good to see you too, little bro." Nehrut said. "And you've made a friend too. It had to happen eventually... Now why does your boss want the Keybearers?"

Xaynew's reply was similar to Ruxik's. "As if I'll tell you?" He moved over slightly to where he was directly in front of Sora. "Surrender. If you do, then we will _spare_ you." He said the word as if it was a curse.

What he said next made Sora hate him just as much as Nehrut did. "If you don't, we'll destroy everything and every_one_ you hold dear. Until you'll _beg_ for the death that you have evaded for so long." His eyes flickered to his friends one at a time. "The mouse king... The dark friend of yours... Definitely the Princess."

He started thrashing around in his invisible grip, and it was all he could do to keep from switching into Anti Form and tearing the Nobody's eyes out Heartless style.

"Touched a nerve, have I?" He laughed. "The Princess goes first, then." He raised his blade to Kairi's throat. Her eyes widened in terror. "Will you surrender, or not?"

Sora looked him in the eyes. He couldn't let him hurt Kairi.

_I can't lose her. Not again._

There was only one thing he could say.

"I'll co-"

Suddenly Xaynew and the Telekenetik were thrown backwards by some force. The five of them fell to the ground, but landed on their feet. Sora found Kairi and wrapped his arms around her immediately.

Dimly he heard Mickey exclaim, "Nehrut! Why didn't you do that sooner?"

"Sorry!"

There was a crackle of lightning, and Riku was forced to jump in front of Sora and Kairi (who were still embracing) and put up a dark shield. They broke apart, and he looked at them, annoyed.

"Is this the moment?" He said, as he drew Way to the Dawn.

"Oh, battle! Battle, right!" Sora said, summoning Oblivion. Destiny's Light appeared in Kairi's hand.

Xaynew snarled at them, and threw up his hands. A _huge_ tornado formed all around them, enclosing the huge pit. All around them, the debri of the castle was flying around in the gale.

Sora was extremely surprised that his body wasn't doing the same. He was simply standing where he had been, as was everyone else.

He turned to Nehrut, who's face was screwed up in concentration. He realized that he was somehow keeping them anchored in place with telekenesis. He hoped that he'd still be able to defend himself.

Xaynew screamed "Prepare to die!" He and the Telekinetik rocketed toward them.

When they reached them, everything became a flurry of arms, legs, blades, fire, and lightning. Eventually, the fight was split in two.

Sora swung at Xaynew's head. He blocked the attack and lept out of the way from his next strike –right toward Mickey who lept at him with his blade flashing. He met his barrage of attacks and pushed him back. Sora ran at his back with Riku right behind him.

He saw them, and pushed the King away with a burst of air. He ran at Riku, and his blade collided with his in a flash of sparks. They exchanged blows at high speed, moving almost as fast as the lightning all around them.

Sora and Mickey were back in the fray soon, and Xaynew was forced take to the air to get away from the Keyblades. He covered his blade with lightning, and threw the blade at the ground. Electricity burst from it and flew in all directions. The other three had to dive out of the way.

Meanwhile, Nehrut and Kairi were taking on the Telekinetik. She brought her blade down toward it's head, but the blade was intercepted by it's daggers. Using the hook on the end of one, it moved the Keyblade away from it's body. It pulled back the other one to deliver the killing blow against the girl.

But Nehrut's blade was there to stop it. He lundged forward to spear it through the chest, but it released the Keyblade to block it with the other dagger. It floated into the air, and sent a psychic blast at the two, shoving them away.

"It shouldn't be able to do that." Nehrut said. "Heartless don't have _minds_."

"Remember that we're dealing with creepy magical forces of darkness here." Kairi said. "At this point Xehanort himself could fall out of the sky and I wouldn't bat an eyelash."

"Good point."

Nehrut sent a blast of his own at the Heartless. It was sent high into the air, with no control of it's movements.

"THAT's how you're supposed to do it, wannabee!" He then took to the air himself, flying at it with sword outstretched. A ferocious midair duel raged between the psychics.

Kairi decided that she'd probably be better off fighting with the rest of the group. She ran toward Xaynew's back.

At the last second, he spun and blocked the strike. He constantly had to devide his attention between Sora, Riku, Mickey, and now Kairi. He would use brief whirlwinds to separate them. This way he could fight them one at a time, rather than all at once.

But he was tiring. He had exhausted a great amount of energy, and he was facing four Keybearers at once. If anything happened to his Heartless, he'd be in even worse trouble. It was time for his trump card.

He blasted into the air, and called Telekinetik back to him.

Above, the Heartless disengaged his daggers from Nehrut's blade. It blasted him away, and soared toward it's other. It stopped directly behind Xaynew and floated there, arms outstretched. For a moment, Sora was horribly reminded of 'Ansem' and his Guardian.

Nehrut landed next to them, just as Riku and Kairi shot fireballs at the pair.

Unfortunately, they met an invisible barrier surrounding the Heartless and Nobody. Xaynew smiled wickidly, and held his hands out over his head. The thunder was almost deafening by this point, and the lightning was so frequent it was nearly blinding.

Lightning bolts flew toward Xaynew's protective bubble as if it were a lightning rod. The bolts seemed to stick to it somehow. The electricity coursed around it, creating a web of crackling energy encasing Xaynew and Telekinetik.

"Well, I've got good news and I've got bad news, guys." Nehrut said.

"What's the bad news?" Riku asked.

"The bad news is that he'll gradually build up electrical power until he releases it all flying at us. We're going to die."

"And what's the good news?" Sora asked, since he couldn't find any.

"We're going to die quickly."

Kairi slapped him, leaving a large red welt. "We're not _really_ going to die!" He said, rubbing the spot on his face. "Geeze!"

"Then do you have any real ideas?" Riku asked, smirking a little at the red mark.

"Let's just say you should hold on _real_ tight to each other. I've got a plan."

Feeling pretty foolish, Sora wrapped his arms tight around Kairi and Riku. They did the same, and the King wrapped his arms very tightly around Riku's neck. They stood there for a long time, and Sora was beginning to feel really annoyed (not that he minded having his face in Kairi's hair).

"Why are we doing this?" Riku finally asked. His frustration was obvious. He wasn't the most affectionate person, and this wasn't something he'd normally do.

"Just get ready to fly."

"WHAT!?"

Xaynew chose that moment to launch his attack. Broad bolts of lightning flew from the bubble directly at them.

So Nehrut released their hold on the ground.

The wind of the tornado pulled them off the ground and over a dozen feet away before the bolts could strike them. They were pulled along by the gale, and whipped completely around to the other side of the arena.

Nehrut put another barrier around them, allowing them to move just a little through the air. Nehrut was free-floating in front of them with his sword held aloft. He turned to them while Xaynew was still wondering what had happened to them.

"Deal as much damage as you can." He called out over the howling wind. He then lifted their 'bubble' and tossed it at the backs of their enemies. The four inside summoned their Keyblades, and struck out with them the second they reached them.

Xaynew cried out in pain and shock when the Keyblades cut across his back. The Heartless was voiceless, but it was in obvious pain, all the same. The blades flashed, smacking against either one of them dozens of times.

Xaynew and Telekinetik had used up most of their energy on the finishing move that had failed.

They fell fifty feet, and crashed painfully against the ground. The second Xaynew hit the ground, the storm quieted. The giant tornado dissipated, the clouds grew less dark, the thunder went silent, and the lightning stopped.

Sora, Kairi, Riku, and Mickey were set lightly on the ground by Nehrut, who landed next to them. They walked toward the unconscious Nobody, very carefully. He started to stir, and looked upon them with dull hatred in his eyes.

Telekinetik appeared right above him. It swept down, and scooped him up into it's arms. A portal of Darkness opened behind it, and it floated backwards through it. As it closed, Xaynew muttered, "You were warned. We'll meet again."

The portal closed.

Sora walked up to Nehrut and gave him a pat on the back. "You were great, Nehrut."

He smiled at him. "Thanks."

"We wouldn't have survived that fight without you, Nehrut." Mickey said. "Thank you."

"Psychic powers..." Riku said contemplating, "Weird, but useful."

"You know, I get that a lot."

"And I'm sorry for slapping you." Kairi admitted.

"I don't usually get that." He said. "But hey, I deserved it. I think. But you guys did most of the actual fighting, so don't give me all the credit."

"Hey, fellas!" They heard someone shout. They turned to the sound and saw Goofy calling to them from back outside the pit. Behind him, Barret was lifting the uncouncious Pete over his shoulder. Yuffie, Donald, and Axel waved at them. "Come on! We're going back to the ship!"

The five smiled and ran over the debri of the castle toward their friends. "You guys mind if I tag along? Traveling alone gets pretty boring eventually."

"You're always welcome with us." Sora said.

They reached the others, and were instantly greeted by 'Gawrsh, that was great!', 'way to go guys!', 'Nice work, kid.' And similar praise just like that.

"So what do I do with this punk, Your Majesty?" Barret shrugged, hefting Pete farther onto his shoulder to keep a grip on him.

"There's a holding cell back on the ship, we'll put him there." He pressed the button on his glove and said, "Captain Sparrow! We're all finished down here. Beam us up."

Jack Sparrow's voice came over the little speaker on the wrist. "Good idea, mate. I'll get right on that _first thing_. As soon as I _graduate _from_ Gummi School_!"

A look of pure horror crossed over the King's face. "Does anyone up there know how?"

"I'll check... That would be a no."

"You guys left the ship without any way back?" Nehrut said. He was clearly trying to hold back laughter.

The King sighed, thinking that he shouldn't have brought both Yuffie _and_ Barret. "Okay here's what you do... You first have to adjust the power levels for the base transmittors to their optimum levels."

There was silence on the line until, "What?"

"Just get Genie to teleport us up there."

"Now that I can do."

The next thing they knew, they were wrapped up very tightly in huge blue arms. There was a puff of purple smoke, and they were back on the bridge of the _Unity_.

"Everybody, this is Nehrut." Sora said. "Don't bother telling him who you are, because apparently he's read all about us."

"Jack Sparrow." He said with a grin.

"Welcome aboard, lad!" Sparrow replied with a slightly fearful smile. "Good to see you again."

Sora's eyes flickered back and forth between the two.

"You two know each other?" Donald quacked.

"Oh yeah, Jack and I go _way_ back." He walked up to Jack and did something pretty unexpected. He slapped him so hard that _everyone's_ face hurt. "Scarlet says 'hi'."

"She's still sore then?"

"Yeah. And you really don't want to know what Gisselle said."

"Wait," Kairi said, "When did you two meet?"

"I stopped in Port Royal once and the guy tried to steal my sword."

Nehrut was introduced to Hayner, Pence, Olette, Hercules, Genie, and Kiara. Sora couldn't help but notice that he made friends with every one of them right away.

"He's fitting in just fine."

--

_Yep. Nehrut knows Captain Jack, Xaynew works with his own Heartless, and the Organization might just make a comeback! Review please!_

_QueenofInsanity: You are forgiven for shadowing. And I was worried that someone would say "Gary-Stu". I'd really hate to see Nehrut go that way._

_Krystal Lily Potter: Thanks! I really hate it when someone does that to an O.C. It just seems lazy._

_JoBrosCupcakeSwirl: You mean Nehrut, right? Xaynew isn't psychic. Anyway, thank you. But was it the fact that Nehrut called him a 'brat' that tipped you off?_

_Shinku Ryuuga: I might have, but personally, I've never been able to synthasize either of the Ultima weapons myself, and just ran out of patience trying to. I do have an idea for a different sort of Ultima weapon, though. Nehrut's weapon is sort of a combination of Sephiroth's blade (shorter), a lightsaber, and the sword from that Samurai Jack cartoon (don't know where that came from). And I like long reviews!_

_Disneytiger: Oh, you'll see. You'll see... But are _you_ psychic? Because I don't remember suggesting that the Organization would be back in the last chapter._

_SamuraiJedi: Ain't it the truth? Running from the Organization is another good bonding exercise, I hear._

_Garuto: Seriously? Well, thanks!_

_ConfederateofZ: I kind of wonder why you're up so late, but I look forward to seeing your character, and reading the rest of your story. But Pete won't have a really important part until much later. And thank you._

_Noacception: I am very flattered! I just had a crappy day, and your review really brightened it up. I'm glad you enjoy the story._


	25. Chapter 24: A Night Off

_The guys needed a chance to wind down after the last chapter, so they made me write this new chapter._

_Kairi: "THANK YOU! We are exhausted! DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else. Only his plot and O.Cs._

_--_

Chapter 24: A Night Off

_Unity_ was bound for Disney Castle. Having no further leads on Brotherhood activity, they decided to head back to the castle to continue planning. It was ten hours away even in Warp Drive, but that was still closer than Radiant Garden.

The minds and bodies of the crew were telling them that it should be night, so they treated it as such.

Sora and Kairi bid the others good night, and walked off toward their own room. They cracked the door open and stepped inside.

They suddenly stopped when they realized something. What do they wear? The only other time that they had been in a bed together, they were still fully clothed.

After a deliciously akward discussion that anyone else in the ship would have laughed their heads off at, Kairi changed into a white night gown, and Sora put on long red boxers and an undershirt. This way they were still mostly covered.

Sora turned out the lights, leaving only the calming starlight streaming through the only window in the back wall. He idly ran his fingers through the crimson locks, elliciting a contented hum from Kairi.

"What are you thinking about?" Kairi asked out of the blue.

The question surprised Sora, but he didn't show it. He answered truthfully. "That I'll never, ever, ever let anything hurt you."

Kairi scooted over a bit and leaned her forehead against his. "You were thinking about what Xaynew said." It wasn't a question.

"I won't lose you Kairi." He said softly. "If he comes within ten feet of you, I'll tear him apart."

That in itself was unusual. Sora rarely wished harm upon another being, but he had basically just said that he'd kill Xaynew to keep Kairi safe.

"Don't worry Sora." She whispered, leaning in a bit closer. "I'm not going anywhere."

"I'll make sure of it." Sora whispered, leaning closer as well.

"_We'll_ make sure of it." She was so close now that her lips barely brushed his when she spoke.

Finally, the temptation was too much and they kissed, softly, and deeply. They cursed the need for air (not for the first time) and parted after several minutes. Sleep was finally about to take them. Kairi leaned into Sora's chest and said, "I'll never leave you."

--

Back at the bridge, Riku, Nehrut, Jack, Barret, Genie, Donald, and Stitch were playing a game of poker. Their cheerleading section consisted of Yuffie for Riku, Goofy for Donald, and Kiara for Nehrut (she had taken a liking to him).

It was an interesting match considering the players. A pirate who often cheated. A magic genie who _might_ have been cheating. A telepath who _also_ might have been cheating. A blue creature with the IQ of a super computer that might have been cheating anyway. Two skilled players who didn't need to cheat. And a duck that was so angry he was losing he didn't think to cheat.

In short, the game was probably not a fair one.

In the end, it was somehow a tie between Riku and Nehrut with a simple ten munny apiece. Then a fight broke out when Jack accused them of cheating, and Riku reached across the table and punched him. Jack pulled out his saber and stabbed at him, but the sword was grabbed by Barret's arm. So, Stitch lept onto his face and knocked him over.

Eventually Donald joined in for one reason or another with Genie acting as a commentator. Nehrut stood over to the side with Hayner and Hercules.

"I know how we can beat the Brotherhood!" He said. "We'll just invite them over for a friendly game of poker!"

Eventually, they all forgot what the fighting was about, and headed off to bed.

Riku decided to take a leap of faith, and walked Yuffie to her door, which she classified as 'old school, but still enjoyable'.

When they reached her room, something interesting happened.

Yuffie just stared at him for a little while, and finally said, "Good night."

"Good night." He began to turn away, when suddenly she grabbed his hand. Quickly, she spun him around to face her, she stood up on her tip-toes, and pecked him (very quickly) on the lips. Then, with the speed of a master ninja, she opened the door and slipped inside.

The door closed very softly, leaving a very surprised Keybearer standing in front of it.

He stood there in shock for several seconds, hardly believing what had just happened. Then his face broke out into a huge grin, and he walked back to the bridge.

"The heck with sleeping!"

--

Nehrut was in his new quarters on the _Unity_. While the others were likely sleeping, he had been meditating ever since the fight had stopped a few hours ago, it was now close to midnight (at least that was what the ship's clocks had said). While normal beings slept, he usually meditated at night.

The _Corporis Quiesco_ Meditation allowed his body to sleep, but his mind to wander –in this case, literally. He sat on his bed, and while his body received the equivilant of sleep, his mind was operating normally.

Growing bored, his mind scanned the ship.

He sensed Riku alone in the crew lounge, lying comfortably in one of the couches. He didn't wish to invade his privacy by reading his thoughts, but he could feel the impulses rolling off of it. They were happy, ecstatic even. Nehrut had a sneaking suspicion that it had to do with a certain ninja.

He moved his mind off to Yuffie's quarters, and found her sleeping. Her dreams felt similar to Riku's thoughts. He wondered if something had happened between them. Mentally, he smirked. That seemed to be the case, he couldn't wait to tell the others.

He moved on to the room next to hers; Barret's. His dreams had an air of excitement. Perhaps he dreamt of battle? He didn't know him well enough to tell.

Jack Sparrow was awake, but his thoughts were strange, somewhat confused. He could only asume that he was drinking. Again.

_That stuff will kill you before your time!_ He mentally screamed into Jack's head. He withdrew quickly, laughing. He could feel a bit of Jack's confusion on the other end, and maybe he had given him something to think about. But he doubted it. If he had he wouldn't be Jack Sparrow.

Donald and Goofy were both sleeping soundly in their respective quarters. Donald dreamed of Daisy, who would be waiting for him at the castle tomorrow. Goofy just slept.

He found the King in his quarters, he was awake, as usual. His thoughts were clear, and focused on a single goal. He seemed to be studying something. But that was King Mickey for you, he always gave it his all when he was on the job.

He felt Hayner and Pence in the kitchen, grabbing a mid-night snack. They had had trouble sleeping earlier, so their natural solution to a bad night's sleep was to eat it off. Olette seemed the exact opposite, she slept peacefully back in her quarters. He touched her mind briefly and saw lots of orange sky. She dreamt of her home.

The Genie of the lamp was very hard to read. He had so much bizarre energy surrounding him at all times that it was hard to read him. He didn't even know if he needed to sleep at all, he was so full of life that he just couldn't picture it.

In the training room, he felt the minds of Stitch, Axel and Hercules. Understandably, their minds were very busy, this made them harder to see. From what he could gather, they were both having a good time. They were in their element: fighting.

Pete was in the brig. He was wide awake, and seemed to be pacing back and forth across his cell. He was clearly scared out of his life at the prospect of returning to his inter-dimensional prison.

And as for the small lioness at the foot of his bed, she slept soundly. She was so content that she was purring in her sleep (though he had always heard that big cats didn't purr). Briefly, he peaked into her dream and saw wide open green savannas, and an oddly-shaped rock formation in the distance.

So she dreamed of her home, just as Olette did. He wished that he could do that without the nightmares that came with it.

He realized that there were two minds that he hadn't seen yet. His curiosity got the better of him, and he sent his mind into their room. They were close together, snuggled in bed. As far as Nehrut could tell, they hadn't done anything... _carnal_. It didn't take a psychic to tell that the two were dreaming of each other.

But here was something interesting.

The two seemed to be sleeping, but upon closer inspection, it seemed like small parts of them were still wide awake. He had never seen anything like that before. He took another look, and there seemed to be a ..._link_ of some kind. It connected Sora and Kairi's hearts, souls, and minds.

The temptation proved too great, and Nehrut focused all his might on that connection.

There was a flash of light, and suddenly Nehrut found himself standing in total blackness. Well, not total blackness.

Looking around he saw black clouds all over the place, he looked down. He was standing on a giant platform with a mosaic, stained-glass image on it. It depicted a young woman with pale blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing white and blue robes. She stood in the center of the image, her left hand was over her heart, while the right held a silver and gold Keyblade. The whole image was tinted silver, and the outer ring was dotted with yellow star-like objects.

In rings around her image featured Sora, Kairi, Riku, Axel, and –surprisingly- himself. A heart-shaped picture held the image of a young man.

He thought for a moment, and realized who the girl was (and the boy in the heart), and where he was standing.

Jiminy's report had described this place as a kind of alternate dimension. It could only be entered through the mind or heart, and during certain events experienced by certain people. Sometimes involuntarily. It was extremely complicated, and nobody knew what it's purpose was.

The girl was the Nobody of Kairi. Namine –the 'Memory Witch'. And the young man in her heart was Sora's Nobody Roxas –the 'Key of Destiny'.

"Hello." Came a feminine voice from behind him. He spun around.

Those very two people were sitting at the edge of the platform with their legs dangling over the edge. Their bodies were twisted around a bit to get a better look at their visitor. He noticed that the boy's hand was over hers.

"So we have a guest?" The boy said, he smiled.

"Roxas and Namine?" Nehrut said, not totally sure what he was seeing.

"It's nice to meet you in person, Nehrut." Namine said, smiling as well. She and Roxas got up and walked over to shake his hand.

"What am I doing here?" He asked. "I was following the link I saw between Sora and Kairi, and I ended up here."

"This is where we live." Roxas explained. "You see, this isn't really the Station. This is just the appearance that some people's minds take on in their conciousness."

"The platforms show whose mind we're in." Namine said. She pointed to her face on the platform. "Right now, we're in the section of Kairi's mind where I reside."

"But I wasn't focusing on Kairi's mind." Nehrut said, confused. "I was looking at this link that I found in between her mind and Sora's."

Suddenly there was a flash of light, and they were on a completely different platform. This one was predominantly orange, and featured Roxas.

"Sora and Kairi's hearts, souls and minds are tied to each other's, and have been since their islands were destroyed." Namine said as if nothing had happened. "And Roxas and I utilize that link to see each other."

"When you followed it," Roxas said, "You must have been pulled toward us into Kairi's thoughts."

Nehrut let this sink in for a moment. This was unlike anything he had ever heard of before, evan on his homeworld where his parents had deeply studied the mysteries of the mind.

"Wow." Was all he could say. Then he realized that he was probably intruding on their privacy. "Oh! Well, it was great meeting you, I hope I'm not interrupting anything..."

"No!" They responded almost immediately.

"Well, if you'll miss me that much..." He said.

"We'd like to get to know you a bit better." Roxas said.

"You're welcome here any time." Namine added. "We'd like a bit of company."

Nehrut smiled widely. "Roxas, Namine, I think this is the start of a beautiful relationship."

And so, they spent the rest of their night chatting companionably in the Station.

--

_Sappiness, friendship, light humor. The next chapter is a LOT different. Review please!_

_SamuraiJedi: Anything for a laugh, right?_

_Shinku Ryuuga: That 'Ultima' will only appear near the end of my story, hope you'll like it. And I've never actually played CoM, sadly enough. And you're right about Scarlett and Giselle. I may include a cameo for your O.C., but I'd have to know more about him/her, send me a message._

_ConfederateofZ: Feel free to ramble if you want. And it's spelled 'critic'. Anyway, thanks a lot!_

_Garuto: Glad to hear it. Thanks!_

_Disneytiger: Good to have that cleared up. Kibbles and Bits!_


	26. Chapter 25: The Assassin

_The title of this chapter is a little bit misleading, but it works. Here, you'll see a little bit of our new villains... (Evil laughter) Including the guy who tortured Axel, and some old faces..._

_Sora: "You're kind of creeping me out, man."_

_Thank you!_

_Sora: "... DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else. He does, however own most of the characters in this chapter."_

_--_

Chapter 25: The Assassin

Far, far away from the _Unity_, on a small, formerly bright world, a meeting was being held.

The meeting room was fairly large, dominated by a black, circular table in the center of the room. The Brotherhood's symbol was in it's center. On the ceiling was a kind of rock formation made of glowing blue crystals that almost resembled a chandelier. It lit the room and it's occupants with a tiny bit of eerie light.

On the table was a magically projected image of the Door to Darkness. The image shifted to show a realtime image of the _Unity_, rocketing through space past the speed of light.

Nine figures could be seen in the pale light, standing around the table.

Ruxik was near the front of the room, his arms were crossed over his chest. He glowered at the image of the ship.

Axel's tormentor was named Crucion. His hair was long, and pale blond. It was greased back down his shoulders and down his back. His slightly wrinkled face held a look of indifference. Perhaps he was bored that he had no one to torture.

Another was wearing a hooded crimson robe with a rim of brown fur around the neck and shoulders. His face was a that of a skeleton with a very thin layer of rotting skin, with gleaming red eye sockets. Antlers protruded from the top of the skull and out through the hood.

Another man had long silver hair that went past his waist. He wore black, and one sinister looking black angel wing sprouted from his right shoulder. He wore a jet black coat and metallic shoulder plates. A six-foot long sword was sheathed on his belt.

Farther back in the room, mostly concealed in shadows was a muscular man. He was just under average height, but his build, and feral orange eyes made him quite intimidating. He was clothed in black and grey, and his head was shaved. A wave-bladed, black sword was strapped to his back.

Near him was a four-legged creature. He lay on the ground, one of his sharp claws scratched the ground: a sign of impatiance. His eyes were dull green, surrounded by orange. His leps were pulled back in a snarl, revealing a row of extremely sharp, yellowing teeth.

A woman had her hands braced on the table and was looking at the image of the ship intently. She was the only female in the room. She had a slim figure, and waist-length, bright-red hair. She wore a brown, sleeveless top, and both arms were wound in crimson bandages, only showing her fingers. Her pants were black.

There was also a tall man with a shaved head and a thin beard and moustache. His chest was covered by black chest armor. The sleeve of a dark blue shirt could be seen, but the right arm was bare, displaying an array of strange tatoos that looked like thorns wrapping all around his heavily muscled arm.

The last man in the room had a long, dark brown hair down to his shoulders. He wore an outer robe of beige, and under-robes of black. A thin, pale scar ran from over his right eye all the way down to the lower left side of his chin.

A corridor of darkness opened up next to the only door in the room. Through it came Xaynew, clutching his side in obvious pain. His Heartless floated through after him. The corridor closed behind it. The Nobody staggered over to the table and steadied himself against it.

"You're late." Said the woman.

Xaynew glared at her. He cast his eyes to the far end of the room, as if in fear.

It was completely black, as if the light of the crystal formation was afraid to get too close. Absolutly nothing could be seen there, and it appeared that everybody in the room was keeping their distance.

"You failed to bring me a Keybearer." Came a voice from the darkness. It was as cold as the distances between stars.

"My apologies, my lord." The arrogent, angry Nobody that had left the World That Never Was couldn't been seen now. All that could be seen on his face was barely repressed fear. He reached inside a pouch on his belt, and pulled out what looked like cards.

No, they _were_ cards. Each one was marked by a red Nobody symbol on the back. The fronts were marked two to twelve, but the number eight was missing.

"But I did aquire the Absent Silhouettes, as you requested, Master." His voice was practically quivering with nervousness.

The cards floated from his hands, and hovered toward the spot in the dark. They vanished from sight within the blackness. There was complete silence for several minutes, and Xaynew began to fear for his life (in the Nobody sense). But finally, the voice came again.

"Very well. You have fulfilled your original mission, at least."

Nine of the cards floated from the darkness, and toward the other occupants of the room. They floated in front of each of their recipiants, who took them, and placed them in pockets or pouches of some kind.

The image on the table shifted, and transformed into one of Sora, Kairi, Riku, and King Mickey. The four Keybearers. The voice came again.

"We still need two more of them to reach our goal."

"I tried to get them to surrender." Xaynew said. "I even threatened the Princess in hopes that the boy Sora would come along."

"And how did he react?"

Xaynew smirked. "He looked as if he would like nothing better than to tear me apart."

"Looks like he had a good go at it, too." The woman whispered to silver-haired man. He laughed quietly.

"So the tiny Keybearer is in love." The voice said, stretching out the last word as if it liked the sound of it. "Ruxik, why haven't you told me this?"

Ruxik looked at the dark space. "Master, I only have a limited knowledge of Riku's friends. It is perhaps a side-affect of my birth. But I didn't know the full nature of Sora and Kairi's relationship."

The voice was silent for a moment, before saying, "We may be able to use that relationship to our advantage in the future. But for now, we should focus on our next objective."

The image changed yet again. A large sphere filled with mysterious light, held in place on a light blue pedestal. The Cornerstone of Light.

"If we take the castle then the Keybearers will lose a very important base." The voice continued. "The only thing stopping us is that wretched Cornerstone of Light."

"My lord," The scarred man said, "Allow me to enter the castle and destroy it. It won't take two seconds-"

"No Klaxam." The voice interrupted. "The Cornerstone prevents beings of darkness from entering the castle at all. Not even _I_ can enter, yet."

"Then how do you propose we enter, Master?" Ruxik asked.

"We need another being to enter. One that is not truly dark, but one that will follow our orders, regardless." Two orange eyes flashed briefly from the darkness, and faded again.

The door opened.

A small figure draped in grey robes stepped inside, a hood covered the person's face.

"Your orders," The voice said, "Are to infiltrate Disney Castle. You will destroy this-" The hooded figure looked at the image on the table, "The Cornerstone of Light. That is your primary objective."

The figure nodded slowly.

"When this objective is complete, you will attempt to capture one of the Keybearers." The image changed back into the pictures of Sora, Kairi, Riku, and the King. "We still need two, but you are to capture as many of them as you can. _Alive_. They are to be considered extremely dangerous. You may kill anyone else that gets in your way."

The figure nodded again.

"You are to leave immediately. Take a Gummi ship, but you are to leave no trace of our position."

"My lord," Xaynew interrupted, "I feel I should inform you that my brother is now traveling with the Keybearers."

The figure turned to regard him.

"He is capable of sensing people from a distance, if he's concentrating." He continued. "If he can feel our... assassin coming..."

"Your brother will be watching for dark beings like us." The voice interrupted. "He won't realize the threat until it is too late. And in any case, this isn't an assassin." The final card floated from the darkness, silently toward the cloaked figure. "Use this, if you must."

The figure took the card and put it into an inside pocket.

"Dismissed."

The figure turned around and exited the room without a sound.

--

_Bum bum BUUM! Alright! You probably recognized a certain person from past games in the room somewhere. And another one from someplace else... But the rest are all mine! Next chapter: Disney Castle. Review please!_

_In somewhat related news, as I write this I have FINALLY beaten Sephiroth in KH2!_

_ConfederateofZ: I'm glad you approve of my sappiness!_

_JoBrosCupcakeSwirl: More fighting _and_ fluff soon!_

_Garuto: That little scene was actually based off an experience that I had once! There'll be more Keyblades later, but mostly the guys will be using those that they have now._

_SamuraiJedi: Some of those things, I've yet to experience. Sad to say... Anyway, Kairi loves the overprotectiveness. And it gives the guys something else to poke fun at!_

_Shinku Ryuuga: I probably would play it. But I don't have a Nintendo DS, or acess to ReChain of Memories. And I'm having fun with you-know-who. (wink)_

_Sailor Winx: Thanks! But, Sora and Riku are known to have been alive already at the time of Birth by Sleep. They're like six years old._

_RikuLover211: Welcome back! And thank you!_


	27. Chapter 26: Romance on the Castle Ground

_Over 10,000 hits! Thanks to everyone who's read!_

_This is a chapter dedicated to romance. For those of you who are getting tired of it, sorry, the action starts up again real soon._

_Roxas: "And this chapter is really good for pretty much every ship in this story. And on behalf of all of us here at Kingdom Hearts, thank you, Darth."_

_Uh, no problem._

_Roxas: "DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else, just plot and O.C.s."_

_--_

Chapter 26: Romance on the Castle Grounds

The _Unity_ had just exited warp drive above Disney Castle. The castle had been built on a pleasant, peaceful, green world which had since been named after the castle itself.

Sora was back in the pilot's seat bringing the ship in for a landing. Nehrut walked up next to him and gazed out the window. The world was growing larger by the second, and a twinkle was appearing in his eye.

"This place means a lot to you, huh?" He said to him when he noticed.

"Yeah." Nehrut answered with a strange look in his eyes. "It's like my second home."

"But what about your home world?" Sora asked, "I mean, wasn't it restored when Xehanort was defeated?"

He realized too late that it probably wasn't the most tactfull question, but Nehrut didn't seem too upset.

"It's complicated." His face lowered. "Ask me again some other time."

Kairi walked up beside the two. "So that's Disney Castle?"

"In all it's glory." The two responded in unison. They looked at each other, surprised.

"Okay, that was weird." Sora said.

"Receiving!" Donald announced from the communications console.

Two identical screens appeared on the bridge windows. Each one held a chipmunk inside. They were nearly identical, aside from their noses (one large and red, and the other small and black).

"Chip and Dale here!" The black-nosed one (Chip) said. Then he realized just who was in the ship. "SORA! You're back!"

"Hey guys!" Sora responded cheerily.

"Don't worry," Donald said, "He hasn't crashed this one!" He and Goofy laughed, remembering Deep Jungle, Monstro, and Neverland.

"Now you guys can't really count Neverland!" Sora defended. He noticed that Kairi, Riku and Nehrut were struggling to hold back laughter. "We were _captured_ by Hook."

"Yes, that's preferable." Kairi said, rolling her eyes. Nehrut couldn't hold back anymore and burst out laughing.

"Captured by pirates." Nehrut said. "Sounds familiar."

He sent Jack a glare.

"Nehrut?" Dale this time. "You're back too?"

"Hey Dale." He said, returning to a normal tone of voice. "Chip. _Salus Pax Pacis_."

"Safety and peace." They said back in usison. "We'll clear the landing pad for you guys. See you there."

Sora eased the ship toward the large open field that served as a landing site at the south of the castle. The _Unity_'s landing claws extended, and touched down gently onto the grass. After extending the loading ramp, he shut down the ship's various systems and stood up.

The entire crew stepped outside into the remarkable fresh air of the castle grounds.

There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and the blue and white castle seemed to shine in front of them. They stood a few miles away from a pleasant little village that seemed to be entirely populated by beings similar to Mickey, Donald, and Goofy. The castle gates stood before them, wide open and welcoming.

_This is about as far from the World That Never Was as you can get._

"C'mon guys!" The King said, leading the way inside. Everyone followed suit behind him, (Barret carrying the limp Pete over his shoulder).

They were soon in the castle's garden. There were topiaries everywhere of some of the castle's occupants. They looked around at them, and then started breaking off and going into seperate directions. The majority followed Mickey inside for whatever reason, but some mulled about in the garden.

Goofy had immediately collapsed onto a patch of grass surrounded by flowers. There was already a decent sized rutt in the ground there, suggesting that he had laid there many times before. Sora wouldn't have been surprised.

Hayner, Pence, and Olette were wandering through the garden apart from the others. Hayner picked a few flowers here and there. After a while, he had a rather varied boquet, which he handed to Olette. She blushed.

Nehrut had gone over to greet the enthusiastic chipmunks and dog that had come running into the garden. Sora didn't know how he was able to hold his own in a talk with them, they always seemed to start babbling.

_Wait, there it is._

Chip and Dale had started babbling. Nehrut seemed to realize this, and was starting to creep away. But, it was too late, he was caught. Sora chuckled.

Without warning, the transparent images of Roxas and Namine burst from his and Kairi's minds.

"We'd better go help him." Roxas said, also chuckling.

"Won't he be a bit surprised to see you guys?" Kairi pointed out.

"Nah, we got really well aquainted last night." He responded. He then held out his arm to escort Namine. She blushed slightly (which made her face stand out quite a bit) and took it. The two Nobodies walked off arm in arm, leaving a confused Sora and Kairi.

"How did he...?" Sora began, but Kairi cut him off by placing a finger to his lips.

"Probably some hard-to-understand, telepathic thing. Let's not worry about it." She pulled him over to a nice, shady tree away from the activity. It reminded Sora of a certain tree he had seen at the 100 Acre Wood. He laid down against it, and Kairi sat beside him. She leaned into his shoulder and sighed. "This place really is peaceful."

Sora wrapped an arm around her shoulder and relaxed.

They simply sat there for a while, enjoying the other's company and the beauty all around them. It seemed impossible that they had been fighting a very powerful Nobody in a horrible storm less than twenty-four hours ago.

He could see a great deal of the garden from here. Over time, some of the others from their group came back out. Stitch started scrambling through the bushes, laughing and having the time of his life just being free to run around. Donald ended up chasing after him to make sure he didn't damage any of the more fragile plants. Pluto was right behind them.

Genie streaked all over the sky, enjoying the wide open space and the fresh air. It wasn't long before he dove directly into a large area of plants. Which somehow reacted as if they were really water.

But the most interesting sight was Riku and Yuffie.

Yuffie was looking at a beautiful rose bush, and Riku was looking at her.

Subtly, to where the girl woudn't notice, Riku picked one of the roses, and carefully rid it of the thorns on the stem. He took a brief sniff, and turned back to the girl. From behind, he reached over and moved a lock of hair by her ear aside. He slipped it in between her ear and hair, and let it settle into place. He did it all carefully, and with a gentleness that niether had ever known he possessed.

Yuffie looked very surprised, but not in a bad way at all. When he placed the rose in her hair, she smiled widely and her eyes began to sparkle. When he stopped, her hand reached up to touch the spot where his hand had been. Her fingers brushed across the rose's petals, and she twisted around to look him in the eye.

She smiled at him for what felt like a long, long time, totally unaware that Sora, Kairi, Roxas, Namine, and Nehrut were all watching them intently.

Then, after what seemed like an eternity, she stood on her tip-toes. She cupped his face in her hands, and kissed him.

He responded by placing one hand on the small of her back, and the other in her hair. She smiled into the kiss, and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him even closer. It seemed that they couldn't get close enough, they kept trying to get closer despite the fact that they appeared stuck together. And all the while, their lips stayed connected.

"Two months?" Kairi asked Sora, grinning.

"Or two days..." He responded just as Riku fell over backwards, breathless. Yuffie just plopped down on top of him and continued kissing him. "Woah..."

He turned his head a fraction, and saw Kairi turn toward him as well. She had that same mischievious twinkle in her eye as she did when she had stolen his clothes.

"Kairi, what are you- mphfff!" he was cut off by her lips being pressed firmly against his. His eyes buldged, but he melted into the kiss immediately. She scooted over and positioned herself comfortably on his lap. His senses were dim right about now, but he reached up and gently cupped her face in his right hand. His left reached out and ran through the sea of red that was Kairi's hair.

Roxas and Namine were now looking at them. Roxas looked slyly and Namine, and she took the hint. She wrapped her arms firmly around his shoulders and they brought their lips together in a gentle kiss. The two transparent blondes leaned back against a topiary of a certain cow and continued their kiss.

To continue along with this trend of senseless romance, Donald's sweetheart Daisy chose that moment to run out of the castle as fast as her dress would allow. "Donald!" She cried and threw herself at the unsuspecting duck, crushing him in a hug that he was eager to return once he got over his surprise.

So that left poor, girl-less Nehrut alone in the garden sitting next to Stitch. The little blue creature looked at Nehrut.

"Don't even think about it." He said, but Stitch giggled at him anyway, and ran back off into the foliage. Nehrut looked over at Sora and Kairi kissing passionately, leaning against the tree. Riku and Yuffie rolling over and over with each other in the grass, laughing. Roxas and Namine's gentle kisses near the castle gate. And Donald and Daisy embracing on the garden path.

When he noticed the King and his Queen getting non-verbally re-aquainted at the balcony overlooking the garden, he let out a grunt of frustration and pounded his fist on the ground. He dearly wished that he had what they all did.

"Got the hots for one of them?" Came a voice to his right.

He turned his head and saw Axel, who took a seat next to him on the grass.

"No." He answered. "And I'm happy for all of them. I just wish that I had somebody like that." He gestured over to Sora and Kairi, whom by now had mirrored Riku and Yuffie's actions and were lying on the ground, kissing.

Axel nodded in understanding. "Yeah, I know what you mean. Kind of makes you feel left out, right?"

They sat in silence for a moment.

"We'll just have to keep faith, I guess." Nehrut finally said. "I mean, there's hundreds of worlds out there right?"

"There's got to be some girl out there who wants a bit of this!" Axel flexed his arm muscle and then engulfed in in fire. "Am I right?"

Nehrut laughed and snuffed the flames out with a blast from his mind. "Yeah, you might not want to do that... 'Got it memorized?'"

"Hey!"

Nehrut laughed, gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder, and stood up. "We'll keep faith." And with that, he walked away toward the castle entrance.

--

_They'll find their girls eventually. And I'm sorry if it seems like I'm rushing into the whole Riku/Yuffie thing, but I just couldn't help myself! You know what that's like, right? Reviews are always welcome._

_My second favorite O.C. appears next chapter._

_Shinku Ryuuga: Rewrote that scene I mentioned to you a bit, to go with what you sent me (wink)._

_Sailor Winx: Thanks! Took me five-million tries._

_DaemonArts: Nothing gets by you, huh? Ah well. Figured they wouldn't be that hard to figure out._

_Krystal Lily Potter: If it makes you feel better, I never got the Ultima myself... Anyway thanks, and call off your squirrels, I update pretty regularly._

_Craxuan: (Evil laughter)_

_SamuraiJedi: You are correct!_

_Garuto: Isn't it sad?_

_Disneytiger: Crucion? You know, I just now realized that! I thought he looked familiar in my head!_

_ConfederateofZ: You're right about the first two, but the others are incorrect. Anyway, thank you very much._


	28. Chapter 27: Bariss

_I got more reviews for the last chapter than any other! That's over 160 reviews! Thanks guys! And keep 'em coming! Now Namine, if you will..._

_Namine: "Hey, my first time doing the disclaimer! DarthKingdom does not own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else. Just his plot and original characters."_

_One of which appears here!_

_Namine: "I look forward to meeting him or her!"_

_--_

Chapter 27: Bariss

When everyone had settled down (several hours later) they assembled in the audience chamber. Kairi, Riku, and a few others were at first overwhelmed by it's incredible size, and began to wonder why a mouse would need so much space.

They went over what they had learned of the Brotherhood since leaving Radiant Garden, which wasn't much.

"Your Majesty," Goofy asked, "What about the Cornerstone of Light?"

"Huh?"

"Axel said that that feller was asking him questions about it." He clarified. "Shouldn't we protect it?"

"The Cornerstone prevents dark beings from entering the castle, and it always has." The King replied from up on his throne. "I don't think we have to worry about it being in danger."

"But Mickey..." Riku (who was one of the few that didn't address him by title only) said. "We also didn't expect Axel to be alive, or for me to have a Nobody. We should probably just expect the unexpected and be grateful when it doesn't happen."

"Hmm. You have a point there." The King admitted. "Goofy!"

The knight snapped to attention immediately. "Round up a few of your best men and position them outside the audience chamber for tonight."

"What if I keep watch on the Cornerstone itself?" Nehrut offered. "If I go into a meditation, I should be able to sense if anyone's coming. Just in case the knights miss anything." He glanced over at Goofy, "No offense, pal."

"None taken!" Goofy said, as if he had heard it several times already.

"I suppose that's fine..." The King said. "Alright, you can guard the Cornerstone and keep an eye out for trouble. On the off chance anything happens, send us a signal."

"What are we supposed to do now though?" Kairi asked. "We don't have any idea what we're supposed to do next. Where do we go after this?"

The King lowered his head. "We'll just have to play it by ear and try to find more leads on the Brotherhood. Until then, we wait."

She hung her head, she had actually been eager for a bit of action. Sora gave her a reassuring squeeze, and she smiled.

"Now, everyone take care of you're buissness, and then get to bed." Mickey finished. With the meeting now concluded, the King flipped a tiny switch beneath the left armrest of the throne. The platform on which the throne sat slid to the left, revealing a staircase leading underneath the chamber.

Nehrut wished everyone good night, and began to walk down. Roxas and Namine appeared on either side of him.

"Would you like some company?" Namine asked.

"Hey, the more the merrier!"

Unbenownst to everybody but Nehrut and Kairi, the lion cub snuck in under his cape. Kairi couldn't quite shake off the feeling that it might not be safe for her, but trusted Nehrut in the end. The two had became friends very quickly, he'd make sure she was alright.

As night fell upon the castle, the Hall of the Cornerstone closed itself up tight, and most of the group went off to sleep.

--

Far away from Disney Castle itself, a small, sleek black ship landed. A figure in grey lept down from the cockpit without making a sound.

For the first time since leaving the Brotherhood's base, the assassin lowered the hood.

A girl. Her hair was long and blonde with streaks of brown, and she had bright green eyes. Her skin was a bit pale, but nobody could doubt that she was beautiful. She was only about fifteen. Any observer would be surprised to see such a strange look of grim detirmination, and slight anticipation on her face.

She set off at a totally silent run toward Disney Castle. She arrived within minutes. The castle gates were closed tight at night, but that wouldn't be a problem.

She shrugged the cloak off, revealing a dark green top with a v-neck collar and single left sleeve. Her pants and boots were jet black. Around her neck was a gold necklace, from which hung a small, emrald heart as bright as her eyes. There were several small pouches on her belt. Fixed loosely to her hip was a coiled black whip with spirals of green on the handle. From another end was a foot-long sai with a similar green pattern.

She gazed up at the enormous gates, and shrugged to herself.

_Easy enough._

She gathered herself up, and sprang toward the gates. Her hands grasped the iron bars near the top, and she scrambled up quickly, still without a sound. She stood at the very top of the gates, and surveyed her surroundings for a moment.

She was overlooking a large garden filled with colorful plants of many different varieties. A few of the royal knights patrolled the area in full armor with weapons at their sides. From her perch, she could see eight, two of which flanked a large set of double doors leading inside. That was obviously where she needed to go.

Before any of the guards could see her silhouette against the moon, she sprinted across the edges of the gate, balancing effortlessly on top of it.

She worked her way over to the other side of the garden, and when she reached the wall, dropped lightly onto the ground behind a large bush of flowers. Quietly, she snuck toward the doors flanked by the guards. She spied on them through the gaps in the foliage. Their backs were rigid, and their swords were crossed in front of their chests. Their eyes never ceased to scan the garden.

The woman had to respect that, they clearly took their job quite seriously. They were definitely better than most of the security forces she'd encountered.

_Not that it will make any difference._

She reached into one of her pouches for a unique device that would remove that annoying obstacle. Out came a tiny little glass ball, one of her own creations. Very carefully, so as to not alert any of the guards, she tossed it over to the other side of the garden.

There was no sign that they had noticed it, and that was good. She waited for a few seconds, and suddenly there was a bright flashing light coming from the other end of the garden. It caught the knight's attention immediately, they all rushed toward the light, leaving the doors completely unguarded.

Quickly, the girl emerged from her hiding place and ran silently to the entrance.

_Maybe they're not as good as I thought..._

The doors opened and closed without a sound.

--

"So, what do we do now?" Kiara asked.

Nehrut, Roxas, Namine, and the cub were sitting on the floor in the Hall of the Cornerstone. The Cornerstone itself sat in the center of the room, letting off it's pleasant glow as always. It was the only light in the room, throwing some of the corners of the room into darkness, but illuminating the rest.

_Like our hearts. No matter how much darkness, there's a light that never goes out._

Sora had told him so.

The group of four sat at the base of the Cornerstone, talking about nothing in particular. Kiara was stretched out next to Nehrut, and he scratched her ears. She purred again.

Roxas answered the question. "Well, we sit around and chat the night away supposedly 'guarding' this thing," he gestured toward the Cornerstone, "on the off chance something happens."

"In which case, I do all the work while you guys enjoy watching from the sidelines." Nehrut finished.

"Yeah, that sounds about right." The Nobody responded with a grin. "I do wish sometimes I could get back in the action, though."

"Is there any way for you to become independent beings again?" Nehrut asked. "Without weakening yourselves, Sora, or Kairi in any way?"

"None that we know of." Namine answered. Her face fell a bit. "We don't have things so bad as it is, but it would still be nice."

"Yeah..." Roxas said. "I really miss eating."

"It's not fair." Nehrut admitted. "I promise you guys that I'll do all I can to help."

They smiled sadly at him. "I don't think the odds of that happening are very good, but thanks anyway." Namine said.

They fell into a comfortable silence for a few more minutes. Suddenly Nehrut's head shot up as if someone had suddenly called his name. His expression was perplexed and thoughtful.

"Something up?" Roxas asked.

Nehrut was silent for a moment before responding, "Something..."

--

The young intruder sped through the halls and corridors of Disney Castle it's very heart. She was always in the shadows, unseen by the occasional guards on the night patrol or servents having a late night snack attack.

She made her way silently through the darkness, and eventually found herself peeking around a corner. Around the end was a long hallway. There were two huge doors halfway down with King Mickey's seal on them, and her objective was through them. The door was barred by four knights, each one larger and more heavily armed than the ones in the garden.

She looked around, there was no cover that she could use to sneak around the the door, and she highly doubted that the guards would just let a stranger walk right on through. She didn't have another flashing distraction on her, so that was out.

_Time for the trump card._

In this case, literally.

She retreated a bit farther down the hall, and pulled the card she had been given from out of her boot. She held it up to observe it better in the limited light. It was marked 'IX', with a blue sitar behind it.

The girl rolled her eyes.

_Figures that I'd get stuck with this guy..._

With a flick of her wrist, she tossed the card onto the ground with the face up. A swirling portal opened up on top of it. It almost looked like a Corridor of Darkness, but it was dark violet. It lingered for a few seconds, and vanished.

In it's place stood a man of average hieght. His hair was light brown, and fixed in a style that looked like a strange mullet. His eyes were bright teal and he wore a soft, slightly far-off expression, as if he wasn't entirely aware of his surroundings. He was garbed in the traditional ornamental black robes of the now extinct Organization XIII.

He was the Absent Silhouette of Organization member Demyx; the Melodious Nocturne.

His gaze settled on the girl, he smiled akwardly and said, "Hey, what's up?"

"You know what you are don't you?" She asked. Her voice was surprisingly soft.

"I'm a sort of a ghost thingy, right?"

"...Right."

"So what am I supposed to do?" He asked. His tone was light and coversational, as if they had suddenly bumped in to each other on the street.

"I need you to distract those guards," She pointed toward the group of knights, "And lure them far away from those doors so that I can get into the throne room. Keep them busy for a while."

"Woah, woah, woah," Demyx interrupted, emphasizing his words with waving hand gestures, " You want me to fight those guys? You are _really_ sending the wrong guy."

"I know..." She muttered under her breath. She began again, frustrated "You're the only alternative. Just do this, will you?"

Demyx shrugged, and sighed in resignation. "Alright..."

He held up his hand, and water streamed from up his arm into a ball of it floating above his open palm. It quivered for a second, before exploding into a long shape. The water glowed, and took on a more solid form; not ice, but something much different. It took on the form of a long, blue sitar, roughly shaped like the Nobody symbol.

He swung it around for a moment, before holding it in two hands and advancing into the hallway. The nights saw him instantly, and took up defensive positions.

Demyx swung his sitar as if it was a golf club. A huge column of water formed instantly, and shot toward the knights. It hit them with the force of a tidal wave, soaking them and blasting them clear across the hall. They staggered to their feet and ran at him, but he just soaked them again.

After he had done this three times, he lept over the balcony into the gardens below. Naturally, the guards chased after him, leaving the audience chamber totally unguarded.

The girl sprinted out of her hiding place toward the doors. They looked heavy, and she didn't know how much time Demyx could buy her. She started pushing against the doors with all her might, but no matter how hard she pushed, they wouldn't budge.

Now her arms were sore, and she stretched them out. She ran her hands over the door, searching for another means of entry. Suddenly, she fell through a section of the left door. She managed to right herself and land on all fours, and looked up to see the long throne room before her.

_Oh... Why does a mouse need so much space?_

She closed the door quietly behind her and sprinted toward the throne. It wouldn't be much longer now.

--

"There's darkness in the castle!" Nehrut said, jumping to his feet. Roxas and Namine lept up too, and Kiara gave off an angry, cat-like hiss.

"How did they get here?" Roxas asked. He turned around to face the Cornerstone as though he expected it to be broken.

"I'm not sure." Nehrut said. "But I sense that the fighting has already started." He turned to his transparent friends. "You guys have to get Sora and Kairi, wake them up. Tell them we need them. I'll guard the Cornerstone."

"Roger!" With that, the Nobodies vanished in brief flashes of blue and gold.

"Kiara." Nehrut said to the lioness. "You have to stay here as well."

"Aw man!" She said. She had already been making a run for the doorway. "I didn't come along just to sit on the sidelines, you know! I can fight, too!"

Nehrut was about to respond when the door flew open.

Through it ran a young woman with blonde hair wearing green. A whip and a sai were dangling from her belt. She skidded to a halt a few feet into the room, clearly surprised to find anyone there.

Nehrut drew his sword and took up a fighting stance. Kiara ran back to his side and crouched –the lion's pouncing position. She pawed the ground in front of her like a bull, getting ready for a fight.

The intruder eyed Nehrut's blade with curiosity. After a moment, she said, "You're not one of the Keybearers."

"No kind madam, I'm just a janitor trying to earn my keep at this castle polishing the Cornerstone. The pay is horrible, but I get by." It was an inside joke, but she wouldn't know that. It may have been his imagination, but he thought he saw the corner of her mouth twitch into a smile for a split second before her expression became neutral again.

She drew the whip from her belt, and with a casual flick of her wrist, it uncoiled with a sharp _crack_! "You aren't one of my targets." She swung her arm back, ready to lash out with the whip if anything happened. "Stand aside, and I won't hurt either of you."

Was it his imagination again? Or was there a hint of a plea in her voice?

And this woman was definitely not the dark one that he felt in the castle. In fact, she felt a great deal like some of the other people around here. She certainly wasn't dark at all. So why was she trying to get to the Cornerstone of Light?

"Well, I'm sorry to tell you but... oh, I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name."

The woman was silent for a second, as if she had never been asked the question before. Then, finally she answered, "Bariss."

"Hmmm." Nehrut said. The word 'bara' meant rose in some languages. "I like that name... I'm Nehrut." He gave her a little bow.

"I'm sorry, Bariss. I'm not moving."

She sighed, and looked him right in the eye. "I'm sorry..."

Then she did something completely unexpected: She smiled and winked.

Just as Nehrut's eyes were widening with surprise, she swung the whip in a wide arc, and it descended rapidly toward his head.

_Oh, I get it. A distraction._

He raised his blade, and the end wrapped around it.

The battle for the castle had begun.

--

'_Bara' really is Japenese for 'rose'. And she is in no way connected to the Star Wars character of the same name. I hope you like her, she has a story like Nehrut's. Please review!_

_SamuraiJedi: I couldn't agree more, my friend._

_Sailor Winx: Thanks!_

_DaemonArts: Yeah, didn't really think that one through. I was feeling sappy at the moment, and well, there's the end result. Anyway, thank you!_

_Krystal Lily Potter: Well, I'm weird too. So you're in good company here! Thanks! And thanks also for calling off the squirells, they were really starting to creep me out. My dog ran under the couch whenever she saw them._

_JoBrosCupcakeSwirl: Thank you!_

_Shinku Ryuuga: Thank you. And (cough) sixty-four (cough)!_

_Shire Folk: Thank you very much about everything! And you're right, Cloud may just be their only hope... And for the last chapter, I completely understand and sympathize, man. And congrats about Crisis Core!_

_Rach981: You're too kind! Thank you very much, I try to include a bit of everything._

_Hermitgenius: Thanks very much, my friend._

_ConfederateofZ: Thanks but, the image of Goofy you just put in my head... AUGH!! Get it out! And as for the last comment, yeah I feel like him too._

_Quartermass: Thanks, and you will! And honestly, I didn't even know Tron existed, or that Nightmare Before Christmas belonged to Disney._


	29. Chapter 28: Battle for Disney Castle

_Yes. Battle. Back to the action! The first Summon from Twilight Town finally appears in this chapter. Enjoy!_

_Demyx: "DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else. Just his plot and O.C.s ...Hey, what's an O.C.?"_

_(Sigh...)_

_--_

Chapter 28: The Battle for Disney Castle

Riku was resting comfortably with his new girlfriend in his arms. They were now sharing a room deep in the castle, much to their delight. They hadn't actually done anything. Regardless of what people might assume, Riku wanted to hold that off until marriage.

He was glad he hadn't hesitated back in the garden earlier. He didn't really know what had come over him, but there was just something about the peacefulness of the place that motivated him. Even he had been surprised at his leap of faith.

He looked down at the sleeping Yuffie. Her hair was sticking up in a few places, and it tickled his bare chest. She was mumbling something in her sleep, and smiling slightly. She looked adorable, and Riku grinned and brought her just a bit closer. He buried his face in her raven colored hair.

_Is this what Sora feels around Kairi?_

That would mean he was in love with Yuffie, and he really didn't doubt the idea. He didn't know for sure why he felt drawn to her, although nobody could deny that she was beautiful with her shiny black hair and dark brown eyes. Perhaps it was the fact that she was always energetic, and constantly cheerful. He thought that was endearing, and very enjoyable. He smiled to himself and kissed the top of her head.

_Maybe I _am_ in love._

Suddenly, the moment was ruined. On the far side of the room, the door banged open, and in rushed a bedraggled Hayner. Yuffie and Riku shot up in bed.

"Riku! Yuffie! We have to..." He suddenly realized that akwardness of the conversation and turned to look in the other direction. "Some guy has attacked the castle, and the knights need our help!"

Riku and Yuffie lept out of bed and ran toward their clothes (which were in a pile in the corner). They pulled them on hurriedly, and Yuffie grabbed a handful of her weapons. They ran out of the room as if catapulted, knocking over Hayner in the process.

Yuffie called, "Sorry!" Over her shoulder as she ran and tied her headband around her forehead. They ran through the corridors, and soon heard the sounds of fighting.

They arrived in the castle's dining room. It was a massive room about the size of the audience chamber deeper into the castle. There was a single long table in the center, lined with several chairs (many of which were overturned). The walls were covered in portraits of various ancestors of the King's. A few doors led to the kitchens and other hallways in the castle. Three giant chandeliers hung from the ceiling.

But nobody was paying any of this any mind.

The room was completely soaked, and it took a lot of effort just not to slip on the tile floor. Farther into the room, a fight was raging.

And there was none other than Demyx from Organization XIII. His hands were a blur over his sitar's three strings as he attacked utilizing water, and he was actually telling his opponents, "C'mon! Keep to the beat!"

Riku couldn't actually tell if anyone would act on his words, or if it would do them any good in some way. There were nine or ten royal knights lying unconscious around the room, drenched in water. Two were still fighting, with their captain Goofy spurring them on.

Hercules was in the fight as well, tossing chairs at Demyx with the force of bombs, or otherwise throwing punches. Somehow, Demyx was able to avoid most of the thrown projectiles. He seemed almost to melt into water himself, and turn solid again. Stitch was in the fray as well, charging at Demyx with his claws slashing, only to be batted away like a furry baseball with the sitar. He then got aggrivated, and pulled out his pistols and opened fire. He was joined by Genie, who popped out of nowhere and started shooting bullets of energy from his fingertips, pointing them at him like guns.

The shots missed.

Hayner, Pence, and Olette ran into the room from the other direction, with their weapons in hand. They took one look at the battle, and rushed in fearlessly, Riku had to give them credit for that.

Riku looked at Yuffie. "An interesting first date, don't you think?"

She laughed, "I expect some flowers afterwards."

Way to Dawn appeared in Riku's hand, he took his fighting stance and charged at Demyx, with Yuffie hot on his heels. He lept at Demyx, who miraculously twisted around and smacked him with the sitar. He flew backwards, and landed back near the door he had just come through. He followed up with a burst of water that caught Yuffie in the chest and sent her flying.

Riku rushed to catch her, and she landed in his arms, bridal-style. Demyx had never been that tough before.

He looked at the girl and said, "It's going to be a long night."

--

Nehrut charged at the girl who had called herself Bariss, floating two feet off the ground with his sword ready to strike. Bariss lept to the side as he neared her, delivering a kick to his stomach as she did so.

He lost his concentration and skidded across the ground. He stopped at the doorway (which apparently had a shield cast over it) and got to his feet again just in time to leap away from her whip.

Kiara jumped up from behind the girl with claws extended. But she ducked, allowing the lioness to pass harmlessly over her head. With astonishing reflexes, she reached up and grabbed her tail as she passed overhead.

She held tight, and swung her around her head a few times before tossing her at Nehrut. Kiara yelped in surprise as she was released.

Thinking quickly, Nehrut reached out and held her in the air. He caught her in his telekinetic grip and guided her around him. He then shot her back at Bariss, who was getting ready to attack again.

Both were surprised, but Kiara understood what she was supposed to do. She extended her claws again and latched on to her shoulders.

Bariss cried out briefly in pain, and was able to throw her off into the direction of the Cornerstone, where she landed on her feet. Nehrut charged Bariss again, with his sword pointing directly ahead. She dove to the side again, possibly intending to kick him again, but he wouldn't have that.

He landed on the ground a few feet from her, and adjusted his path and ran the rest of the way. She raised the hand holding the whip, and blocked the strike with the hand grip. They stood at a stalemate for a minute, pressing against the other's weapons trying to get through. Nehrut held his blade with both hands, and pushed down harder. Bariss pushed with both hands, too.

Their faces were so close together that they were inhaling each other's breath. He grinned.

"Not bad..."

She grinned back, "You want to give up yet?"

"Sorry. But this is just too much fun. Right Kiara?"

They disengaged as if on an unspoken agreement. They lept backwards away from each other. They space they had just occupied was now filled with twenty pounds of pouncing lion cub.

She latched onto the intruder's arms like before, but the girl was ready this time. She backflipped through the air, and successfully shook her off. She quickly reached down and grabbed her by the tail again. She tossed her with all her might at the wall on the far end of the room. She hit was a resounding _thud_, and slid to the ground, unconscious.

And that was one step too far for Nehrut.

He balled his hand into a fist, and Bariss was lifted three feet off the ground. This surprised her immensely, and she tried to free herself from the bonds that weren't there. He a made violent sweeping motion, and she soared across the room, over the Cornerstone, and smashed into the wall. Her dropped whip clattered to the ground ten feet away from her.

Nehrut let out a gasp of breath. He had never liked using his abilities to be that aggressive, but she had pushed him a bit too far.

He looked at the girl for a moment, and realized that she wasn't moving at all.

_Oh no..._

Was she alright? He hadn't meant to deal any serious damage. He ran over to her side and crouched down.

Low and behold, it was a trap.

The second his hand touched her arm, she sprang back into action, seemingly unharmed. Her sai was in her hand and flashing toward his neck. Only quick reflexes and a split second warning from his searching mind turned what would have been a bleeding gash across his throat into a barely noticable scrape across his chest plate.

His sword was back in his fighting stance inside of two seconds. She had taken up a new stance with her shining blade held in a style that almost reminded him of Riku's. She moved a lock of hair out of her face and behind her ear; the only thing that seemed to have come from his attack.

"You have a talent for the unexpected." She said lightly.

"So do you. Always nice to see a fellow master at work." He responded with a smile, accepting it as the compliment that it was.

Bariss cracked a smile, and rushed him again. Her small blade was practically wiped from existance by pure speed. She came on fearlessly, never stopping, and never hesitating.

It was all Nehrut could do to block the strikes, and he was losing ground fast.

--

_I'm really getting sick of these guys..._

Sora had just been soaked by yet another column of water. Their entire world-adventuring team had now arrived to fight Demyx, and the combat had since moved to the lower level of the Gummi ship hanger.

The Nobody (if he could still be called one) had called up nearly two-hundred water forms that were causing them all grief. Sora wondered if Demyx was stronger simply because he was a spirit now, because he certainly hadn't been this much of a challenge last time. Even the water forms were stronger.

That was not to say that Demyx was untouchable, of course. He was sporting a number of buises and scratches, most of which -Sora would happily admit- were inflicted by Keyblades.

Kairi and Riku were back to back on the other side of the hanger, fending off the form's attacks from the top of an orange Gummi. Mickey and Goofy weren't far from them.

Hercules, Hayner, Pence, Olette, and Yuffie were guarding the doorway, preventing access to the rest of the castle. Jack, Barret, and Stitch had taken cover behind a light blue craft and were shooting at forms from behind it. Genie was faring well, firing energy blasts from his fingertips at the various forms. Demyx himself was blasting large, explosive bubbles everywhere he could from somewhere in the center of the room.

He, Axel, and Donald were nearest Demyx, and therefore in the best position to attack and end the fight. But every time they tried, he saw them coming and was usually able to beat them back before they got too close.

It was time to try something he hadn't done in a while.

"Give me a bit of cover while I do this, guys." He told his two companions. They nodded and took up positions on either side of him.

He reached into his inside pocket and pulled out the charm he had picked up as they left Twilight Town. "Aladar!" He shouted.

_There was a vast, mountainous desert. In the distance, a dark shape could be seen that was kicking up a lot of dust. It was growing larger by the second._

_Soon, it could be made out. It was a massive _iguanadon_, a plant-eating dinosaur long since extinct on most worlds. His scales were mostly sand colored. The areas down his spine and on parts of his huge thighs were a deep green. His eyes were a yellow-green color. He smiled as he approached. "Hey Sora!"_

_Sora smiled back at him. He knelt down on his massive legs, allowing the Keybearer to jump on to his back and mount up as if he were a giant, scaly horse. "Let's get 'em!" Aladar roared._

Back in the hanger, all of this had happened in less than a second. Sora was suddenly astride the _iguanadon_ Aladar, who was charging through the water forms as if they weren't even there. In fact, Aladar seemed almost to enjoy the water bursting against his skin.

Occasionally, the dinosaur would jump into the air, and land with a loud _bam_ on the ground, creating a shockwave powerfull enough to destroy several forms at once. They charged at the very surprised Demyx, who clearly hadn't expected a dinosaur to come to their aide. He created a huge wall of water, which would hopefully keep his attackers away.

It didn't.

With one huge lunge, Aladar and Sora burst through the pillars of water unscathed. They proceeded to unleash a flurry of attacks on the hapless Demyx. Aladar's claws slashed across him up and down, leaving a few gashes. He let out a few comical-sounding yelps whenever he was struck. Sora threw in a few Keyblade strikes for good measure.

To finish things off, Sora jumped off the dinosaur's back and landed right in front of him. Aladar skidded to a stop. Sora held his blade high, and the tip was engulfed in bluish light just as Aladar raised his head and bellowed with everything he had.

A huge soundwave formed, and spread around them, destroying every water form within twenty feet of them. Demyx was caught in the blast as well. Sora coud hear him crying out, "NO WAY!!"

When things calmed down a bit, the hanger was silent. Sora turned to his new ally with a smile. "Thanks for your help, Aladar."

The dinosaur smiled and nodded his huge head. "See you soon." And he vanished in a flash of light, back to his own world.

Sora looked around the hanger. There was minimal damage, but everything was soaking wet (just like the dining room and all the hallways leading to this hanger). The water forms had all vanished, and were now nothing but additional water on the floor. Everyone was running toward the spot where he was, trying not to slip.

Demyx was at his feet, groaning in pain. He was beginning to fade away, almost as he had the first time he had died. But he wasn't exactly returning to darkness, his body was starting to tremble in unnatural waves, as though he was just a reflection in a pool of water that was filled with ripples. He looked up at Sora through half-lidded eyes.

"This seems familiar." He muttered.

Sora got down on his knee and leaned over him. "I'll have to ask you a few questions now."

"Sorry, but I don't know any more than you do."

"Why don't we make sure of that?" Riku said, mirroring Sora's posture. "How did you get in here?"

Demyx was silent for a moment. "That girl released me in here. I wasn't an actual being until she did that, so here I am."

"Girl?" Sora repeated. "Wait, what girl?"

"The blonde one wearing green. Carried a whip? I guess my distraction worked, then." His head rolled to the other side. "She'll go after the Cornerstone thing, maybe you should follow her..."

Finally, Demyx's body gave one final ripple, and he disappeared. In his place was a small card, which faded into darkness soon after.

"This was all a distraction?" Sora said, rising to his feet.

"Someone's going to destroy the Cornerstone!" Goofy exclaimed. He turned and began to run, along with a few others.

"Hold a moment!" Jack said suddenly. "Aren't we short a few?"

Sora did a quick head count, and there were indeed two of them missing. His eyes widened as he realized what that meant.

"Nehrut and Kiara are in the Hall of the Cornerstone!"

--

Bariss had reclaimed her whip, and was moving faster than ever. She advanced with the whip whirling around her at a blindong speed, to where it almost resembled a whirling black and green cage with the girl inside.

Nehrut was backpeddling across the room away from her, he was exhausted. This girl was incredible; strong, fast, and agile. With no other alternative, he took to the air, and floated over her.

Caught off guard, her attacks became just a hair slower, presenting a narrow window of opportunity to counter-attack.

He flew down at her with his blade slashing. Bariss had to dive away from the falling blade, and was suddenly back on the defensive. Theoretically, a whip was a horrible weapon for defense, being effective only at long range, and lacking any defensive mechanism. But somehow, she made it work.

Her hand grip was long and hard enough to where she could catch the blows from his blade and occasionally parried them. And even then, the cord was still dangerous. She had clearly adapted the whip's fighting style to be capable of defense as well. She had eliminated the weapon's cons altogether.

Nehrut had to respect that.

She pulled an unexpected manuever, and jumped right at him. He withdrew his blade to block a strike that never came. Bariss actually used his shoulders as a springboard, and pushed him over as she jumped off of them.

He crashed to the floor, letting out a gasp of air. He was just starting to get up, when he was kicked in the side and knocked over onto his back. His breath was knocked out of him yet again, when Bariss landed on top of him, her face was an inch from his, and the tip of her sai was pressed against his throat. She could kill him with a twitch of her two fingers.

"Please..." She said, in a surprisingly soft voice, "Surrender. I don't want to have to kill you."

"Why is that?"

She looked at him for a moment. It was the only pause he needed.

Mustering all his mental strength from his weary body and mind, he blasted her off his chest and flying into the wall opposite. She hit with a loud _smack_, and fell crashing to the ground, and landed in a sitting position against the wall near Kiara, her head slumped over her chest.

Nehrut straightened up, and felt a sharp pain in his side where she had just kicked him. He could feel at least a dozen different cuts across his body from her weapons. He reached out and touched her mind. It was blank, but still there, at least. She was unconcious just like the lioness.

He walked over to the two of them and checked them for wounds. Kiara was fine, but she had a lump on her head, she'd be alright. He bent over Bariss, and checked her head. There was a similar lump there, and her shoulders had cuts that almost penetrated the skin from Kiara's claws. There were marks from his sword as well.

Gently, he scooped her up into his arms, and picked up Kiara with his mind. He looked down into the girl's face and for the first time, noted that she was quite pretty. From up close, he noticed a small, pale scar on her right cheek that was more decorative than disfiguring. "I'm sorry about that." He said to her unconcious form. He hadn't liked striking like that. She could have killed him, but instead chose to give him a chance at life. She had almost begged him to.

He walked with her toward the door with the lioness floating behind them. Just then, the entire group flooded into the chamber, looking panicked.

"Nehrut!" Mickey cried when he saw him. They all ran toward him. "Are you alright?"

"Fine." He adjusted his 'grip' on Kiara, and she floated toward Goofy's arms. "She'll be fine too, when she wakes up. Roxas and Namine sent my message, then? Thanks guys."

Sora walked up to him and looked at the unconcious girl in his arms. "Is this the girl Demyx told us about?"

"Demyx, eh? So that's who I sensed." He looked back at the girl. "Her name is Bariss, she was sent to destroy the Cornerstone of Light."

"We'll get a cell ready-" The King began.

"No!" Nehrut burst out. He caught himself, and lowered his voice. "She doesn't use the dark, something's not right here." He looked at them all. "She had plenty of opportunities to kill me, but she wanted me to stand aside instead. Something isn't quite right about that. Let's just treat her wounds and ask her what she knows when she wakes up."

The King seemed a bit taken aback at his initial tone, but conceded. "Okay, let's get them to the medics and we'll deal with this later."

Genie conjured up a stretcher for the girl, and Nehrut placed her in it gently. He and Riku carried it off down a series of hallways, led by Mickey, Donald and Goofy (who was still carrying Kiara). Sora and Kairi trailed behind them.

As they walked, they went into further detail of the attack, describing their respective experiences to each other. There were no casualties in the attack (aside from Demyx himself, of course), and the brooms were already cleaning up the mess.

They soon arrived at the medical bay in the east wing of the castle, it was a nice, big room. There were five large windows on each wall, through which you could see the distant mountains. Moonlight was still streaming in. There were comfortable-looking beds lining the walls. A dozen very soaked knights were resting comfortably in a few beds, and were being looked after by a handfull of nurses.

One of those nurses was a short hen wearing a bonnet who looked oddly familiar to Sora. She approached the group and scooped the lion cub into her feathery arms, and directed Bariss toward another bed.

"Thanks, Clara." Mickey said. She gave him a smile and wandered off to the other side of the room. Sora looked surprised.

"Clara?"

"Yeah. She's an old friend of ours." Mickey said. "Why?"

As Sora told the King a few things about their trip to the past, Nehrut took a seat next to the bed and looked down at the girl, she might have just been asleep. Clara had returned and started dabbing at the cuts and bruises with a wet cloth, and then put bandages on the worst ones.

"How long will she be out?" Kairi asked her.

"Oh, not very long I, expect." She checked her head, and opened both eyelids to peer at the pupils. "No sign of concussion, and she's breathing fine. She'll be out and about by morning."

"Hopefully she won't be 'about' all over us." Riku muttered.

"I'll hang on to her weapons, then." Nehrut said. For the first time, they noticed that a whip and sai were on his belt by his sword. "And I'll tell you if anything happens to her."

"That's very kind of you, young man," Clara said, "But you all should probably be looked at, as well."

They assured her repeatedly that they were just fine, and soon, the room was empty, aside from the sleeping patients, Nehrut, and Sora and Kairi.

"Are you okay, Nehrut?" Sora asked. The guy had been fairly quiet since his battle with Barass, and had never taken his eyes off her.

"I'm fine. It's her that I'm worried about."

"Well, Clara said she would be fine..."

"Oh, I know physically," He corrected, "But during our fight, I tapped into her mind. What I found there was surprising."

"What was there?" Kairi asked apprehensively.

Gently, he placed a hand on her forehead. "A complete absence of anger, hate, or spite. She isn't dark at all. She didn't enjoy having to fight me."

"If she doesn't have darkness..." Sora said, thinking, "Does that make her a Princess of Heart?"

"That's not quite what I meant." He corrected himself. He turned in his seat to face them now. "We all have darkness, of course. You're one of the few exeptions to that rule, Kairi. I only meant that she didn't act on any of that darkness, and there's not much in her heart to begin with. She didn't _want_ to fight at all, though she's perfectly capable of it. She wanted me to stop because her conscience wouldn't allow her to live it down if I died."

"So she didn't want to hurt us?" Sora said.

"That must mean that she's not happy working with the Brotherhood. But what do they have over her that she'll listen to them?"

Nehrut sighed and looked at Bariss again. No anger. No hate. No spite.

But sadness.

--

_I think I hear an anrgy mob of Demyx fans beating my door down... Look I'm sorry but I had to kill him off! The Absent Silhouettes rely on the owners of their cards for their life and with Bariss out..._

_Anyway, I hope you liked Bariss, and congrats to all who guessed Aladar was the Summon. In sadder news, I start school again on Monday. But I'll still be able to update on a regular basis. Review please!_

_Rach981: Thank you! And you'll find out more about her soon._

_JoBrosCupcakeSwirl: Thank you!_

_DaemonArts: (Wink) Thanks_

_Quartermass: I'd just gotten your first review when I was about to update. What are the odds? And incidently, you're correct._

_Shinku Ryuuga: Thanks, and take your time, bud. I look forward to it._

_ConfederateofZ: Hmmm... You have a point there. I forgot all about her and Max. But don't sell yourself short, man._

_Syrena Li: Thank you very much._

_Garuto: Aren't I evil?_

_SamuraiJedi: YEAH!!_

_Sailor Winx: Thanks, and not in this story._

_Master if the Void: I'm sorry, but I don't understand what you mean._

_Hermitgenius: Thank you._


	30. Chapter 29: Nightmare and an Alliance

_School has started again. It's going to be a long, long, long, LONG year. Anywho, I wrote some new insight into Bariss's character in this chapter._

_Nehrut: "And so far, I like her!"_

_(Smiles widely) Yes, I know. That's how I wrote you._

_Nehrut: "What?"_

_Just do the disclaimer._

_Nehrut: "DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else he wants to use. Just O.C.s like me, and the plot... Seriously though, what are you smiling about?"_

_--_

Chapter 29: Nightmare and an Alliance

_Chaos._

_That was the only word that could describe it. Everywhere there were horrible, black creatures with shining yellow eyes. The humble villiage was swarming with them. The night air was filled with screams, and people were scrambling up and down the streets running from the creatures._

_Some tried to fight, with limited success. One of the more successful ones was a man with dark hair and a scar across his face. But in the end, he too was forced to retreat._

_In the midst of all of them was one little blonde girl clutching an emrald necklace in her tiny hands. She was clearly terrified, and with good reason. _

_Very near her was a taller woman in her late twenties with blonde hair like hers, in her hand was a gleaming silver and green sai. It spun and slashed, cutting through the creatures. Beside her was a man of about thirty. He was tall, red-haired with a good build and held a black and green whip in his hand. He lashed out against the creatures._

_Her parents were giving it all to protect their girl. And for a while, it seemed that they would be able to get away from the villiage and the creatures to seek refuge elsewhere._

_But that hope died soon._

_The creatures abandoned the family, and instead went after the other fleeing people. In front of them, a portal appeared. Out stepped a man._

_He was tall, and looked fairly young. He had a dark tan. His long silver hair flowed down his back, and on either side of his head it stuck up, almost like horns. He was wearing an outer robe of black and white, with gloves to match. On his chest was a small symbol of a black heart with a red 'X' across it._

_He smirked contemptuously at the family as they prepared to fight._

_The father ran at him first, and his whip came down fast toward his head. With unbelievable reflexes, the man reached up and _caught_ it. He gave it a firm tug, and the father was pulled toward him. The man reached out and grabbed him around the throat._

_His hand let out a flash of eerie blue light, and the father went limp, his whip clattering to the ground._

_The mother shrieked as the man tossed her husband's body aside like a limp rag doll. Her eyes streamed with tears, and she ran at him with the sai flashing. The man sidestepped her attack and grabbed her as well. Her sai fell out of her hands, but she was still alive._

_Through the pain in her eyes, she looked over at her daughter cowering in between the gap between two houses (one of which was mostly demolished)._

"_Bariss, run!" She said, before the portal appeared around the man again, and her mother dissapeared along with him._

_All around her, the creatures stopped attacking, and vanished in portals like that dark man. The girl stepped tentatively out of her hiding space, and walked toward her father's body, stopping to pick up the fallen sai and whip along the way._

_He looked down into his face, which bore an expression of surprise that only sudden death could bring. She collapsed onto his chest, and cried her eyes dry._

_Suddenly there was a voice that didn't belong there, one of a young man. _"Bariss! Wake up! Wake up!"

--

"Bariss! Wake up! Wake up!" Nehrut was trying desperately to awaken the poor girl. She was thrashing about in her sleep, and tears were running down her eyes. He turned to the two transparent teenagers in the room. "Get Sora and Kairi, I may need help!"

"Got it!" Namine said, and they vanished. Nehrut couldn't keep away the thought that the two of them made a handy telephone.

After another full, horrible minute of trying to wake her, Bariss snapped up in bed. Her hair was sticking to her face from the sweat. She was panting heavily, and pulling in heavy, choked breaths. Her eyes were glistening with tears yet shed. She sat on the bed with her elbows on her knees, and her face in her hands.

"Bariss..."

Suddenly she realized where she was. She kicked off the covers and lept out of the bed to the opposite side from Nehrut. She reached for her weapons that should have been on her belt, but they were on _his_ instead. She settled for the next best thing and took up an unarmed fighting stance.

Nehrut never moved from his chair. "Are you alright?"

Bariss hardly moved, but her eyes (still puffy from crying) betrayed her surprise. She didn't answer his question, perhaps because it seemed pretty obvious anyway. Instead she asked, "What do you want?"

"To help you. And after that, maybe you could answer a few questions for my friends and I." he said it in a calm, reassuring tone that said he didn't want to harm her in any way. But she was wary, and he couldn't really blame her, he had basically sucker-punched her in their last fight.

"Look, I'll put the weapons down."

Carefully, he drew his sword, and put it on the ground. Using his foot, he pushed it away from him, and closer to her. He then removed the whip and sai from his belt and set them on the bed. He folded his arms in front of him. A sign of trust.

"C'mon, sit." He indicated the bed with a nod of his head, and sent a wave of reassurance into the rapidly approaching minds of Sora and Kairi. He could feel their relief, and immediately went back to Bariss's mind. He was sad to discover that her mind was clouded with confusion, as if she had never been shown kindness before.

_And judging by that dream, she may never have been._

He had peeked into her dreams to discover what had her so terrified, and almost wished he hadn't. So he mentally tried to calm her, sending her reassurance, and a sense of safety. It was worth it to see her face relax, and cautiously sit down on the end of the bed.

"Now come on, I don't bite."

She scooted a bit closer to him, and sat at the center, facing him.

"How do you feel?" Small talk was often the best way to help somebody open up.

"I'm fine." She answered quietly. She wouldn't face him, and instead looked at the space of bed between her feet.

"Listen, I'm sorry about sucker-punching you at the end of that fight." He said. "Call me crazy, but I've become sort of fond of living."

For the first time in the brief hours since he had met her, she cracked a smile, and laughed softly.

"So you _can_ laugh!" He said, grinning. Good, he had successfully lightened the mood, she'd be much easier to talk to now. "It's good to see."

"Don't worry about that last bit." She said, finally looking up. Her sadness had vanished, and she wore a small smile. "I did do something along those same lines."

"Twice."

"Twice."

There was silence between them. They just looked at each other for a moment, wondering what they were supposed to say now. 'Sorry for trying to kill you'?

"Listen," Bariss said, her voice soft, "I'm sorry about what I did. I had no choice."

_So Kairi was right. They're holding something over her. Jerks._

"We thought you might have some motive apart from the Brotherhood's." He said gently, as if she had only apologized for eating the last slice of pizza. Nothing important. "We know you didn't enjoy what you were doing."

"Oh, I enjoyed the fight." At his look she ammended, "It was the part about imminent death that I had a problem with."

He laughed. "Same here."

There were a few minutes of silence again, but it was comfortable this time. And then she asked something surprising, "Could I stay with you guys?"

Nehrut was silent for a moment, before he smiled widely. "I don't think the guys will have a problem with that. Why the sudden interest?"

She was silent, and then said, "I'm tired of working for the Brotherhood of the Dark. I need to... do something," She fingered the emrald heart necklace around her neck, "And I just feel that I should help you."

She took a deep breath and said, "I've been on the wrong side. In you people, I see a chance to start over and find what I'm looking for."

"May I ask what that is?"

"Not until I know you better."

He smiled, and held out his hand to shake. "Fair enough. Welcome aboard, Bariss."

She looked at his outstretched hand, and smiled. She extended her own and shook it. "Thank you."

He covered her hand in both of hers and shook it warmly, smiling. And just then he felt four familiar presenses just outside the room. Turning around, he lifted his hands and pushed the doors open, to where they made a loud _bang_ against the walls.

Sora and Kairi fell backwards in their surprise, and Roxas and Namine jumped. "And you four can stop eavesdropping, she's not going to attack me!"

"It was his idea!" Roxas exclaimed, pointing at Sora and vanishing along with Namine. Sora blushed and waved akwardly.

"Welcome to the party!" He shouted and ran off. Kairi just rolled her eyes, bade them goodnight and went after him.

He turned back to Bariss and discovered her clutching her sides in an attempt to stop laughing. It hadn't been that funny, but then again it didn't have to be. Laughter could make anything better.

"Congratulations Bariss, you just made five extremely weird friends." She smiled at him again. "So would you like to stay in here for the night with the snoring knights who talk in their sleep, or share my room?"

She raised an eyebrow at him, and he realized what his offer had implied.

"Oh! Not like _that_! I'll sleep on the couch."

Bariss took one hard look around the room, just as as the knight sleeping across from them let out a snore that rattled the glass in the windows. "Lead the way."

Nehrut stooped over and picked his sword up from the ground where he had pushed it. He held it up to check it in the moonlight. Behind him, Bariss said, "That's a very nice sword."

"Thanks. It's been in my family for years. My great great great-grandfather named it 'Presul'."

"'Presul'?"

"It means 'Protector' in our language." He held it out to her, "Here, try it out."

She took it and held it in the light, examining the blue crystal blade that glowed softly with it's own inner light. She swung it in an arc around the air, captivated by the trail of light it seemed to leave behind. She did this a few more times, and handed it back.

"Beautiful." Was all she could say.

Nehrut found that it was taking all his strength not to say some lame comment like, 'Yes you are'. He had to admit it to himself, the moonlight shining on her blonde hair made her look almost angelic.

He gestured to the sai still sitting on the bed. "May I?"

At her nod, he picked it up almost reverantly. He held it up to admire it in the light as she had, turning it over in his hands. He wasn't adept at using knife-like weapons, preferring a bit more distance between himself and an opponent, but this was a beautiful weapon, to use her word. Now that the blade wasn't flashing at his neck, he could see the intricate green patterns on it.

"Magnificant." He said. He turned the sai back over to it's proper owner. "It's hand-crafted, correct?"

"Yes, it belonged to my mother." She took the compliment with a smile, but her eyes told him that she wasn't ready to talk about her family yet.

_All in due time._

She did a little knife trick for him, spinning the blade around in her fingers like a baton. She ended it by tossing it twenty feet in the air. It fell all the way back -point down- and she caught it with two fingers.

He applauded her, causing a touch of red to rise to her cheeks.

Then he decided to go one better, and showed her an improvised trick of his own. He picked up his own blade with his mind and spun it around in a circle in front of him, creating a small zone filled with blue light. He mirrored her and threw the blade into the air. It fell point down, and he stopped it on a dime, floating just over his palm.

She clapped for him, too.

He inclined his head towards the door, "I'll show you to my room. You can take the bed."

She wandered out of the room slightly ahead of him, and he closed the doors silently behind them. They wandered through the hall in companionable silence. They walked past a wide balcony, and Bariss stopped for a second. She walked out onto it and placed her hands on the railing, leaning on it and gazing into the star-covered sky. The moon here was a silver crescent tonight. Nehrut walked out to join her, and stood silently at her right.

"Beautiful place, isn't it?" He asked off-handedly.

"Hmmm..." Was her response. He turned to face her.

Her eyes were closed, and a small smile graced her lips. Her face was turned up slightly, and her hair blew into her face at a slight breeze. She was the picture of someone who was at complete peace with the world, if only for a moment. Her eyes opened slowly, and she faced him.

"It is." She then walked over and pulled him into a tight hug. Nehrut was a bit surprised at first, and unsure how to react, but then he wrapped his arms around her and returned her embrace. "Thanks for caring, Nehrut."

--

_My my... What could that reasonably obvious dream have meant? Well, there you have it. Bariss is one of the good guys now, and I have a new relationship to play with!_

_Please review!_

_Shinku Ryuuga: Well, now you have a little hint..._

_Hermitgenius: Thank you!_

_Sailor Winx: Thank you. Originally, I didn't like it that much, but it grew on me soon._

_Shire Folk: Thank you! That's just what I was going for with her. And you were right on the second part weren't you? And time limits are the ultimate fun-killers in video games, I agree._

_Quartermass: You'll know soon. And you can also expect more fluff soon._

_Wwecat: Well thank you very much! And hey, ranting is always welcome here, I don't mind. And thanks for your sympathy. Couldn't agree more._

_DaemonArts: Actually, the cards fade away after the defeat of their owners, or their own deaths. But I like the way you're thinking!_

_SamuraiJedi: It's always worked for me!_

_Garuto: (Evil laughter) Anyway, Aladar is an _iguanadon_ dinosaur from the computer animated Disney film 'Dinosaur' released in 2000. I've actually never seen anyone else use him as a Summon._

_Veradon: Thanks. And your idea was... interesting!_


	31. Chapter 30: New Information

_Okay! Here, I get to show off my O.C.s a little more, and throw out a little more info on the Brotherhood! We're getting back into the action very soon. Now, Bariss?_

_Bariss: "DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else he may decide to use later. Only his plot and original characters. Thanks for not killing me off, by the way."_

_Don't mention it. I guess I'm just a big softie. And Happy Labor Day to those who celebrate it._

_--_

Chapter 30: New Information

Sora awoke slowly the next morning. He yawned loudly, and looked around. He was still in his and Kairi's room at Disney Castle, so that meant that Bariss hadn't had a sudden change of heart in the middle of the night and kidnapped them (not that he had expected her to).

Kairi was still asleep, with her face buried into his shoulder and talking very quietly in her sleep. He smiled down at her and absent-mindedly ran his hand through her hair for a few minutes. He'd have been perfectly content to do that for the rest of the day, but some people would probably have a problem with that.

He gently shook her awake, and seconds later, her eyelids fluttered open. She smiled at him. "Morning."

"Morning." He leaned down and kissed her.

For the next several minutes they embraced in their bed, stealing kisses when the moment struck. And Sora couldn't help thinking that eventually, they could do this every day. If they both made it through their current crisis, then he vowed he'd never let this opportunity pass him by again.

Then the moment was ruined when Sora's stomach growled loudly. Kairi laughed and jumped out of the bed. "Come on, let's see if we can find the kitchen."

After dressing, they walked out into the halls and tried to find the kitchen or dining room again. Sora's famous sense of direction led them to dead-ends eight times. Eventually though, they ran into someone who would know.

"Hey Nehrut! Bariss!"

Their newer friends turned around at the sound of Kairi's voice. Nehrut smiled and waved at them as they ran toward them. When they stopped, he said, "You couldn't find the kitchen could you?"

They talked as Nehrut led the way to the dining room. Along the way, Bariss apologized up and down for causing the attack the previous night. That was definitely enough to show that she was with them now.

When they found the dining hall, they were met with an akward sight: Riku and Yuffie kissing passionately near their end of the table. They were so engrossed in each other that niether of them seemed to notice they had company.

"You think they notice us?" Sora asked.

"If they haven't, they will soon." Nehrut said, with mischief in his smile. He stretched out his hand, and slowly, the massive table started rising. Riku and Yuffie still didn't notice. He lifted it higher and higher, until it was nearly ten feet off the ground.

Catching on to what he was going to do, Sora smiled. The table dropped ten feet, and landed with one of the loudest crashing noises that Sora had ever heard. It sent shockwaves through the floor that nearly tripped them.

With a shout of surprise, Riku and Yuffie jumped apart and tripped all over each other. They fell rather comically, and their legs ended up tangled up with the other's. Yuffie's foot was in a position that must have been very uncomfortable for Riku.

They glared at the group in the doorway, who were able to keep straight faces for exactly one second.

Before they burst out laughing.

"Priceless!" Sora said. He was leaning heavily against the door frame, and gradually sliding down it. Kairi was already on the floor, heaving in silent laughter.

"You're DEAD!" The pranked shouted in unison. They untangled themselves and charged at Nehrut, clearly the perpetrator.

And tripped and fell flat on their faces, which added to Sora and Kairi's laughter. Confused, they looked up, and saw none other than Bariss with her whip out. She had a wide, devilish grin on her face. Looking down, they realized that the end was wrapped around their feet.

Nehrut applauded. "A woman after my own heart!" She sent him a grin and a bow. And she didn't know just how much she mirrored Nehrut at that moment.

"Now you're dead, too!" Yuffie yelled.

But then she and Riku found themselves hanging upside down in midair by their shoes. They had been caught off guard by the psychic yet again. He walked over to Bariss's side and wagged his finger at them.

"Now, now... Must this all end in violence?" He furthered their embarresment by jerking them another ten feet higher. Sora and Kairi were in hysterics, writhing on the floor, clutching their sides.

"We surrender! We surrender!" Riku exclaimed.

"What do you mean 'we'?" Yuffie cut in.

Nehrut dropped Riku on to the floor, and lifted Yuffie higher still. "Okay we surrender!" And he dropped her as well. Sora and Kairi were able to stand up and applaud while Riku and Yuffie grumbled and got to their feet. Nehrut and Bariss held hands, and bowed.

Nehrut grabbed a glass of orange juice on the table and raised it. "Here's to our lovebirds Riku and Yuffie, for taking it all somewhat in stride."

Bariss took another glass and tapped it against his. They drank, and emerged with grins on their faces.

They all sat down together for a large breakfast that the broom servants brought in. Gradually, the hall started to fill up, and eventually their entire group (plus Minnie, Daisy, Chip, and Dale) were sitting at the table being told of what Nehrut had done. They laughed their heads off.

Sora noticed that Bariss was absolutely stuffing her face with food, as if she hadn't had a decent meal in years. More than once, she almost choked and Nehrut had to slap her on the back a few times. She smiled gratefully to him, then went right back to stuffing her face.

"They have something going on, you know." Roxas said.

_I figured as much. They look good together._

He shot a glance at Kairi, who was sitting at his left. She looked back and winked conspiritorily at him, clearly thinking the same thing.

Byt the time most of them had finished breakfast, the King made himself known. "Now that we've all eaten, maybe we should get down to bussiness." He looked at Bariss, "Ma'am, since you're here, could we ask you a few things?"

Barass put down her silverware and nodded at the mouse. "It's the least I can do after the kindness you've shown me here. My name is Bariss."

"Good to meet ya Bariss." The King said. "Let us properly introduce ourselves. I'm Mickey Mouse, this is my wife, Minnie."

"Donald Duck!"

"Daisy Duck."

"Goofy!"

"Chip. This here is Dale."

"Axel. Got it memorized?"

"_Captain_ Jack Sparrow."

"Barret."

"Kiara."

"Genie! Menie mo meenie banana fanna bobini... Genie!"

"Hercules."

"Meega Stitch!"

"Hayner."

"Pence."

"And Olette."

Roxas and Namine's transparent figures appeared. "Roxas."

"Namine." The two Nobodies admired the food with something close to envy. It suddenly occurred to Sora that the two Nobodies hadn't eaten in a while. But whether they had to or not, he didn't know.

"And now you'll want to know as much as I know about the Brotherhood of the Dark, I suppose?" Bariss said.

Most of the table nodded.

Bariss took a deep breath, and began. "Well, the Brotherhood is run by eleven people. Six of them are Nobodies, four of them have hearts, but are so dark it probably doesn't matter. And the leader..." She visibly shuddered, "He's something else entirely."

"This Serndask guy we've heard about?" Riku asked.

Bariss nodded.

"So who are the leaders? What are they like?" Sora asked.

"One of them is a Nobody with black hair. He carries a Keyblade."

"That would be Ruxik. We've met him." Riku said.

"Another Nobody is young, with brown hair. His Heartless counterpart always follows him."

"My dear brother Xaynew." Nehrut said.

"The other Nobodies are named Andmox, Klaxam, Xarcs, and Xayn Shu. Andmox is really just a brute, but his strength is incredible, and he's really hard to hurt. Klaxam is extremely dangerous, he can move at speeds that nothing else can hope to hit, and he won't hesitate to use that to his advantage."

"Xarcs is some sort of animal, it's hard for me to tell what exactly. His roar is terrifying, and he's pretty vicious when you get him agitated. Not that Nobodies can _get_ agitated, right? And Xayn Shu is a practiced swordsmaster, and I once saw him sprout bird wings and fly!"

Sora pondered those names for a minute. The last two, 'Xarcs' and 'Xayn Shu' sounded just a little familiar to him. But he was sure that he had never met them before, though the descriptions struck a cord with him.

"What about the others?" Goofy asked. "Y'know, the ones that still have their hearts?"

"There's a woman called Liasa. She can manipulate flames."

Axel immediately perked up and exclaimed, "Sounds like my kind of woman!" This was accompanied by a short round of laughter.

"A man named Crucion. He typically interrogates the prisoners the Brotherhood brings in to their headquarters, and he enjoys his job way too much."

Axel's mood soured again. "I know him." He said, running a finger across the scar on his forehead, which was faded to a pale, thin line now. If you were far enough away, it was unnoticable.

"There's a being called the Horned King. He's some sort of undead creature, well-versed in black magic spells."

"I know him!" Mickey exclaimed. All eyes were drawn to him again. "He was once an accomplice with Pete. He tried to take over the castle once, only to be stopped by the Cornerstone. I think he might have worked with Maleficent for a time, too."

"Looks like he upgraded." Riku muttered. "Do you know what the Brotherhood did with Maleficent, Bariss?"

"I saw her only once." Bariss admitted. "Xaynew was dragging her unconscious into this room, deep in the heart of their headquarters. But they never let me in on the full extent of their plans, so I don't know what they've done to her since."

"Well, there's one person that you haven't mentioned yet." Sora said. He had been counting down on his fingers. "Who is he?"

"The last one with a heart just arrived at the castle less than a month ago. He's their newest member, but I've never learned his name."

"What does he look like?" Sora asked.

Bariss paused for thought for a moment before saying, "He has this... _wing_...Silver hair... Carries a long sword."

Five people at the table jumped out of their seats from the shock: Sora, Donald, Goofy, Barret, and Yuffie. They all exclaimed as one, "Sephiroth!?"

"Did that son of a at this point he muttered a word that would be inappropriate to print ever mention a guy named Cloud?" Barret asked, sounding truly afraid for the first time since Sora had met him.

Bariss seemed genuenly surprised by their reaction. "No... I'm sorry, he didn't."

Everyone sunk back into their seats slowly, realizing the problems that were bound to come along with Sephiroth against them again.

_What happened to Cloud? Couldn't he beat him with Tifa's light? Where did they even go? Wait, Tifa!_

"We have to tell Tifa and Aerith about this. I hope Cloud's okay."

Apart from the five who had met Sephiroth, only two others didn't look confused: Nehrut and Mickey, who had read Jiminy's journal. "That guy is in a whole new league. Things have just gotten a lot harder."

"Do you know where the Brotherhood's headquarters are?" Mickey asked.

Bariss lowered her head. "I'm sorry, but there's a problem with that."

"What sort of problem?"

"The world they have their headquarters on is heavily protected. A series of dark barriers covers the world, keeping Gummi ships from coming in and out without a specific ship part. And only the senior members of the Brotherhood have them."

"My ship would have allowed you to get through, but it seems that Serndask didn't trust me completely, it's been disabled remotely."

"What's the name of the world?" Riku asked.

"Pax Pacis."

Sora had just realized that he knew those two words, when suddenly a glass in the middle of the table shattered, and two plates cracked in half. The people nearest them jumped in surprise, and 

looked around for the source of the disturbance. And there was Nehrut, clutching the table top in front of him with his head down.

"Nehrut?" Namine asked. "What is it?"

He looked up slowly, and in his eyes was unimaginable pain. His words came out shorter, lower, and harsher than he (Sora) had ever heard, "That is _my _world."

Everyone fell silent for a moment, and Nehrut excused himself. "Sorry, but I need some air." All eyes followed him out the door until it closed behind him.

As the brooms carried the broken dishes away, Kairi whispered, "He never said..."

The King, apparently trying to change the subject as soon as possible, asked, "What is the Brotherhood planning exactly, Bariss?"

Though Bariss was still looking at the door through which Nehrut had left, she replied, "They want Kingdom Hearts. I think they want to use the Keyblade to open it up. They have Ruxik, but it seems that that isn't enough, since I was ordered to capture another Keybearer here."

"Why not use the Princesses of Heart?" Sora asked, squeezing Kairi's hand under the table.

"I'm not sure." She answered, "Wouldn't that be easier?"

"That's something we'll have to figure out as we go along." Mickey said. "Now, Bariss, is there anything else?"

"They're planning on attacking the worlds soon."

After four separate spit-takes, Mickey muttered, "Maybe you could have mentioned that _first_?"

"Sorry. At any rate, that's all the information I have for you."

"Well you've been a great help to us, Bariss. Thank you." Mickey said, bowing slightly.

"And if it's alright, I'd like to join you on your journeys." She added.

"Of course!" He said, beaming. "The more the merrier!"

After that, arrangements were made to increase the world's chances of survival. A great deal of their group would have to return to their respective home worlds to warn them, and get a defence ready. That meant Hercules, Jack, Hayner, Pence, Olette, Genie, Kiara, and Barret would have to leave them.

Barret was given another Gummi ship (smaller than _Unity_, but large enough to accomidate several people) named the _Griffin_. It was dark green, and proudly displayed a dozen cannons. He would bring them all home, and then return to Radiant Garden. In the end, the King simply didn't have the heart to separate Yuffie from Riku, especially when they hadn't had much time together already.

He, Sora, Kairi, Riku, Donald, Goofy, Nehrut, Bariss, Axel and Yuffie would travel to the other worlds on their own to do whatever they could.

Nehrut reappeared later, still a bit moody, but he tried to put on a happy face for his departing friends.

"I'll see you guys soon." Barret said before leaving. "Keep your guards up."

"Do we really have to leave so soon?" Genie exclaimed, pouting. "I mean, we just got here!"

"Sorry, Genie." Sora said, "But Agrabah needs you right now."

"Well, you may be right. Heaven knows that Al's absolutely helpless without me!"

Sora laughed. "Tell Aladdin and Jasmine we say 'hello'."

"Will do kiddo!" And with that, he vanished in a puff of blue smoke.

Roxas was saying goodbye to his (sort of) old friends from Twilight Town. He was transparent, but they were still attempting to give him air hugs. He seemed to appreciate them all the same.

"Now, at the next Struggle," He was saying to Hayner, "Make sure you give Seifer a good beating for me, huh?"

"I'm not going to wait _that_ long to do it." He responded, hefting his new sword over his shoulder.

Nehrut gave Kiara a nice belly rub before she walked up the boarding ramp. Jack Sparrow proclaimed a toast to all of them, and took a nice long swig from his flask. Hercules gave them firm pats on the back (which brought Sora, Goofy, and Riku to their knees) and followed him on. Stitch gave everyone a thoroughly slobbery farewell.

Once everyone was safely aboard, the _Griffin_ lifted off the ground, and rocketed out of the hanger. The remaining people waved at the ship until it winked out of sight far above them.

The goup walked back to the _Unity_, saying goodbye to the various friends they were leaving behind on the castle. Daisy was almost tearful, but Minnie put on a brave face, confident that they would make it back in one piece.

The last one up the ramp, Nehrut turned around to them and said, "Salus Pax Pacis."

"Safety and Peace." They said back as the ramp closed.

They walked to the bridge, and took their seats. Riku took Stitch's place at the weapon's console.

_Safety and Peace. That's what we're fighting for._

Sora looked over at Kairi, and she smiled reassuringly at him. Returning it, he eased the ship into the air, and out toward space.

Other worlds were waiting for them.

--

_And there you have it! This whole story up to this chapter could be considered as 'Part 1'. If it were a game, then it would have been like the first two levels of the other ones. And now we head to the movie worlds!_

_In other news, I am uploading this from my cousin's house in Austin, miles away from home because of Gustav. Pray for us, because I don't know when I'll be back home. Reviews will help me get through this dark time!_

_SamuraiJedi: Yes you do! Glad you enjoy it!_

_Shinku Ryuuga: (Wink)_

_Hermitgenius: Sorry if I offended, man. If I did, then it was never my intention. And yes, he did hold back a bit, suspecting that she wasn't so bad._

_Garuto: (Rolls eyes and smiles) Oh well…_

_Disneytiger: Well, I'm glad that I haven't scarred you for life! Thanks._

_Sailor Winx: Saw what coming, exactly?_

_Shire Folk: All's fun in love and fan fiction! (Wow, even I thought that sounded dumb)_

_Lost Pajama Boy: Well, thank you! But just so you know, I may not use Anti-Form._

_Quartermass: Yes it was a bit quick, but you'll understand why eventually._

_JoBrosCupcakeSwirl: Thank you!_

_RikuLover211: Thanks! Glad you liked them!_

_ConfederateofZ: Thanks, dude! Wow, thirty times… Anyway, I agree Axel beats Demyx anytime. Keep up your good work!_

_Blade XIII: Thanks, Blade! I look forward to that next chapter._


	32. Chapter 31: In the Jungle

_Welcome to Deep Jungle! Where humans act like gorillas, jaguars are evil, and for some reason you can surf on tree branches... Axel!_

_Axel: "DarthKingdom does not own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else he wants to use later. Only the plot and O.C.s. And lots and lots of stupid disclaimers."_

_If you don't like it, then why did you volunteer for it?_

_Axel: "I was bored."_

_--_

Chapter 31: In the Jungle

The _Unity_ hovered in orbit around a bright green planet. It was bathed in sunlight, and looked peaceful enough, but Sora knew from experience that it wasn't completely peaceful. He knew this world, he had visited it almost a year ago.

It's official name was Deep Jungle; the home of Tarzan and a whole family of gorillas. Looking out the viewport, he wondered whatever had happened to Jane Porter. She had been quite attatched to Tarzan when Sora had known her. So had she stayed with him in the jungle, or gone home?

Regardless of who was down there, the place had darkness decending on it. Mickey had sensed it somehow, and nobody questioned his instincts.

"When we get down there," Sora said, "You might be attacked by predators, not just Heartless."

They nodded an affirmative, and he, Kairi, and Riku stepped onto the red transmission pads. "See you dirt side!" And they vanished.

--

The three Keybearers appeared in the remains of an old treehouse.

They were surrounded by the tattered remains of furniture, which had been long since abandoned with the unfortunate deaths of their owners. A baby cradle, some curtains, and an old black-and-white photograph in a circular frame were among the wreckage. A thick layer of dust and dirt covered most of the floor, only disturbed slightly in some places.

Sora knew this treehouse, he had landed here after an "evacuation" the last time he was on this world. Tarzan's biological parents had lived here, as had Tarzan himself, before the gorillas found him.

He and his friends wandered slowly out to the deck of the treehouse, which overlooked the hundreds of miles of pure jungle below them. Back in the house, their companions were appearing.

"Oh, I remember this place!" Goofy said, he walked outside with the others. "I wonder where Tarzan is?"

"He's down there somewhere." Sora said, waving his arm over the jungle, "I hope he's alright."

"Oh, well then, I guess we just pick a tree and start looking." Axel said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"We may not have to," Riku said, he pointed out to a specific part of the jungle. "Look, something's disturbed the birds out there. That means there's some kind of activity."

Sora looked in the direction of his finger, and saw a large flock of birds flying from the tree tops. "You're probably right." He jumped over the railing and fell twenty feet into the netting around the edge of the tree. "C'mon follow me!" He called up to them. They all followed suit, and landed all around him.

Sora led them all the way down the massive tree the treehouse rested on, and into the canopy of smaller trees below. Mighty tree branches as thick as cars stretched out from the trunk they were on, practically linking them to similar branches in other trees. Branches as thick as his arms hung from them in plenty of places.

"Tell me you aren't going to..." Roxas said.

_Oh yes I am!_

He turned around to give his friends a smile, and said, "Follow my lead!"

And then, to everyone's amazement, he jumped. The rushed to the edge to see that he had landed on one of the branches, and was sliding down it as if riding a skateboard!

"Awesome!" Riku exclaimed, and followed him down, getting the hang of it almost immediately. Axel went next, followed by Goofy, Mickey and Donald, who used his shield like a sled to slide down. Nehrut flew after them, and joined them a bit later.

That left Kairi, Yuffie, and Bariss behind on the tree trunk staring after them. "Are they crazy?" Bariss asked.

"Nope." Kairi responded.

"They just know how to have a good time!" Yuffie finished. She jumped down after them, riding on top of her giant shuriken like a sled. Kairi followed her.

Bariss chose a different style, and used her whip to wrap around the thinner branches above, and swung from them.

The entire party travelled along the branches and vines. Through the entire jungle in the general direction of the disturbance Riku had spotted. Riku soon caught up with Sora (who was still ahead of them all) and it turned into a race, just like old times. Surprisingly, Kairi (who started last) was soon directly behind Sora.

Needless to say, this affected Sora's concentration. Especially when they came to a turn in the branch when he was turned around to face her. He fell off entirely, and just barely managed to save himself by grabbing a vine. His momentum carried him through a giant arc, spinning around the air to the bend in the branches. He let go and landed ten feet in front of both Riku and Kairi.

_I can't believe I pulled that off._

Several feet behind them, Nehrut said to Axel, "Show off."

Eventually, they reached the end of the thick branches, and got closer to the ground. Sora reached it first and landed on a nearby hill. The rest followed suit, landing in varying degrees of gracefulness (Donald slid off Goofy's back and landed face-first on the ground, skidding several feet).

They surveyed the area, by Sora's reckoning they were close to their destination. The hill they were on was near a pretty waterfall, flowing into a large lake/watering hole, in which there was a large, red elephant bathing. Everyone took in the sight, before Riku stated, "I think we're close to that spot I pointed out."

The group walked in the direction of the water, and suddenly the elephant let out a loud noise. Not because of them, but because of what had just arrived.

Heartless.

The elephant ran toward the center of the lake, but it was only met by more Heartless. It was now in the center of a ring of them. It cried out in distress.

So, of course that meant they had to help.

Sora summoned Oblivion, Kairi summoned Desitny's Light, Riku summoned Way to Dawn. Weapons appeared in everyone's hands and they rushed into the lake. At the sight of four Keyblades, the Heartless changed course immediately.

Sora recognized several of the Heartless from his last visit to Deep Jungle. Powerwilds, Bouncywilds, and Sniperwilds resembled monkeys colored blue, orange, and purple. They were certainly vicious, and seemed to enjoy messing with their opponents. It became really annoying when they chose to retreat before fighting.

They were probably the most agile Heartless he could remember fighting. They jumped or dove out of the way of their attacks, only to counter-attack microseconds later. So he developed a strategy for fighting them. He would let them charge him, and take a quick step back when they attacked. They would swipe at empty air, leaving a narrow window of opportunity to swipe them in half.

They fought back and forth against the oncoming Heartless, creating a (mostly) human barrier around the panicking elephant. Sloshing about in the water, they were a bit less gracefull than usual, but not so you would notice.

Riku was blasting balls of dark fire left and right, taking down a Heartless with each one. Yuffie jumped in behind him to cover his back.

King Mickey lept all around the field of battle, more agile than the persistant Heartless, cutting them down even as they tried to avoid him.

Axel's fireballs either struck the Heartless, or they hit the water around them, creating billowing clouds of steam that would provide temporary cover until somebody attacked through it.

They were carefull about using lightning spells, lest all the water around electricute them all. The Heartless were thinning out gradually, and after about five minutes, they stopped coming.

Sora let out a sigh of relief, and turned to the elephant. "You okay big guy?"

In response, the elephant let out a cry that sounded extremely happy, and with it's trunk, picked up Sora and Axel (who had been standing closest to him). They were surprised, but took it as a thank you.

"I think you guys have made a new friend!" Kairi said with a smile.

Suddenly there came a sound that three of them recognized: a loud cry from farther inside the forest. It started out soft, but got much louder very quickly. It sounded like a primate crying out to the jungle, proclaiming it's dominance. It was stretched out for around fifteen seconds, before fading away.

Unexpectedly, the elephant's eyes narrowed. It put Sora and Axel on it's back, and then let out a much higher cry that rang in everyone's ears. And suddenly, it took off into the jungle in the direction the first cry had come.

With Sora and Axel still on it's back.

Riku, Kairi, Mickey, and the others looked at each other confused, then chased off after the elephant that had apparently kidnapped their friends.

--

_That was pretty short, I know. Sorry._

_Yes, on the off-chance I wasn't specific enough, that was Tantor from the movie. I was surprised that they didn't include him last time. Actually, I missed that whole world in the last game. Stupid copywrite issues._

_Review please!_

_(from now on I'll just reply to my reviews the normal way)_


	33. Chapter 32: Lord of the Apes

_Hopefully, this chapter is more exciting than the last. Enjoy, everyone!_

_Tarzan: "DarthKingdom not own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, anything... Plot O.C.s..."_

_That'll work, thanks._

_--_

Chapter 32: Lord of the Apes

Sora and Axel held on tight to the elephant's back, wondering what was going on.

"Are we being kidnapped by an elephant?" Axel asked, wondering if he should burn their way off and get back to looking for Tarzan.

"Actually, I think he's doing us a favor." Sora answered.

"And how is he doing that again?"

Sora had recognized the cry. He had heard it frequently last time he was on this world. That was the battle cry that could only ever be done by one man: Tarzan, the Lord of the Apes.

"He's bringing us to Tarzan."

"And you know this how?"

"Who did you think that was shouting?"

Whatever Axel's response was, Sora didn't hear it. The elephant had just let out another wail. Turning, Sora saw another group of Heartless chasing after them, and gaining fast. Among them were a breed of flying Heartless that he hadn't seen before. They resembled parrots, though they were predominately black, and marked with red and green on the wings. They had the same gleaming yellow eyes that most Heartless shared.

Carefully, Sora straightened up on the elephant's back. He took up an uneasy fighting position on his rocking back. On of the Parrot-Heartless (called Dark Beaks) swooped down on him, only to be batted away almost casually by the Keyblade.

Sora struggled to keep his balance atop the terrified elephant. This was worse than the hoverbike in the World That Never Was. At least that thing had artificial gravity, whereas the elephant often jumped over fallen logs trying to escape the Heartless, upsetting his balance.

Axel shot a few fireballs at the airborne Heartless, holding them off for a while. But he couldn't work at optimum effeciancy while holding onto the elephant's back. And he also had to be careful not to set fire to the entire jungle with a stray shot.

All in all, it was a frustrating fight, yet Sora had been through worse. He still remembered the one time when Luxord had turned him into a giant die.

For the next few minutes, he and Axel fought off the Heartless on their tail. They often came close to hitting the elephant, but where diverted at the last minute by the Keybearer and former Nobody.

After what felt like an eternity, the chase stopped, and the elephant stopped in a huge clearing. Siezing the opportunity, Sora and Axel lept off his back. They surveyed the area, which was something like a dip between two raised chunks of land. The area was strewn with boulders and fallen vines and bamboo trees. Sora was guessing that this was where Riku had picked up the disturbance.

Especially since there was already fighting going on. The area was swarming with Heartless. They were engaged against a being with his back to a cliff-face across from Sora. He was a very large gorilla with sleek black hair and gray-colored skin. He was successfully beating Heartless away with his bare fists.

But Sora's attention was drawn away from Kerchak by another wild cry. Sora looked up in the direction the cry had come from. High up in the trees was a familiar figure, swooping in on a tree vine with a spear in hand made of wood and a sharpened rock. It was a man with a toned body wearing a brown loincloth made of animal skin. His dark brown hair was very dirty and had a few leaves in it. His blue eyes were fierce.

He landed on top of a Heartless, and swung his spear in an arc, taking out five more with just that swing. Displaying astonishing acrobatics, he overlept another group and stabbed through three of them with one lunge.

The danger was temporarily passed, and Tarzan walked over to Kerchak, kneeling down and leaning forward on his knuckles. He hooted and grunted with Kerchak for a few minutes, in an animal language that Sora couldn't completely understand.

"What's with the way he talks?" Axel asked him, whispering. Clearly Tarzan wasn't quite what he had pictured.

Sora smiled and chuckled. "That's what I thought when I first met him. But when you've been raised by gorillas, what do you expect?"

"Point taken."

Just then, Kerchak realized that they were no longer alone in the clearing. The red elephant that had brought them there walked over to Tarzan and the gorilla and joined in the coversation.

That was when Tarzan noticed Sora and Axel standing there, waiting to be noticed. He smiled widely and said, "Sora!"

"Tarzan!"

They ran toward each other and met halfway. They gave each other an old brotherly hug that Tarzan had given him once before (Sora thought he had been trying to kill him at the time). When they seperated, Tarzan said, "You've gotten bigger."

Surprised by the clearly pronounced diction, he responded, "And your English is better."

"Thank you."

"This is my friend, Axel." Sora said, leading him toward the fire-headed man. "Axel, this is Tarzan."

Tarzan extended his hand, in a remarkably human gesture, and shook Axel's. Kerchak was giving them a strange look from over Tarzan's shoulder. His attitude toward outsiders apperantly hadn't changed much since Sora left. And he had had more than a whole year, so that was saying something.

Trying to start off on the right foot this time, Sora bowed to the huge gorilla. He seemed surprised, and after a moment, nodded his head and let out a low grunt and stalked off into the jungle. Maybe they could get along yet.

He turned his attention back to Tarzan. "So how have things been with you?"

"Fine." He said, smiling, "Jane's still here. And we're married."

"Well, good for you two."

Suddenly there were noises coming from the jungle. In rushed a new breed of Nobodies that Sora had never seen before. Their silver and grey bodies were large and muscular. Shorter than Berserkers, but with more muscle. The Nobody symbol was marked on their chests. They carried broadswords across their chests, which also displayed the symbol. They were accompanied by the more common Dusks, which wove around them with their eerie walk.

Behind them came a giant of a man. He stood at around seven feet tall. His chest was covered by black chest armor that was scratched in a few places from hostile battles. His domed head was clean-shaven, and he had a thin beard and moustache. His grey eyes were as fierce as Tarzan's. On his right arm were black tatoos in swirling patterns.

The Nobodies took up positions all around the perimeter of the clearing. But they made no move to attack, and their swords remained folded across their chests. The large man strode in to fill a gap left by the lesser Nobodies.

Axel's chakrams appeared in his hands in a burst of flame. Tarzan crouched down low again and held his spear at an angle, ready to charge at the Nobodies at a moment's notice. Their elephant friend let out a shriek and dashed into the jungle. The Keyblade appeared in Sora's hand as he took up a fighting position. It was so reflexive now that he didn't even remember calling it.

The man eyed it and put his fists on his hips, making him look fairly intimidating.

"So you're Sora." He said in a deep, calm voice. "The Master of the Keyblade."

"So what's it to you?" He lashed back.

"We want it." He said simply. "With it, Kingdom Hearts will be ours. And when that time comes, the worlds will be brought under our rule. And we _will_ have it, one way or another." He held out his hand, palm up. "So why don't you make it easy on yourself and come with us?"

"That's simple." Sora retorted. "The _only_ way you can get Kingdom Hearts is for us to help you. And we'll die before we do that!"

The man –Andmox- let a low growl escape his throat. "If that's the way you feel, than we'll just have to take you by force." He raised his voice and addressed the Nobodies, "Capture the Keybearer, kill the others!"

In one single, unified motion, the Gladiator Nobodies clapped their swords against their chests, and then angled them by their sides. They took up fighting positions just as the Dusks started creeping toward them.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have some 'hunting' to do." Andmox said with a smirk. Then he vanished into a corridor of darkness.

Sora charged at the first Dusk, delivering a horizontal slash that sent it flying. A Gladiator immediately took it's place, and delivered a downward slash. He dove to the side and slashed it across the chest as he did so. He then spun back around and finished it off with a much harder slash. He then became engaged with another Gladiator, which came on with a series of powerful blows, which Sora either blocked or dove away from.

But the Nobody made a mistake and swung too hard once, and got it's sword embedded in the ground. It tried to pull free, but was promptly cut down with the Keyblade.

Tarzan sprung over two blades and landed squarely on the shoulders of a Gladiator. He pumped his legs and lept off, sending it sprawling to the ground. He hit another Gladiator in the chest feet first, knocking it backwards. He impaled it with a thrust of his spear and back-flipped off. He landed crouched and lunged at another one with his spear tip proceeding him. It went through it's forehead, and he swung it out to catch a leaping Dusk in the neck.

The Flurry of Dancing Flames tossed his chakrams at a pair of Gladiators, hitting them in the chest and sticking. With a flick of the wrists, he set them ablaze. The flames spread out of their chest wounds, and reduced them to piles of ash (which faded into darkness). The weapons then shot back into his hands with just enough time for him to rotate 180 degrees and slice an oncoming Dusk in half.

The fight continued for several minutes, until only five Gladiators remained in the clearing. The Dusks had all been wiped out. The three warriors prepared to take the last of the Nobodies down when there was a crashing sound in the trees.

Everyone (even the Nobodies) looked toward the trees where the noise came from. Two thinner trees were knocked over and crushed a Gladiator. Out rushed the elephant they had saved, sounding like a trumpet call. On his back was a younger gorilla with bluish fur and a tuft of hair on the top of her head. Sora recognized her as Tarzan's 'cousin' Terk.

The elephant rushed over and trampled the Nobodies beneath his massive feet. One managed to escape his feet by diving out of his path. That didn't help it though, as Terk had jumped off the elephant's back with a bamboo stick in her hands. She landed on it's shoulders and commenced beating it's featureless face in.

With the last of the Nobodies finally gone, Tarzan walked over to his cousin and the elephant and thanked them for their help in his strange animal language. Sora walked over to join him and was given an enthusiastic hug by Terk. She then chirped a few things at him that he couldn't understand.

"Um, what's she saying?" He asked Tarzan.

In response, the man laughed and said, "She wants to know where Donald is."

Sora had to laugh at that, and could only wonder what Daisy would do if she had heard that. "He and some of our other friends are farther back in the jungle."

And no sooner had he said it than Goofy's head popped through the underbrush. He smiled at them and then turned around, "Hey fellas! Nehrut was right! I found 'em!"

The rest of the group came after him just seconds later, Kairi immediately went over to Sora and asked if he was okay. "I'm fine Kairi, don't worry." He assured, hugging her.

Donald, meanwhile was being given a tight hug by Terk. And he was thinking scary thoughts about what Daisy would do to him if she were to see him.

"Guys," Sora said, "This is Tarzan, Terk, and um..."

"Tantor." Tarzan said helpfully.

After Sora introduced everyone (with Riku and Kairi last), Tarzan smiled at those two in particular. "Sora looked long and hard for you. You should be proud."

Sora blushed, as Riku gave him a firm pat on the back and Kairi pecked him on the cheek.

"What brings you back here?" Tarzan asked.

Mickey explained. "We're here because there's a new threat to the worlds: The Brotherhood of the Dark. They're launching attacks on a handfull of key worlds, and this is our first stop to try and stop them."

"The man from before?" Tarzan thought out loud.

"There was somebody else here?" Riku asked.

"Big bald dude with plenty of muscle." Axel explained.

"That's Andmox." Bariss confirmed, "He's one of the Brotherhood's chief Nobodies. Did he say what he wanted here?"

"Yeah, I doubt it was just for the nice weather." Nehrut said.

Sora suddenly remembered what he had said before vanishing. _I've got some 'hunting' to do._ And the recollection brought a feeling of dread when he remembered what the last 'hunter' on this world had done.

"He said he's going 'hunting'." Axel said. "So does that mean..."

"The gorillas!" Goofy exclaimed in distress. "He's gonna go after them!"

"And Jane!" Tarzan added. He turned around and ran toward the gap in the trees that Tantor had made. "Follow me!"

Most of them hopped onto Tantor's back and ran after him. But right before leaving, Sora spotted a silver pendant on the ground. Quickly, he scooped it into his hands. It showed the letter 'M' on it, with an eyeball in the center. Mentally, he named it the 'Monster Charm'.

It was a tight fit on Tantor's back, but with Nehrut flying, and Terk, Bariss, and Yuffie swinging on vines just ahead of them, they managed to squeeze themselves on.

They persued Tarzan (who was now using vines) from far behind him through several miles of steamy jungle, passing through a river and over a few cliffs on the way. Finally, Tarzan stopped at the base of a large tree and began climbing up it on some vines that were long enough to brush the jungle floor.

Nehrut followed in the air, while the rest used Tarzan's more conventional method of climbing. It took them several minutes, but they finally arrived at a layer of stable walking space high up in the jungle canopy.

Stretching his sore arms, Sora looked around, one half of his mind expecting a battle, and the other expecting for them to find nothing.

But instead, there were dozens of gorillas roaming around, going about their typical lives. They groomed themselves, slept, ate or just explored the area. Judging by the area, they had been settled here for a long time. In the midst of the gorillas was a thin human woman with long brown hair and blue eyes.

She sat with a female gorilla with brown fur and eyes. They were playing with a group of young gorillas, making faces at them and laughing with them. All in all, it was the picture of a peacefull gorilla family (plus a woman).

Jane looked up upon Tarzan's arrival and also noticed the newcomers. "Sora!" She called, and stood up and walked toward the group.

"Hey Jane! Congrats on the wedding!"

Jane smiled at him. She then noticed Kairi, "So you found her."

The two smiled and Kairi squeezed his hand.

Mickey looked around the gorilla's home with his hands on his hips. "Well, things look fine here."

"Why wouldn't they be?"

"Because the Heartless are back again." Donald explained.

"They're being led by a group called the Brotherhood of the Dark," Riku continued, "We've already met one of them on this world."

Jane's face paled visibly, and Tarzan walked over to her and wrapped a protective arm around her shoulders.

"Don't worry, Jane. We'll make sure he doesn't do anything to you or the gorillas." Sora encouraged.

"Speaking of which..." Yuffie wondered out loud, "Why would he want the gorillas?"

"Good question." Came a voice from above them. The lot of them spun around and looked up. On one of the tree branches that Kerchak frequently occupied was Andmox. His fists were on his hips and he was smirking. The gorillas in the area immediately backed away or roared at him. The off-worlders drew their weapons.

Andmox's eyes rested on one in particular. "Hello slave."

Bariss's eyes hardened, and Nehrut moved protectively in front of her, a look of pure rage on his face.

"So you have betrayed us as Master Serndask said." He continued. "Need I remind you of the leverage he holds over you?"

Her face suddenly saddened, and Nehrut reached over to place a reassuring hand on her shoulder. She seemed to draw strength from this gesture, and looked back up at him with renewed detirmination.

"I'll do it without your monster's help." She said, smiling.

_Atta girl._

Andmox scoffed at her. "Well he demands you executed for your treachery. But I've got a job to do first." He lifted his hand and snapped his fingers in a way remarkably similar to Saix. Heartless appeared everywhere and chased after the gorillas.

They ran in every direction, howling and shrieking in fright apart from the few that actually fought back. The majority of the gorillas escaped into the forest, but they were followed closely by the Heartless.

"The gorillas!" Sora exclaimed, starting to charge after them, but his path was obstructed by something big.

A large, sleek-skinned, black gorilla-like Heartless stood in front of him. It was at least ten feet tall and almost as wide. It had a protruding square jaw and extremely muscled arms. On it's broad chest was the Heartless emblem. It's fists were dark purple in color, and it's gleaming yellow eyes were narrowed.

It bellowed, and with that simple shout, every tree within miles shook. Unfortunately, the group of off-worlders was caught in the path of the sonic wave it emmitted from it's mouth. They were blown completely off the trees to the ground nearly a hundred feet below.

Some of them caught hold of the vines hanging around them and stopped. Others were caught in Nehrut's telepathic hold. And the rest managed to stabilize themselves in midair.

Riku landed on his feet, and Yuffie hit the ground safely right next to him. Behind him, Donald and Goofy plopped onto the ground, landing on their backsides. They all looked around, and found that all their friends were high above them either in midair or suspended from vines.

Then without warning, the gorilla Heartless landed in front of them with a loud crash. It was glaring at the four with those emotionless, yet creepy eyes. The Way to Dawn appeared in Riku's hand just as there was a flash of light around them, indicating that there was now an invisible barrier around the field of battle. They were on their own for this fight.

Sora looked down at them from his vine.

_Riku, stay strong._

_--_

_And there's another chapter down! I think I'm getting better at this... Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. The next Summon is fairly obvious, but here's a hint anyway. He's a very hairy scary character from a Disney/Pixar movie._

_Review please!_


	34. Chapter 33: Gorilla Hunt

_Sorry for the delay, Hurricane Ike knocked out my power here in southeast Texas._

_A nice, great big team fighting chapter is here for you people! And introducing my first original Heartless boss: The Howler!_

_Riku: "You're overdoing it, man."_

_Just do the disclaimer._

_Riku: "Fine. DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else he wants to use. Only his plot and O.C.s. See? Nice and simple._

_Shut up or I'll kill you off._

_--_

Chapter 33: Gorilla Hunt

Riku gazed at the Howler past his blade. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Yuffie take out her shuriken and began twirling it between her fingers in anticipation. Donald and Goofy got on either side of them with Save the King and Save the Queen already in hand.

The Howler beat it's chest with it's massive forearms and let out another howl.

It rushed at them at an impressive speed for something so large, it's knuckles beating the ground on the way.

Riku readied a blast of dark fire and shot it at the oncoming Heartless. It hit it square in the chest, but it did little but slow it down. If anything, it only got angry. It got to Riku first and smashed into him with it's shoulder.

As the young Keybearer went flying across the temporary arena, it stopped and swung it's massive arm at Yuffie. She was more fortunate than her boyfriend and jumped over the arm. She tossed her shuriken at it's massive head. But just like Riku, the weapon had little effect, and it bounced right off.

Riku stumbled to his feet just as the weapon struck the ground at his feet. He yanked it out and tossed it back to the ninja, who tried throwing it again.

Meanwhile, Donald was launching shards of freezing ice from the tip of his staff. But the Howler just lifted one of it's arms and they hit the firm skin there. It then swept it's arm out at the wizard, sending him flying.

It turned it's attention to Goofy and brought down one huge fist. The knight raised his shield to block, but he was practically flattened under it. He staggered to his feet and retreated from it's follow-up attack.

Riku came up from behind the Heartless, leaping into the air with his Keyblade over his head. He landed on it's head, fully intent on driving his blade into it's face. But before he could do anything, the Howler started thrashing around widly. Riku lost his balance and fell off.

The Howler was about to bring both arms slamming down on him. Riku immediately put up a dark shield, which caught the blow and just managed to repell it. Yuffie appeared in a puff of smoke in front of him and tossed a single throwing knike at the face of the Heartless. It stuck right between it's yellow eyes, and Riku followed up with a barrage of dark fire in the same spot.

The Howler staggered back, clutching it's face. It fell onto it's back, and stayed there for several seconds.

"Alright!" Yuffie cheered herself. "Score one for Master Ninja Yuffie!"

Riku laughed and was about to say a comeback, when miraculously, the Howler got back up. It glared at them, and then let out another monstrous howl.

Pure sound blasted them, hurting their ears and sending them reeling backwards. When the barrage stopped, Donald blasted the Howler with bolts of lightning, which had absolutely no effect. Goofy threw his shield, only to have it smacked away by a giant palm. The Howler advanced on them again.

_It's way too durable to hurt by conventional means. We have to find a weak spot._

Riku realized what it was soon enough: the face. But it had been trying to protect it, it was only by luck that he and Yuffie had been able to strike it last time. To experiment, he tossed a ball of fire at the face. It blocked the attack immediately.

"Aim for the face." He told the others. They nodded an affirmative. "Yuffie, follow my lead."

Goofy made a run for his shield, and Donald made sure to give him cover. Riku ran at the charging Heartless with his blade outstretched, a barrage of fireballs preceding him. The Howler blocked the fire with one arm, and immediately swiped at the Keybearer with the same arm when he was within range.

Riku overlept it and tossed Way to Dawn down at it's face as he went by. At the same moment, Yuffie –who had been running along behind him- went right past the arm and threw her oversized shuriken into it's face at almost point-blank range.

Both weapons crashed into the Howler's face at the exact same time, and met in a crash of light that was as intense as the roar the Heartless made in it's death throws. It thrashed about clutching it's face as Yuffie's shuriken boomeranged back to her. Riku's Keyblade returned to his hand in a burst of blue light.

The Howler toppled over and landed with a huge thud. It's body began to dissolve into plumes of black smoke, drifting upward along with a large, pink heart. There was a soft flash of light, and the barriers keeping them trapped disappeared.

"_Now_ you can score one for Master Ninja Yuffie." Riku said.

"Alright!" She exclaimed, punching the air with her fist and jumping up and down enthusiastically. That was what Riku loved about her. She was always so ecstatic (until she wore herself out because of it). She jumped into his arms and kissed him with enthusiasm to match.

_I'm liking this more and more every second._

Their friends walked up to them as they broke apart. "Great job, guys!" Sora said.

"What about the gorillas?" Jane asked.

It dawned on everyone that the gorillas were long gone, and that everything had gone quiet. They could be half way across the jungle by now.

"We have to save them." Sora said. Nobody bothered to go against him –not they they wanted to.

--

"I can sense a few over this way!" Nehrut said.

After the fight against the Howler, the group agreed to split into three separate teams to track down the scattered gorillas. The first group of four held Nehrut, Bariss, Axel, and Mickey. They had been racing through the jungle for several minutes now following Nehrut's psychic perceptions.

The four of them burst from the trees and into a clearing surrounded on all sides by bamboo trees.

Sure enough, about a dozen cowering gorillas had been herded into the center of the clearing by Nobodies. Some more were trying to climb up the bamboo, and desperately trying to avoid strikes from Dark Beaks.

A crack of Bariss's whip sent those airborne Heartless away from the gorillas. They dashed at the group, and were immediately set ablaze by Axel. The Nobodies turned away from their prisoners, and a handfull of extra Heartless popped up.

"Now that we have your attention..." Nehrut said, grinning.

"It's time to fry!" Axel shouted. He hurled his chakrams at the nearest two Dusks, which burst into flames. The Heartless and Nobodies seemed to forget all about their gorilla captives and charged the new arrivals.

Mickey jumped in ahead of everyone, landing in the midst of the enemies with one huge leap. He spun his Keyblade (Kingdom Crown) in a circle and cut down the ones surrounding him before they even totally registered his presence among them. They turned their attention to him and brought their claws or weapons at him, only he was no longer there.

He had jumped straight up with his Keyblade held over his head. He spun in the air and plundged the blade into the ground. A burst of light radiated from the mouse, sending the nearest enemies flying.

The gorillas were using the distraction to escape up the trees. A pair of Nobodies were just about to follow after them, but suddenly found themselves lifted off the ground by some invisible force. Nehrut lifted his hand, then made a fist and tossed them onto the ground at fifty miles per hour, crushing them.

He then lept into the air and intercepted three Dark Beaks with his blade. They burst into shaows and he landed squarely on the ground. He thrust forward and impaled a Dusk, then ripped the blade from it's body and spun around to catch a Gladiator in the side. It staggered away and was picked off by a precise strike of Bariss's whip.

He flashed her a smile and got back to work. He blocked a strike from another knocked it totally out of it's hand, then sliced it's faceless head off. A Creeper transformed into the form of a giant sword, but he caught it in his grip and used it to attack another two Heartless. When it transformed back, he smashed it into the ground.

Bariss lept high into the air and kicked an oncoming Heartless in the face with enough force to 'kill' it. She landed on the shoulders of a Gladiator and stabbed in the face with her sai. She jumped off as it died and spun the whip around her as she went. It killed or injured everyone within two meters of her. She landed lightly and coiled the whip around a Dusk's neck, and tugged. The Dusk flew through the air and slammed onto a group of enemies. She smiled.

Axel spun with his arms outstretched, his chakrams cutting into everything that got close enough to attack. When he stopped spinning, he launched his twin weapons into an approaching Gladiator and set them ablaze. It exploded, taking three of it's fellows with it into darkness. The chakrams flew back into Axel's hands and he spun, decapitating another two with identical swipes. He kicked behind him and knocked another one flat.

The fighting raged for what felt like hours, and the Heartless and Nobodies just kept coming. But they weren't about to give ground, and stayed strong.

Nehrut stood back-to-back with Bariss. They were surrounded by enemies and Axel and Mickey were several meters away fighting on the other side of the clearing.

"How're you liking your first day on the job Bariss?" he said, craning his neck to get a slightly better look at her.

She smiled, "Well, it's certainly not boring..."

He chuckled. His eyes searched the clearing, and he was struck by inspiration. Using only his mind, he ripped one of the smaller bamboo trees from the ground and tossed it at a Nobody. It speared right through it, and passed through another two before sticking into the ground.

Bariss jumped in the air and twisted, with her whip outstretched. Anyone who was too close to the two of them was seriously injured. She landed on Nehrut's other side and he blocked a strike aimed at her. As he blocked, she stabbed forward with her sai and took out the attacker with barely a move. She smiled at Nehrut.

They were both thinking the same thing.

_We work well together._

_--_

Riku, Yuffie, Donald, and Goofy were tracking down a group of gorillas somewhere near Tarzan's treehouse. It wasn't hard, they only had to follow the sound of the screeching.

Once again, they had to do a lot of climbing, and blasted any Heartless that tried to dislodge them. It took ten full frustrating minutes to reach the top of the tree, and by that time Riku was really wishing that Nehrut had come with them. They could have made it ten times as fast.

They got onto the netting under the treehouse itself, and were nearly knocked over by the fleeing Terk. Three Dark Beaks were right behind her, though they were quickly dispatched by one of Donald's lightning spells.

Not pausing, they climbed up a conveniant rope to the treehouse. The second Riku's feet hit the wood, he had to block a strike from a Gladiator. He twisted around, and tossed the Nobody off the treehouse and over a hundred feet down to the ground below.

There were eight gorillas stuck in the center of the treehouse, Kala and the gorilla children were among them. They were clearly terrified, and for good reason. This group had mostly Powerwilds in it. One lept forward with it's claws ready to steal a heart. But it was hit with a throwing knife in midair.

Riku said admiringly to Yuffie, "Good shot."

She smiled and brandished her shuriken. "Come and get some!" She shouted at the Heartless and Nobodies.

Riku wasn't sure whether it was her taunting, or the sight of his Keyblade that made them attack, but they did.

Riku blasted the first wave with a ball of black flame, being very carefull not to set fire to the treehouse. It was hard in the confined spaces, but he managed to pull it off. The oncoming Heartless were incinerated, and he rushed into the treehouse with Yuffie right behind him.

The gorillas were now grouped together in one corner of the single room, which made them easier to attack and defend. "Donald! Goofy! Give them a bit of cover!"

They did as he instructed, and took up positions in front of the frightened apes with their weapons raised. Riku and Yuffie were clearing out the house itself. In those cramped quarters, there wasn't much they could do that wouldn't endanger the gorillas, so they had to lure them out into the open.

Riku dove out a window, beckoning Yuffie to follow him. The Heartless inside took the bait and started pouring out after the Keybearer and the ninja.

_All too easy. Give them an obvious target, and they go nuts._

Riku lept at them, shearing a Powerwild in half, and spinning around to slice into the chest of a Bouncywild. He jumped over a charging Heartless, (kicking a flying one in the middle of his jump) and landed on it's other side. He stabbed though it, and casually stuck his blade out behind him to catch the blow of another one. He did a one-eighty and sliced it in two in one fluid motion.

Yuffie tossed her oversized weapon into the mass of enemies rushing from the other side. It cut through seven before boomeranging back to her hand. As soon as the first on reached her, she vanished in a puff of smoke and reappered on it's other side. She stabbed through the back of her head with a dagger and spun around to smack another with the shuriken. She tossed her dagger and caught a Bouncywild between the eyes. She pulled it out the side of it's head and then plunged it into another Heartless head.

She turned around and jumped over Riku, and just like that, they had switched opponents. Riku waded into the Heartless, cutting them apart with wide slashes of his blade, and the occasianal precise stab. Yuffie put her shuriken and daggers to good use.

The treehouse was cleared in minutes.

They walked back inside to find all the gorillas safe and sound, though understandably shaken. They were immediately set upon with hoots and shrieks that apparently meant 'thank you'. Riku tried to return them as best he could, but he didn't even know for sure if they understood him. He wondered how Sora had dealt with that particular problem the last time he was here.

"I hope Sora and the others are doing alright." Yuffie said.

--

Are_ they doing alright? You'll find out next chapter when I introduce the next Absent Silhouette. I hope you liked this chapter, and please review!_

_And please disregard my argument with Riku, I don't really want to kill him._

_Keep all those affected by Hurrican Ike in your prayers._


	35. Chapter 34: Rumble in the Jungle

_This is the last chapter of Deep Jungle. My apologies to it's fans. I wanted it longer, but found that it would be too hard. The following worlds have more chapters than this one, I promise._

_Roxas: "DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else he wants to use. But he does own a butt-load of plot elements and O.C.s."_

_Also, the numbers in parentheses are now author's notes. Now we get to 'talk' more!_

_Roxas: "Oh boy..."_

_--_

Chapter 34: Rumble in the Jungle

On Tantor's back, Sora hoped they would be able to get to the gorillas in time to save them.

He was with Kairi and Tarzan, whose intimate knowledge of the terrain and skills in tracking would hopefully lead them to the endangered primates. They were following signs of a struggle leading to the east.

He remembered what Clayton had tried to do last time. First, he had nearly shot Terk, but they had stopped him (sheer dumb luck). Then after the Heartless got a hold on him, he had nearly killed Kerchak and a few dozen other gorillas. They had had good timing and luck. He only hoped that this luck held out long enough.

Soon, they arrived back at the lake where they had first met Tantor. It turned out to be just where they needed to be. Out in the middle of it was Andmox, and at his feet was a very battered and bruised Kerchak. The Nobody lifted his hand, and it was enveloped in a black fire.

"You'll make a fine Heartless, old one." He said.

But before he could do anything, Sora, Kairi, and Tarzan sprinted at him. As he brought his hand down, Sora's blade intercepted it. Andmox looked at him with something resembling surprise, then jumped away from Tarzan and Kairi's weapons. Tantor ran into the water and carefully scooped up the now unconscious Kerchak with his trunk.

Tarzan spoke to him for a moment, and he ran back to the jungle.

Andmox surveyed the three of them coldly, and snarled. "It seems I chose a bad world to target. We'll have to be more carefull of that in the future."

"Stay away from our worlds!" Kairi shouted.

Andmox laughed coldly. "But where would the fun in that be?" He reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a card.

With a flick of his wrist, he tossed the card back onto dry land. A purple mass that looked like a corridor of darkness covered it, and when it faded a man stood there.

Sora assumed that this was one of the Organization members he had forgotten about, having had the situation explained to him by Namine and Riku. He was a tall, muscular man with a hard face and red-brown hair. He wore the horribly familiar black cloak that all of the Organization had known.

The man narrowed his eyes at them, and his gaze flickered to Andmox. "Lexeaus, do me a favor and deal with these trouble-makers."

"With pleasure." Lexeaus responded with a gleam in his eye. A hint of a smirk came to his lips as Andmox vanished from the world. He looked back at Sora and the others. "Looks like I have the privilege of disposing of you, Sora."

"I beat you before and I can do it again!"

"_Riku_ defeated me." He said, rolling his eyes. "Though, he had a bit of helpfrom his darker side."

"Well now that doesn't matter!" Kairi said, brandishing Destiny's Light.

Lexeaus stretched out his hand. In a brief flash of light, a weapon appeared. It was a massive black tomahawk (1), outlined in red and marked with gold in some places. The handle was blue, with a gold spike at the end. He slung it over his shoulder effortlessly.

"Goodbye, Keybearer." And he attacked.

Sora ran to meet him with Kairi and Tarzan on either side.

He blocked Lexeaus's first strike, which had enough power behind it to buckle his knees. The Nobody launched a kick at Sora's midsection. It knocked the wind out of him and sent him flying back into the water.

Kairi lept at him, launching a flurry of attacks from the air, but each one was blocked with his giant weapon. Tarzan tried to attack from the other side, but he was kicked as well, and thrown from the water completely. For a moment, Kairi was all alone with him.

Fortunately, his strikes were fairly slow, but they all packed a lot of power behind them. She sidestepped a downward blow that left cracks in the ground, and stabbed at his ankle with little effect. Lexeuas swung the tomahawk and nearly took her head off, but she ducked and attacked his ankles again. He came forward with another kick, and she was forced to jump backwards.

Sora got back to her side again, and lunged at the giant man, only to have his blow deflected. He dodged a heavy blow just as Tarzan joined them again. He tried to stab him in the chest, but Lexeaus grabbed hold of the harmless end, and tossed it aside. The Lord of the Apes lept away from his follow-up attack and ran to fetch his spear.

Lexeaus lifted the tomahawk into the air over his head. He roared and smashed it into the ground. It created a massive shockwave that sent them all stumbling. What's worse is that massive, sharp, stalagmites burst from the ground all around them. One nearly ran Sora through, and only a desperate leap saved him.

He stood perched atop a stalagmite, and had to jump off when Lexeaus shot a large chunk of earth at him. It soared past him and at the waterfall. It lodged itself into the rock face behind it, cutting off the water flowing down it.

Sora landed and shot a fireball at the Nobody, which hit his massive chest and delt only cosmetic damage to the cloak (it didn't even catch fire). He shot another huge rock at the Keybearer, but Tarzan came out of nowhere to pull him out of it's path.

The two landed in the water. "Thanks, Tarzan." Sora muttered after spitting out a mouthfull of water.

Kairi lept into action, and tried everything she could to get past Lexeaus's guard, to no avail.

But when Sora and Tarzan joined her, there was some measure of success. No matter how large a man was, it was still hard to defend against three attackers from three different directions. And Lexeaus was pretty slow.

He grunted in pain for the first time in the fight when Kairi slashed him across the back. Sora followed up with a swipe at his side, and Tarzan with a lunge at his leg.

The Nobody tried his shockwave trick again. The tomahawk slammed into the ground, and five huge stalagmites burst from the ground. The group jumped into the air simulatneously, avoiding the rocks and the shockwave. When they landed, Sora looked at Tarzan with a smile that suggested he had something in mind.

Tarzan returned the smile and nodded.

Sora charged at Lexeaus, showing no fear at all. The Nobody looked surprised for a moment, wondering if he was actually just going to charge at him like that. His defenses were too strong to break that way. Then Sora cried, "Tarzan!" (2)

Seemingly out of nowhere, the Lord of the Apes jumped at Lexeaus with his spear moving unnaturally fast. Leaxeus was battered all across his head and chest with the spear point. And the blows were hard enough to make even him flinch.

After a few painful seconds, Tarzan lept away from him and back to Sora's side. "Back!" He shouted as Sora tossed his Keyblade at their enemy.

Lexeaus stumbled away, clutching a particularly nasty scar on his chest. But the assault didn't end there. Sora called Oblivion back to his hand and ran directly at Lexeaus with the point end first, it was enveloped in a strange, green light. He rammed the tip into him, sending him staggering backwards.

Then Tarzan came back into the picture, leaping directly at him with his spear held ready. He landed on his shoulders and smashed his face with the blunt end of the spear. Then he did it another three times before leaping off.

They repeated this process again and again. Sora would lundge at him with the Keyblade, and Tarzan would jump on him and beat his face in. Through it all, Lexeaus was practically a rag doll, flailing about like a spastic.

Then they decided to finish it.

"It ends!" Tarzan shouted.

He and Sora stood together again, back-to-back. They pulled as much air into their lungs as possible, and let it all out in one enormous, drawn out cry. And just for the effect, they beat their chests. The cry released a huge amount of pent-up energy, exploding outwards to smash into everything with the force of a wrecking ball.

The rocks spearing up from the ground shattered into tiny particles. Lexeaus was tossed backwards all the way into the waterfall. He hit the rock face behind it so hard that he created his own crator. His tomahawk slipped from his grasp and hit the ground with a thud.

Lexeaus was a sight to behold. He was covered head to toe with cuts, bruises, and abrasions. He was panting heavily, and struggling for breath.

And Sora had never seen a more furious looking Nobody.

"Impressive." He growled. His eyes started flashing. He bent down, and picked up his weapon from where he had dropped it, water streaming off of it. He gripped it tightly, and a red, fiery glow formed around it. With a shout, he tossed it into the air, and caught it effortlessly with one hand. Now that same glow surrounded him.

With his tomahawk slung over his shoulder, he charged at them at a surprising speed, shouting. They prepared themselves for impact. When he was almost to them, he moved his weapon and stabbed it into the ground.

A huge, twenty foot tall, ten foot wide column of earth erupted from the ground, with Sora and Lexeaus still on it. Sora struggled for a moment to keep his balance on the pillar, and got it back just as Lexeaus took a heavy swing at him. He jumped over it and brought the Keyblade down on his head.

He didn't even flinch.

_Oh, not good._

With one giant fist, Lexeaus knocked Sora off the pillar completely. As Sora fell, he plunged the Keyblade into the side of the pillar, and saved himself. He yanked it out, and dropped lightly the rest of the way down.

Kairi and Tarzan stood by his side again as the pillar fell back into the ground. It created a powerfull shockwave that knocked the three of them feet into the air, and crashing unmercifully to the ground.

Sora got to his feet first, and dove out of the way of the charging Lexeaus. He stopped several feet away from them, and they simply faced off for a moment. Now it was Sora who was panting.

_There must be a way..._

Sora then noticed that the tomahawk was glowing scarlet, brighter than the strange glow surrounding Lexeaus himself.

"Get the tomahawk out of his hand." Roxas whispered into his mind. "I've seen it work before."

_Thank you very much, dear Nobody._

"This is _not_ the Hundred Acre Wood, in case you haven't noticed."

_Heh heh._

Sora's Keyblade was engulfed in a blue light. He wasn't quite sure how he did that, but he certainly didn't object. He and Lexeaus charged at them at the same moment with their glowing weapons ready to strike.

The two grossly different blades met in a bright flash of light and a loud clang. Neither warrior was about to back down, and they pushed at each other's guards with every ounce of strength they had.

That meant that eventually, Lexeaus would win. In half a minute, Sora was practically on his knees, and his opponent had a smirk.

Then there was a third blade, glowing white.

Sora looked over at it's wielder and saw none other than Kairi. She smiled at him and pushed against the tomahawk, and he did the same.

The two now pushed united against Lexeaus's weapon. And soon, his smirk was replaced by a look of dread. They pressed with all their might, and with one last heave, they knocked the tomahawk from his grip, and sent it spiraling through the air to crash into the ground twenty feet away.

"Yes!" Sora cried. He and Kairi moved in unison, back-peddaling and spinning their Keyblades to gather momentum. Their blades were glowing brighter than even before. They sprang forward, striking him directly in the stomach, and flying a full _fifty feet_ away.

He landed with a crash, and groaned in pain. Sora, Kairi, and Tarzan walked over to his still form and looked down at him. Lexeaus glared at them, before giving one final grunt, and fading away. "It seems I've lost again. Let's see if you are strong enough to continue on winning, Sora." Soon, he was nothing more than black smoke floating into the sky.

"We did it!" Kairi exclaimed. Sora hugged her tightly.

"You were great." He told her. She smiled up at him and pecked him on the nose. They broke apart and faced Tarzan. "You too, Tarzan."

Just then, there was a dull rumbling from the jungle. Out came Tantor, and on his back were Jane and a dazed-looking Kerchak. They ran to meet them, and Jane lept off the elephant's back and immediately into Tarzan's waiting arms.

"How you doing Kerchak?" Sora asked, trying to be polite. All he got was an incoherant grunt in response. Then, the gorilla spotted something. He lifted one of his arms and pointed at the waterfall.

Everyone turned around. Kerchak was pointing specifically at the break in the water flow where the rock was protruding from the wall behind it. In that break, Sora was surprised at what he saw.

A Keyhole.

_I guess the world moved the Keyhole around. It wasn't there last time.(3)_

Feeling a sense of déjà vu, Sora summoned his Keyblade and pointed it at the Keyhole. The blade started glowing, and a beam of light shot from the end.

The Keyhole shone for a few brief seconds, and let out a high whine, before it disappeared completely. Sora dismissed the Keyblade and smiled in satisfaction.

"Was that another Keyhole, Sora?" Jane asked.

"Yeah. It looks like our job here is done." He replied.

"Thank you Sora, Kairi." Tarzan said. "Will you be back?"

"You know it! I want to try some more of that tree surfing!"

They shared a good laugh for the first time since they had arrived on the world.

--

_Hahaha! Corny ending! Oh well... Sorry for the shortness of the chapter, and for any of Lexeaus's fans who wish he had a larger part (heck, even his own disclaimer)._

_Lexeaus: "Thanks a lot."_

_(1) Isn't a tomahawk supposed to look more like an axe?_

_(2) Sora and Tarzen's 'Jungle Fury.'_

_(3) Really, does anyone know what happened to those things?_

_Review please._


	36. Chapter 35: Sora's New Tricks

_This chapter just sort of came to me one night. It's a bit weird, but I thought Sora could use some kind of new powers._

_Sora: "And I thank you for it! DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else. Just his plot and O.C.s."_

_--_

Chapter 35: Sora's New Tricks

"Lexeaus, huh?" Riku said almost an hour later, back on the _Unity_. It was currently in warp drive. "Yeah, I remember him. I've still got a few scars." He pulled back his vest a bit to show a long, pale scar on his shoulder.

"Hah! I don't have scars!" Sora said with his trademark smile.

"Yeah, but you had Kairi and Tarzan with you." Riku retorted, smiling smugly. "So that means I did better."

"Does not!"

This childish banter went back and forth for several minutes. Eventually, it escalated to an even more childish wrestling match on the floor of the crew lounge.

The room was large, and comfortable. A deep red rug embroidered with gold covered the whole floor. There were several comfortable chairs and couches in the room, some tables, and a nice pool table that was now being used by Axel and Nehrut.

Those two stopped their game to watch the fight. Sora rolled on top of Riku, and pinned his shoudlers to the ground.

"How's that?"

Then Riku flipped himself over and put his friend in a key lock. "How's that?"

"Like brothers, aren't they?" Axel said as Sora broke loose and went at Riku again.

"I wouldn't know." He said. "I never had a real brother."

"Oh... sorry man."

"No, it's okay I –DUCK!" They dove out of the way of Sora, whom Riku had just thrown through the air over the pool table.

Everyone else in the room (namely Bariss, Donald, and Goofy) busted out laughing. With a flick of the wrist, Nehrut caught Sora in midair. Then he did the same with Riku. The two were flailing around in the air, trying in vain to get loose.

Nehrut cast a barely noticable look over at Bariss, and winked. He then proceeded to juggle the two Keybearers over his head over and over, laughing at their reaction.

"Stop!"

"We'll stop!"

"I think I'm gonna hurl!"

"Let us down!"

"Okaaay..." He said after a few minutes. He released his grip and sent the two falling to the floor with two heavy_ thuds_. The entire room was in hysterics as Sora and Riku staggered back to their feet. Sora fell over onto Riku, who promptly caught him, dropped him, and fell over himself out of dizziness. Needless to say, this only added to the laughter.

When the two of them finally managed to stand up straight, they looked at Nehrut for a few seconds, and screamed, "You're DEAD!"

The resulting chase through the ship lasted for thirty minutes before they all got too tired to continue and the King ordered them to stop. And when a king gives you an order, you follow it.

That night, as Sora lay in bed with Kairi asleep beside him, he thought.

_It was so easy for him to subdue me. Thank God he's on our side._

"You need a bit of practice, man." Roxas said.

_Yeah, I need some new tricks._

And, as if by some ridiculous cosmic joke, he went through the second Deep Dive of his life.

--

Suddenly, Sora was in the Station of Harmony. He looked all around, wondering why he was here. The ever-present dark clouds were the same as ever, but the platform he stood on was different. It was his own platform.

The portrait had a light blue tint. Now fifteen, (nearly sixteen) the Sora in the picture was leaning against the left side of the portrait. The Kingdom Key was held in his right hand. He was looking up at the sky with a smile at something the viewer couldn't see. Behind that Sora was island scenery that showed mostly a cloud-filled sky. The outer ring was made of Sora's crown emblems. There were seven rings on the portrait, for Riku, Roxas, Namine, Donald, Goofy, King Mickey, and Nehrut. There was also a heart with Kairi's picture in it.

After admiring the picture (and wondering if his feet had always looked that big), Sora looked around. There was nothing to be found.

"Why am I here?" He asked the air.

He certainly hadn't expected to get a response.

"It is time you learned the secrets of the Keyblade." Came a voice from the clouds. Sora knew the voice, but not the speaker. It had come to him last time he was here.

"You must learn, if you are to face the challenges that will come. But do not be afraid. You are the Key that connects everything."

The voice went silent, and all was still for a moment. Then, out of the shadows just beyond the platform stepped a horribly familiar figure. One that should have died in Neverland.

Shadow-Sora. (1)

A horrible, twisted version of Sora that Riku had conjured up during his apprentace-ship under Maleficent. Though it seemed older now, to match Sora himself more than ever. It walked calmy onto the platform, it's yellow eyes glowing.

Sora immediately summoned the Keyblade and prepared for a fight. The shadow paused, and it's eyes locked onto the blade. The being extended it's hand, and a dark version of the Kingdom Key appeared. It took up an identical fighting stance to Sora's.

Neither of them moved for a minute, waiting to see what the other would do.

Finally, the shadow charged at Sora, blade poised to strike. Sora ran to meet it with a lunge at it's stomach.

The Keyblade passed through air, and Sora stumbled to the other side of the shadow.

He caught himself, and spun around to face it. It came on with a flurry of powerful strikes, which he barely managed to block. He searched for an opening, retreating across the platform to avoid injury.

He nearly fell off the platform, and he looked at the being. It charged at him again, and right before it reached him, Sora ducked and swept the Keyblade at it's legs. Nothing happened.

The shadow wound up outside the platform, but floated on the shadows as if it was standing on a floor. It just stared at Sora, who was getting very worried. He couldn't hurt it, and it wasn't like he could hold out against it forever.

_And what happens if I die in here?_

"Do not be afraid."

He drew strength from those words. Putting on his bravest face, he prepared to fight the shadow again. It let out a strange hissing noise, and ran at him again. He held his position, Shadow-Sora jumped at him ready to deliver a killing blow.

And time seemed to slow down. Something was happening to the Keyblade. (2)

The whole thing floated out of Sora's grasp and began to reassemble itself. The handle, main shaft, 'key tip', and chain all separated. In front of Sora's astonished eyes, the Keychain attached itself horizontally to the face of the tip. The tip went into the center of the handle. These pieces together floated in front of Sora's knuckles. When Sora made a fist, it flashed.

The shaft floated over Sora's forearm, and the chain that had previously held the small motif to the blade wrapped around it and Sora's arm, pressing against it.

It was strange looking, and resembled a twisted version of brass knuckles with a bar held behind it. It was a totally new weapon: the Keyfist.

Reacting on instinct, Sora clenched his fist, causing the knuckle plate to shine brightly. He pulled his fist back and the whole thing let out a nearly blinding light. He bashed his fist right into the face of Shadow-Sora.

The imitation Sora let out a strange shriek and flew across the platform. Sora stared at the altered weapon with wide-eyed curiosity. He smiled.

_Looks like I have a new toy._

Shadow-Sora got it's bearings back and ran at Sora yet again. He charged as well, and raised his fist. The shadow brought it's Keyblade down, and Sora blocked it with the bar on his arm. Sora pushed forward with his arm, knocking the fake Keyblade from the shadow's hand. And then he beat it senseless.

The Keyfist let off a bright flash of light every time he struck the shadow. And with every blow, the shadow staggered back a little more, but Sora wasn't going to give it an opportunity to catch it's balance. He pummeled it.

After a few minutes of this, the shadow let out a grating shriek that hurt Sora's ears. It fell to the ground, thrashing about like an animal, fading away into darkness. It wasn't a pretty sight. And after one noisy minute, Shadow-Sora was gone. Hopefully for good.

Sora smiled in satisfaction, and took another look at the Keyfist, and it immediately returned to it's original appearance.

_How did I do that?_

"You will know."

_Can I go now?_

"There is more you must learn."

_Great..._

Another figure moved in the dark shadows toward Sora, who pulled out the Keyblade again. When it moved into the relative light, Sora sighed in exasperation.

It was the Guardian. Xehanort's puppet that had battled them at the End of the World. It was nearly seven feet tall, and heavily muscled. It had two head-tentacles on it's head. It was jet black, and wrapped in bandages in some places. It's eyes were eerie and yellow, and it bore a hideous smile.

Sora wondered how it fought when on it's own. He found out in about two seconds.

The Guardian charged at him –floating- shoulder first. Sora barely had enough time to roll to the side to evade it. He had just gotten back on his feet when the Guardian charged again. Sora ran at it as well, Keyblade ready to strike. But it closed in on him too fast, and hit him with the force of a wrecking ball, tossing him nearly over the edge.

Sora got to his feet ungracefully, just in time to be smacked in the face by a big, black fist. He staggered backwards and received another punch in the gut that sent him all the way across the platform and onto his back.

He struggled to get up again, and stared the Heartless down. He really hated that thing. In his hand, a ball of blazing fire appeared. He threw it with all his strength, and amazingly, the Guardian slapped it away like a fly.

So he tried ice, and the Guardian _caught _it. It crushed it in it's massive fist. Water and ice particles fell to the ground. And if he didn't know better, he'd have said that the Guardian's smile widened.

_Now would be a good time for another weird, key-based weapon._

And indeed it was, the Keyblade in his hand changed yet again. The chain at the end popped off the handle, which separated from the blade. The chain reattached itself to the front of the handle, and connected it to the blade. The tip came off the blade, and reattatched horizontally at the front. To top it off, the chain stretched itself out to a length of four feet long.

It had become the Keywhip.

Sora took a moment to admire it, and took up a fighting position he had once seen Bariss in. The chain made a jingling sound as it and the handle struck the ground. It was an awkward weapon to hold, but he'd learn.

The Guardian charged again, and Sora swung the length of chain at it. The end caught it full in the face, and for the first time, it flinched. Sora flexed the end of the weapon, and found it remarkably easy to control the other end from a distance. The blade practically hopped up from the ground and smacked the Guardian in the chest.

The Guardian tried to retreat, but if it could, then Sora knew he'd regret it.

Displaying skill he didn't know he had, he swung the Keywhip all around, covering virtually every inch of the platform, leaving no safe place for the Guardian to retreat to.

The being was smacked around on all sides by the blade and chain, and eventually was on the ground –no longer floating a few inches above it. It tried to push itself up with one hand, but to no avail.

Sora decided to finish it. Flexing the whip, the chain wrapped all around it and tightened. It silently thrashed around in it's grip, which only tightened.

The chain started glowing, and shook. The Guardian reared it's head and appeared to scream, but it was voiceless. Eventually, it went still, and the chain flashed. The Guardian vanished into darkness.

Sora pulled the other end of the whip back toward him, and it transformed back to normal.

"You have done well." The voice said, "It is time you ended it."

Once again, a being walked from the shadows. This one was much, much larger than Shadow-Sora or the Guardian. And the Keybearer's eyes widened in horror when he realized what it was.

Darkside.

It was the Heartless that had destroyed Destiny Islands. It was at least thirty feet tall, heavily muscled and jet black. In it's chest was a heart-shaped hole that went all the way through it. It's arms were long enough to touch it's knees while standing straight up. From it's back protruded two demonic wings. It's entire face (apart from the eyes) was covered by tentacle-like growths sprouting from the top of it's head.

It gazed down at Sora from it's superior hight. It's fists were engulfed in dark energy. He reeled back, and struck it's fist into the ground. The energy spread out from that point, and the first wave smacked Sora full on, throwing him totally off his platform.

Through his bleary eyes, he could see Darkside looking back at him from far away. He tumbled through the dark clouds, and he could only see the faint glow of the platform.

_Come on Keyblade! I need some help here! If you have any more surprises, now is the time!_

Fortunately, the Keyblade divided up again. The handle turned on it's side, so it was attached horizontally to the end of the blade. The chain connected to the opposite end, and hung by both ends from the handle, trailing behind it with the chain in the middle. The tip came off and enlarged itself a bit, to attatch itself horizontally to the front. Then the blade itself elongated.

It didn't float to his hand however. It rocketed around his body to float below him.

In perfect synchronization, Sora landed on it with one foot on the handle, and the other on the tip. He stood on it like a strange, floating surfboard. He steadied himself, and wondered how he was supposed to move on this.

And with a single thought, Sora streaked through the air back toward his platform, and Darkside. He buzzed around Darkside's head avoiding it's flailing fists. Then he realized that while he was riding the Keyboard (he laughed at his own pun) he had no weapon.

Another Keyblade appeared in his hand. It was grey, and bore a slight resemblance to Squall's Gunblade. The tip was made of two fluer-de-lis patterns, and topped with a roaring lion's head that matched the keychain. The Sleeping Lion.

As he passed Darkside's face, he slashed at it, leaving a narrow gash that released a stream of black smoke. He continued his assault on the face for as long as he could before the giant Heartless threw a punch that nearly knocked him off the board. He sped away from it to a safer distance.

Darkside gathered energy unto itself again, and fired it at Sora in the form of a dark ball. He swerved out of it's path, and inadvertently into the path of a second ball. He shot up to avoid it, and then ducked under yet another one.

He sped at Darkside, shooting over and under three more attacks as he went. When he got too close, it delivered a punch. Sora saw it coming and skimmed over it's outstretched arm, raking the Keyblade across it as he went. He closed in on Darkside's face and punched in to the hilt between it's glaring yellow eyes. And to add to the potency of the attack, he set it on fire.

Darkside writhed in agony and tried to shake the blade away, but Sora held fast. After a painful minute, it let out an unnatural wailing noise, and began to dissolve. It faded into darkness, turning to smoke that mixed with the clouds all around them.

As Sora floated back to the ground, he dismissed Sleeping Lion. When he touched down, the Keyboard formed back into the Keyblade and snapped into his hand, before vanishing as well.

"Master of the Keyblade," The voice said, "You are indeed strong. Use your newfound abilities well. And remember not to be afraid. You are the Key that connects everything..."

There was a bright flash of light, as opposed to swirling darkness.

--

And Sora was back in bed. He gazed up at the ceiling with the crown emblem painted on it for several minutes, trying to process what had happened. He looked down at Kairi, still fast asleep, and wondered if she would ever go through the Dive Into the Heart. It was a difficult trial, and he wondered how she'd fare.

_She'd pass with flying colors. (3)_

_The Key Forms were inspired by the Terra fight in Final Mix. His weapon turns into a whip, giant laser thing, some kind of floating jet ski, etc... So if Terra can do it, why not Sora?_

_(1) Anyone else absolutely HATE fighting him?_

_(2) Bear with me on the description._

_(3) Wink wink. Nudge nudge._

_Review please!_


	37. Chapter 36: Underworld Alliance

_Olypmus! A fun-filled paradice filled with fighting, fighting, fighting, mythical monsters, Greek gods, and some more fighting!_

_Hades: "Kid, don't go into stand-up. Darth here doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else he wants to use."_

_--_

Chapter 36: Underworld Alliance

The entryway to the Underworld was a big, stone, rock face along the River Styx. In an eerie boat rowed by a waxy-skinned creature almost a skeleton, stood a figure in a red and black jacket.

Ruxik understood that a potentially awesome ally for the Brotherhood was trapped down here, in his own domain. He really hoped that he could get this over with and get back to the real business of the Keybearers, he knew his Master had sent him down here just as punishment for his failure at Twilight Town.

He'd do this quick, bring the man to Serndask, and get back to important matters.

The rock face parted, revealing a very large cavern that the river continued down. Suddenly, a massive, three-headed dog with black fur and gleaming red eyes charged from the darkness.

It roared, and the cavern shook with the sound. The ferryman named Charon continued on, being nearly emotionless, and practically a Nobody himself. Ruxik really was fearless. He gazed up at the dog coldly, feeling something like resentment. He didn't have time for this.

Summoning dark fire to his hand, he hurled it at the dog (whom he assumed was Cerberus). It struck the center head right between the eyes.

Cerberus let out a surprisingly puppy-like yelp and backed away. He knew who the alpha-dog was.

Ruxik continued down the river, satisfied. Eventually, he reached his stop; a pathway that led off into the bowels of the Underworld. Very few beings had ever gone this far into it's depths.

_Living beings, anyway._

Gesturing to his silent driver to leave, he stepped out of the boat onto solid ground, and walked on it silence. His boots made echoing noises along the empty corridors, adding to the place's empty feeling.

All that was left down here after Sora, Hercules, and Auron had finished were the silent spirits of dead souls. Even the Heartless had abandoned the place.

_Not for long._

While walking the tunnels of the Underworld, he heard something strange. A quiet, hissing noise like several snakes hissing. He had been informed of the dangers of the Underworld (not by Serndask, by Klaxam) and had an idea what he would soon meet. He was prepared.

He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a scarlet blindfold. He leaned against one wall as he tied it around his head over his eyes. He thought it a bit ironic. Riku had done the same thing once, but for much different reasons.

He rounded the corner he had stopped at after making sure he was as blind as a bat.

If he had been able to see, he would have met with a sight that most people desperately hoped never to see. And if they did anyway, it was typically the last thing they did.

A hideous woman with dark green skin and pointed teeth sat in the center of the room munching on something long since dead. She had bright red eyes with vertical black slits for pupils. But these weren't her most shocking features. What was, was that she had more than a dozen very angry-looking snakes for hair.

It was the gorgon, and she was why Ruxik was wearing a blindfold. (1) The old legend said that if you looked her in the eye you turned to stone. He wasn't too sure if the legend was accurate but Klaxam sure set store by it.

The gorgon looked up from her unsavory dinner and saw a very tasty-looking Nobody. The snakes hissed excitedly and she echoed them. A forked tongue shot out from her mouth briefly, tasting and sniffing the air. She advanced slowly toward what she saw as prey.

Ruxik calmly summoned his Keyblade and waited, standing totally still.

The gorgon observed him for a moment, her snake-like eyes lingering on his weapon. After a minute, she seemed to decide that he'd be easy enough to bring down, and rushed toward him.

Her loud, hurried footfalls were all the warning that Ruxik needed. He lept high into the air over her head, and landed on her other side. His blade slashed behind his back, removing the head of one of the snakes atop her head.

She let out an angry hiss, and spun around with her claws out. He ducked under one strike and punched the 'woman' in the stomach. She staggered backwards, and charged right back at him. He blasted her with dark fire which struck the same place he had punched.

The gorgon shrieked, and fell on her back. Ruxik lept toward the general direction of her cries, and brought his blade stabbing down toward her.

His blade only met cold, hard stone. The gorgon was much more clever than she appeared, it seemed. She had rolled out of the way, and lept to her feet. She aimed a punch at him, which grazed his shoulder. She followed up with a swipe at his head. It resulted in a small red mark on the side of his face.

The Nobody let out a low grunt, and jumped away from the creature. He blasted dark energy in her direction, and heard several shots find their mark. He kept firing, never letting up, feeling satisfied at every noise and shriek that meant he had sucessfully hurt her.

In a moment, something hit the ground with a dull _thud_. Ruxik stopped firing and dismissed his blade. He cautiously pulled part of the blindfold off, so that he could look at the damage with his right eye.

The gorgon was lying face down on the ground. Even the snakes that made up her hair weren't moving.

He pulled the blindfold off and tossed it aside into the dirt. He walked toward the defeated gorgon and prodded her with the toe of his boot. He got no response from her.

Ruxik nodded to himself. One of the most feared creatures in the world, and he had beaten it _blindfolded_. Then again, it probably relied on it's fatal sight to overcome most enemies, rather than actual combat skill.

He shrugged. Either way, she was no longer a problem.

After what felt like half an hour of walking, Ruxik arrived at his intended destination. A kind of throne room/planning area overlooking the River Styx from two large windows. In the center of the room sat a large, flat chart of the world, with Mount Olymus pointing into the air. At the far side of the room was a throne the color of smoke. Above it was what he assumed was some kind of skeletal trophy.

Ruxik looked through the room to try and find what he was looking for. Master Serndask had said that he'd be able to release him from here.

He prodded the chart with one foot experimentally, and it reacted. A glittering Keyhole shape appeared in it's center. Understanding what he needed to do, he summoned Way to Dusk and pointed it at the lock.

There was a flash of light, and the chart split in half. Ruxik took a step back and observed his handywork. Below the chart was a deep pit, at the bottom was a swirling green mass of energy connecting to the River Styx outside.

All was still for a few seconds. And then a huge fireball erupted in the center of the room over the pit. The chart slid back together again, and on top of it stood a man.

"Don't I know you?" He said.

His skin was bluish-grey. His eyes were a pale yellow with black irises. He wore black and grey robes with a skull pendant on the right side of his chest. His most noticable feature was the bright blue flames on the top of his head. When he spoke, he revealed two rows of sharp, pointy teeth.

Hades: Lord of the Underworld and God of the Dead.

"You're mistaking me for my other, Riku." He said, folding his arms in front of him.

"Ah, knew you looked familiar." Hades said casually. He took a look around his chambers and strode over to the throne, "I gotta tell ya kid, I owe you one." He sat down in his throne after examining the thick layer of dust on one of it's arms. "Boy, some of the characters down there are _dead_..."

"Yes, you do owe me one." Ruxik said, walking around the chart confidently. "I'm here with a proposition from the Brotherhood of the Dark."

"Hmmm... Lay it on me, kid."

"It's simple. You join us, add your powers to our forces, and in return, you get a share of the power of Kingdom Hearts."

"Kingdom Hearts?" He said, sounding interested, but then disappionted. "Hate to tell you kid, but the last few guys who tried to get at that thing are either dead, or missing. Apart from yours truly, of course."

"But _we_ have learned from the mistakes of Organization XIII and Maleficent's little band." He countered, "And we have a different plan to get at Kingdom Hearts this time around."

"Really?" Hades pondered this for a moment, and then smiled wickidly, "Okay kid you've got my attention. But I have a counter-offer. If I join you, you have to help me with a little project I've been working on for a while..."

"And that is?"

Hades's smile widened.

--

_Hades, next to Scar is the best villain Disney ever came out with. Who here agrees with me? Sorry for the shortness of the chapter, I'll update in a week._

_(1) If you'll remember, she appeared very briefly in the movie._

_Review please!_


	38. Chapter 37: Return to Olympus

_You know, I really hated the fact that the creators named this world 'Olympus Colliseum.' There's a lot more to it than just the colliseum, Nomura!_

_James Hook: "Aye. They did the same blasted thing with Neverland and Port Royal!"_

_Where have you been?_

_James Hook: "You don't need to know curr! DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else."_

_Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock._

_James Hook: "AAAAAUUGH!"_

_--_

Chapter 37: Return to the Colliseum

The group of ten appeared at the entrance of Olympus Colliseum. The huge, smooth sand-colored walls stood in front of them. The twenty-foot high doors were flanked on either side by giant golden statues of gladiators holding swords and shields.

The sky above them was a brighter blue then most worlds Sora had visited, the clouds were whiter, too. It was very warm.

"It looks as good as new!" Goofy exclaimed. Sora still remembered the destruction the Hydra had caused during their last visit. But Goofy was right, it was as good as new. The entire structure had been totally repaired. One would never have known that something unfortunate had happened.

"Nice place..." Nehrut said, taking in every detail of the gladiator statue he was floating in front of. "They allow anyone to enter the tournaments, right?"

"If you prove yourself, yes."

"Well, I know what I'll be doing!"

"Just don't let Phil call you a 'junior hero'." He smiled at the memory. "He wouldn't actually call us 'true heroes' until we had our own constellations!"

"Tough customer..."

The group pushed open the doors –with some difficulty- and walked into the small atrium outside the colleseum itself. On one of the walls were four trophies that Sora himself had earned in the Phil, Pegasus, Hercules, and Hades Cups. On the other wall was a sand-colored gold statue of the multi-headed Hydra that had caused so much destruction before.

Looking closely, Sora saw three tiny little figures standing in front of it, looking up at the monster without fear. He started when he realized that they were himself, Donald, and Goofy. On the plynth beneath it was engraved the words, 'Lest We Forget.'

They could hear the cheering of the crowd outside, and the continuous chanting of, "Hercules! Hercules! Hercules!"

"Sounds like Herc's pretty busy." Sora said, ignoring the 'Do Not Enter' sign by the door and walking through the doorway to take a peek at the action.

In the very center of the arena was Hercules, theatrically flexing his muscles for the crowd and smiling. They were eating it up, and Sora wondered if they had already missed the fight.

They definitely hadn't, Hercules's opponent was literally flying in. It was a creature he recognized from several old stories Hercules had told him: a Harpy. (1)

It was a ten-foot tall bird with wild grey and black plumage, a sharp beak, and piercing red eyes. It had a wingspan of at least twenty feet, and black talons designed by nature for the sole purpose of catching and grabbing their prey. "Prey" in this case, meaning humans. And this one looked ready for a fight.

"Ladies and gentlemen..." Came an amplified voice Sora recognized instantly, "The challenger from the other side of town: the Harpy!"

The boos were nearly deafening.

The Harpy wasted no time and dive-bombed Hercues with an ear-splitting shriek. He rolled out of it's path just a split second before it struck the ground, cracking the marble with it's talons.

Hercules lunged at the giant bird and put it into a headlock, cutting off it's air. The Harpy struggled to escape, flapping it's wings wildly and shrieking. But all it suceeded in doing was aggravating Herc.

He lifted the bird above his head, and promptly slammed it's face into the ground repeatedly. He did it seven times, before the bird finally got free. It flapped clumsily into the air, with much less grace than when it had entered.

Apparently, it wasn't very smart, because it tried the same attack again. But this time, the result was much more lethal. For the Harpy, anyway.

Hercules rolled to the side as before, and pulled the sword from his belt. With one clean slice, the Harpy's head was flying across the arena into the stands. Some in the audience were disgusted, but Sora could see one of them pick it up and wave it above his head excitedly.

"Barbaric... I like it!" Axel said with a grin.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Phil said over the intercomm (or whatever it was they used, Sora had never asked), "To nobody's great surprise, the winner is my champ, HERCULES!"

The crowd's cheering was so loud that even Hercules was forced to cover his ears to keep from going deaf. Nevertheless, he gave the crowd one of his usual winning smiles, and waved to them. Then he flexed his muscles, adding to the delighted shrieks of the fangirls in the audience. He began to walk back to the Colleseum's exit, where Sora and the others were.

He walked in, and his eyes widened in shock when he saw them all. Then he smiled.

"Sora, Donald, Goofy, Kairi, everyone!" He greeted, walking over to them. "Welcome back!"

"Good to see you, Herc!" Sora shook his hand. "Looks like you fixed things up around here."

"Thanks." Then his face became a bit more serious. "If you're here, does that mean that the Brotherhood's around here?"

"Well, things _seem_ pretty calm around here." Mickey said.

"But we did detect some dark energy coming off of this world." Riku added. "Something's about to go down."

Hercules put his fingers to his chin in thought, "Hey, I know. We'll go see Zues!"

"Zues?" Kairi asked. "You mean, your father?"

"Yep. King of the Gods." He said proudly.

A few of the others –namely Kairi, Nehrut, Bariss, and Axel- looked a bit uncomfortable. But Hercules didn't seem to notive their discomfort at the notion of other gods. All of them had been raised to beleve differently. Sora tried to get around it.

"Then lead the way, Herc." He said.

"Wait a minute, it's not that simple. First I have to convince the gods to allow you up there at all. They have a rule against mortals on Mount Olympus, but I think they might make an exeption for you guys."

"Well, what do we do until then?" Riku asked.

"When the colliseum empties out, why don't you go talk to Phil?" He suggested, "It wouldn't hurt to train yourselves up a bit."

"Sounds fun." Nehrut said.

"I'll head up the mountain now, I'll be back when I have Zues's answer." He gave Sora a pat on the shoulder that nearly knocked him over, and walked out the door.

The ten of them waited for a while, speculating on what Olympus was like (and trying to make sense about why the real God put so many other 'gods' on other worlds), (2)until the colliseum emptied out completely. They walked into the large arena strewn with sand and surrounded by huge marble stands and columns. A few of the Harpy's feathers were strewn around.

In the center of the arena was Philoctetes, the tan-skinned, red-furred satyr, and Hercules's personal trainer. He turned at the sound of their approach, and his face broke into a wide smile.

"The honorary heroes!" He exclaimed, trotting over to Sora, Donald, and Goofy.

"And don't you forget it!" Donald quacked.

"And who are all these guys?"

"This is Kairi, Riku, King Mickey, Axel, Yuffie, Nehrut, and Bariss. Think we can train here for a while?"

"Are you kiddin'?" He smirked. "I live for this! You sure you're up for it? 'Cause I got something special in mind..."

"Sure we're up for it!"

"You're fighting each other." Phil said with a smile at their expressions.

Their eyes grew wide. They looked at each other. And then they smiled.

"Perfect."

They all walked into the center arena and made sure to stay ten feet away from anyone else. Sora summoned Oblivion. Way to Dawn appeared in Riku's hand. Kairi called Destiny's Light. Donald brandished Save the Queen. Goofy held Save the King in front of him. Kingdom Crown appeared in Mickey's hand with a flash. Nehrut unsheathed Presul. Bariss unrolled her whip (Rose Thorn) with a _crack_. Axel's chakrams popped up in his hands. Yuffie pulled out her shuriken and twirled it between her fingers.

"Okay everyone," Phil announced, "The magic in the arena will prevent any deaths, but try to keep it clean anyway."

"Aw man." Axel looked a bit crestfallen.

"It's every man for himself –or woman for herself- now duke it out!"

--

_I know, it was a short and thoroughly pointless chapter. The next one is better, I promise._

_(1) Also appeared briefly in the movie._

_(2) Heathens and the Christian god in Port Royal, Greek ones on Olympus, Spirits in Land of Dragons and Pride Lands. Anyone else getting confused?_

_Review please!_

_(P.S. Gunslinger 117, you have your Private Messaging turned off, I can't reach you until you enable it again at your settings page.)_


	39. Chapter 38: Battle Royale

_This chapter is dedicated to my wonderful new beta, Raxsah! Whom without, this chapter would be a mess of grammar and spelling errors._

_Sorry for the minor delay. Been busy lately. I really do loathe high school._

_Sora: "Makes you wish you were one of us, doesn't it? Take your pick, either fight Heartless, or suffer through Chemistry."_

_I'll take the Heartless, thanks._

_Sora: "Here's your new Keyblade, good luck! (Pushes him into a mob of Heartless) He doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else... And if I don't help him soon, he might not own a heart either..."_

_--_

Chapter 38: Battle Royale

Sora charged at the nearest person to him: Axel. His blade descended, but it was intercepted by a chakram. Axel pushed him back and ignited his weapons. He tossed them at him, but he deflected both of them with the Keyblade, and they spun into the ground on either side of him. Axel summoned them back to his hands with a flourish.

Kairi rushed at Donald, who used a Reflega spell to block her strikes. When the attacks stopped, he shot a fireball at her, which she dodged. She leapt through the air and he scrambled away from her falling Keyblade. He fired a shard of ice her way, which she broke into shards with a single strike.

Bariss struck at Riku with her whip. It wrapped around the end of his blade, and she pulled. She nearly pulled it out of his hand, but he held on tight. With a tug of his own, he dislodged the whip from her fingers and sent it flying across the arena. She pulled out Rose Blade (the sai) and tossed it at him. He ducked under it, and recovered just in time to dodge a kick that could have broken his nose.

Mickey's blade made a sharp ringing sound as it struck Goofy's shield. He attacked it with a barrage of strikes. But the shield was always there to block them. Mickey jumped over the knight and swept at him from behind, but Goofy had already run forward to get away from the blade. Mickey followed him.

Nehrut flew at Yuffie (the only one left unoccupied) and swung his blade at her midsection. She leapt into the air over him and tossed her shuriken at his back. With a twitch of his hand, he sent the weapon spinning back at her. She was able to catch it in one hand, and instead took out three kunai. She tossed them at him, but he took to the air and blasted her with his mind. She landed twenty feet away, but landed on her feet.

They had all divided into pairs, but that changed soon. The fights ran into each other, and one-on-one fights got much more crowded.

Sora stabbed out at Goofy, only to meet his shield. He slipped out of the way as he rushed at him with it, then ducked under a fireball that Kairi had thrown at him. He blocked more fireballs with his blade until she was distracted by Nehrut, who had come up out of nowhere and attacked her from behind.

She blocked his attacks, and for a while it seemed an even match. Then Sora decided to step in out of the natural urge to defend his love. He brought his blade down hard on Nehrut's.

He took to the air, and blasted him as he had Yuffie.

Sora decided to pull out his trump card. Not quite knowing how he was doing it. He let his Keyblade float out of his hand, and it reassembled into the Keyboard. He jumped onto it, and summoned his second blade, it was just as it was in his dream.

He flew up into the air to meet a very shocked Nehrut. He circled around him and struck from all sides, Nehrut was only able to block most of the attacks, and he soon sported cuts on the side of his face, his right shoulder, and his left foot. He managed to land a lucky kick against Sora's chest, causing him to fall off the board, but it noted the loss of its rider, and swooped down to pick him up.

Sora shot back up and struck at the telepath again. Nehrut counter-attacked. Their fight became more and more intense as they rose higher and higher into the air. Soon (to the combatants below) they were nothing more then specks in the bright blue sky.

Kairi was engaged in a duel with Mickey and Axel simultaneously. Axel brought up a wave of fire, shooting towards her. She jumped over it and ran toward Axel. He brought up a brief wall of flame to repel her. She backtracked and met Mickey's blade as he jumped at her.

Mickey's acrobatic fighting style ensured that he'd never be in the same place for too long. He leapt all around Kairi, striking from all sides with quick attacks. Kairi could defend herself, however, guiding her blade to ensure his never hit her.

Axel walked back into the picture, throwing his flaming chakrams at the two. They jumped away from the weapons in opposite directions. Mickey went almost directly into Riku's blade, and then another duel broke out between the two of _them_.

Kairi went at Axel again, dodging fireballs. She swept low, but it was a fake. While his weapons were covering his legs, his chest was cut across by the real attack. He staggered backwards, and shot a wave of fire at her. She rolled out of the way, inadvertently dodging Yuffie's flying shuriken.

Yuffie ran at Kairi with her dagger ready. She jumped, and just missed Kairi as she ducked under her. She landed somewhat gracefully on her other side, and picked up her shuriken from the ground. She got up, and ducked under a strike from Axel's chakram.

At the same time, Riku was faring well against both Mickey and Bariss. He jumped out of the way of the whip and met the King's blade. They exchanged blows for a moment, and then he twisted around to catch the whip with his blade. He pulled her towards him, and kicked her in the gut before turning his attention back to Mickey.

Bariss twirled her sai between her fingers and lunged at Riku's back. In response, he disengaged from Mickey and leapt five feet away. Bariss landed on top of the King, and they started fighting each other directly.

Riku shot a dark fireball at Goofy. His shield was enough to protect him, but the force of the attack was still enough to knock him on his back. Donald jumped over his fallen friend and raised his staff into the air, calling down lightning.

Quick reflexes allowed Riku to call up a dark shield in time to save himself. He ran at the duck with his blade poised to strike, and was surprised when he managed to slip out of the way and fire a shard of ice at him. Riku managed to leap over it and sliced vertically at Donald, who called up a Reflega spell that just managed to stop it.

Goofy got back up, and tossed his shield at Riku like a frisbee. Using his Keyblade like a baseball bat, he smacked the shield away, where it embedded itself in the wall below the stands.

He was about to strike at Donald again, when something soft, but still heavy landed on top of him, bringing him to the ground. He assumed he must have shouted, because the fighting slowly stopped, and everyone looked at him.

A groan from the thing on top of him made him realize that it was Nehrut. He struggled to his feet with the half conscious telepath over his shoulders. "You alright?" He asked.

"Everything _hurts_." he croaked. Sora landed next to the two of them, and smirked. "Why didn't anybody tell me he could fly?" (1)

"Because none of us knew." Riku looked up at his old friend. "Where did that come from?"

"Dive into the Heart."

"Ahh..."

Everyone reached the unspoken agreement that the training session had ended, for now. They walked back into the atrium, nursing injuries that they'd have healed soon, and found Phil.

The diminutive satyr trotted up to them, smiling."Not too shabby, guys! Looks like you've been keeping in shape!" He made a few fake jabbing movements at Sora's leg.

Behind him was a thin woman with long, brown hair and brown eyes. She wore a pink, sleeveless dress and gave off the impression of having a strong, independent, take no-nonsense streak. She smiled at Sora. "Good to see you again, Keyboy."

"Hey Meg." He chose not to comment on the fact that Ruxik had called him that.

Everyone sat down in around the atrium for the next several minutes, reliving some of the finer moments in the combat and complimenting the others on particularly impressive moves.

"Why did you have us fight each other, Phil?" Bariss asked.

"Because little lady, it's important to be able to hold your own against a lot of powerful enemies. You never know exactly how a fight will go, so it helps to be prepared. All ya gotta remember is two simple words: 'Prepare for anything'!"

Bariss looked confused for a moment before saying, "But... that's-"

"Just don't say anything, Bariss." Sora whispered. Donald and Goofy were laughing behind their hands.

Hercules chose the perfect moment to walk into the room. He had a smile on his face, and Sora wasn't sure if this was because Zeus had given them permission on the mountain, or simply because Meg was there.

"Good news!" He said. "I talked to Zeus, and he says you're allowed on Mount Olympus."

"Awesome!" Sora cried, punching his fist into the air.

"He wants us to meet him on the mountain in an hour to see what we can figure out together."

"Ooooh, tough luck kid." Came an annoyingly familiar voice from nowhere. "Daddy's gonna have to wait." The sound of laughter came from the main arena, and everyone scrambled out of the atrium toward it.

The arena was deserted, but then there was a burst of fire and smoke in the center. In its place was the smirking figure of Hades, Lord of the Dead.

Although it was still the middle of the day, the air around him seemed to darken with his very presence. Sora had a feeling deep down in his gut that he had grown to trust. And that feeling was telling him that bad things were going to happen soon.

_I honestly don't know where this chapter came from. It was just there in my head one morning when I woke up. It contibutes absolutely nothing to the plot, but I couldn't just_ not _write it down._

_The next chapter is better so far as advancing the plot._

_(1) That was for anyone who considers Nehrut a 'Gary-Stu.' Sora can still beat him!_

_Review please!_


	40. Chapter 39: Underworld Search

_Alright, back to work! Herc, the disclaimer please!_

_Hercules: "You got it. DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or whatever else he wants to use except his O.C.s."_

_----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Chapter 39: Underworld Search

Riku and Nehrut rushed at Hades with their blades, ready to cut him in half. They were mere feet away from him, when Hades vanished in a burst of smoke and reappeared behind them.

"Over here!"

They turned around and struck at him, but once again their blades only met air. Hades was directly behind them. He flicked them both on the back of the head, and sent them sprawling back at the others. They each stood up, rubbing the backs of their heads.

"How did you get here Hades?" Hercules asked, striding into the arena, preparing for a fight.

"A little friend of mine gave me a hand with that, and he's agreed to help me with another matter. Do you know what's the first thing I'm going to do? Now that I'm out of interdimensional jail?"

"Nothing good!" Sora said, stepping forward.

"Exactly! I have a brand new fighter that I'm just _dying_ to break in. And he's _real_ eager to meet you again, Wonderboy." He started casually strolling around the arena with his hands behind his back. "Invitations to see the fight have already been sent out, and this arena will be packed again within the hour."

He suddenly stopped, and then feigned surprise and concern. "Oh! But wait... If you're all off with dear 'ol dad... then all kinds of 'accidents' could happen here without you!"

"There you go with the 'accidents' again." Sora said.

"Bring on this fighter of yours, we can take him." Herc said confidently, though taking one small step to block Meg from view.

"Uh uh uh." Hades said, wagging his index finger at them. "Only four contestants in the arena at once. Tournament rules."

Phil scowled, "Unfortunately, he's right."

"I choose the Keyblader, the princess, and the dark kid to go up with Wonderboy against my new guy." Hades said, pointing at Sora, Kairi, and Riku in turn. "And the rest of you, stay away."

"You're on." Hercules said immediately, cracking his knuckles menacingly.

"Perfect! I'll expect you four here." He snapped his fingers, and disappeared.

"That can't be all he's up to," Kairi said, "There's obviously something more to this whole thing."

"You're right. He's got some sort of plan," Mickey said, "But what?"

"He'll probably try to take over Mount Olymous again." Herc said.

"He never quits, does he?" Sora said.

"Maybe he wants to keep you four occupied with this fighter while he takes care of his actual business elsewhere." Nehrut said. "He believes you four to be the greatest threat."

"With good reason." Riku said smugly.

"We'll split up, then." Mickey said. "You four will stay here. Donald, Goofy, Axel and I will go to Olympus and warn the gods. Nehrut, Bariss, and Yuffie will search the Underworld for any suspicious information."

"Sure, give us the hard job while you lounge up on Olympus." Nehrut said.

The group went their separate ways, Mickey's four to Mount Olympus, and Nehrut's to the Underworld.

"WAIT!" Hercules called out to Nehrut. He turned around, and Herc flipped something to him like a coin. Nehrut caught it, and took a closer look. It was a circular, gold pendant about three inches across, with a lightning bolt on it.

"It's the Olympus Stone, you'll need it."

"Thanks, Herc." And they walked away.

Sora began warming up with Kairi, hoping dearly that they would be alright.

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Nehrut led the group down through the gates of the colleseum and down to the Underworld. Jiminy's journal had described this place in great detail, and he wasn't looking forward to searching the whole place.

When they reached the foot of the staircase, they were hit by a blast of icy cold air. They always said that death's grip was a cold one, so it only made sense that a place filled with damned souls would feel the same. He could see his own breath.

Bariss and Yuffie were on either side of him, weapons in hand just in case. They stood on a circular bit of rock that branched off in two separate directions. The River Styx was around them, and off in the distance, they could see the massive Underdrome –now in ruins.

"This place is creeping me out," Yuffie said. Her usual cheery disposition was gone now, replaced by dread. She clearly needed comfort right now, so he sent a wave of calm through her mind, and Bariss's as well.

"So where do we go?" Bariss asked.

"I'm going to try something..." Nehrut sat down on the ground, cross-legged. He closed his eyes, and inhaled deeply. His mind left his body, and searched along the path leading right. He found several minds along the way; small, primative, instinctive minds holding only the disire to hunt for hearts. There were a slightly smaller number of more complex minds, cold and calculating, entirely emotionless.

Heartless and Nobodies. He pulled his mind back to his body briefly, and related this to the girls. Then he left them again. Much, much farther, he found two minds.

One was similar to the Nobodies he had felt along the way. But it was clearly more intelligent than the others, and darker as well. The other was much different. It definitely had emotions, for he could sense anger, greed, jealousy, and pure hatred. That one was definitely Hades, regardless of the fact that he didn't display these emotions too often.

Satisfied, he withdrew his mind, and returned to his body. His eyes popped open, and he smiled. "Found him." He declared, standing up.

"Hades? Where is he?" Yuffie asked.

"Down the path on the right. He's got a friend with him too. Probably the one who let him out of purgatory, or wherever he was. Maybe we should head that way for a little old-fashioned eavesdropping."

Bariss smirked, "I can do that..."

The three of them ran into a large chamber off the right path, with at least a hundred foot diameter. The place was mostly bare aside from the torches of blue flame sticking in the stone walls. They ran across it to the opening on the other side. Halfway across, a horde of Heartless appeared around them.

"Never fails..."

His sword was already in hand, and he was rushing at a Bookmaster. He dodged a fireball, and ducked under a shard of ice it shot at him. Three feet away from it, it closed the book it read it's spells from and swung it at him. He jumped over it and slashed it a few times across the chest. He took to the air and eliminated three Hook Bats with one swing. He landed on top of a Morning Star, and plundged his blade into the top to the hilt.

Bariss struck down a Shadow with her whip, and another, and another. She stopped for a moment to spin around and impale a Bookmaster with her sai. She pulled it out as she lept over it and smashed a Shadow. She then wrapped her whip around a Morning Star, and using all her strength, swung it all around her. The massive Heartless smashed all the enemies surrounding her. She flexed her wrist, and the Heartless was freed. It smashed into the cave wall, cracking it.

Yuffie threw her shuriken at a Morning Star, it stuck into it. She rushed up to it, grabbed her weapon and pulled it out by pushing against the Heartless with her legs. The Heartless died as she touched the ground. She bashed an oncoming Hook Bat with the weapon, and then tossed her dagger at it's partner. She pulled it out of the fallen Heartless and stabbed it into a Shadow while throwing the shuriken through four more of them plus a Guard Dog.

The melee lasted for a total of five minutes before the three heroes (possibly junior heroes) finished off the last Heartless. They continued on through the Underworld's maze of dark tunnels, crawling with Heartless and the odd Nobody.

They didn't find anything worth mentioning to their friends until they entered a long room lined with torches on the walls. There were windows along the sides that showed the River Styx flowing on far below them. Nehrut wasn't entirely sure where they were, but Hades was close.

At the other side of the room were two small green and purple demon-like creatures. Nehrut recognized them from the journal as Pain and Panic, Hades's henchmen. They were pacing up and down by a demonic-looking, black and grey chariot. The image of a face was on the front, and the sides resembled bat wings. Harnessed at the front was a scaly black dragon-like creature with red eyes. It tried to take a bite out of Pain or Panic whenever they got close enough.

Apparently, this was some sort of hanger. The other side of the room had no wall, opening up to the Underworld's great black 'sky'. Pain and Panic hadn't noticed the three of them yet, so they quickly hid behind one of the two pillars on their end of the room. And just in time.

From the doorway they had entered from came Hades, followed by the man Nehrut had only heard of from Bariss and Riku: Ruxik. They were talking.

"Oh this is gonna be _sweet_...!" Hades was saying, "Those Olympian snobs will never know what hit 'em."

"Unleashing the titans." Ruxik said, nodding in agreement. "Nice idea. So where do I come in?"

"See, my boys are locked up _tight_. No way I can open their jail myself, at least for another eighteen years. So I'll need a Keyblade."

"And what of Sora and Hercules?"

"They should be all tied up with Nessus while we do it. I even got the princess and the dark kid there too. We'll have taken Olympus before the match even starts. And even if they win, we'll be ready and waiting for them."

"Their allies may be able to get to Olympus before we do, however. There's another Keybearer and a telepath with them, and others."

Hades simply waved it off. "We'll deal with that if we have to. After all, there's no way they could know exactly what we're up to."

"Fine. Just remember..."

"Yeah yeah yeah, I know kid. I join your little band of evil buddies. Works for me."

Nehrut glanced at the girls standing behind him. _Unleashing the titans?_ He seemed to say. They couldn't let that happen. He nodded to them, and they nodded back. They silently agreed that they'd have to keep them here.

They sprang out from their hiding place and attacked.

Well, they started to.

Halfway across the room, they were stopped by what looked like a giant cage of crackling electricity. They were surrounded by vertical bolts of flowing white-hot electricity. They were effectively trapped. Hades and Ruxik turned casually around, smirking.

"Wow, you three are _idiots_." Said a female voice from _behind_ them. They turned around to face the speaker.

Standing there was a woman in an Organization coat. She had short, thin blonde hair that seemed to stick to her head. Apart from two long strands that started at her forehead and went to either side of her head to where they sort of resembled antenae. Her eyes were bright teal, and just her smirk was enough to get one's blood boiling.

The Savage Nymph. Organization XIII's number twelve. Larxene.

_Shoot._

Larxene walked casually around them to stand next to Ruxik. She put one arm on his shoulder and leaned casually against it. To an observer, this may have been a flirtaceous gesture. But it was likely that it was just an act, unless Nobodies felt a different type of attraction.

_A question for Axel._

The three villians outside the cage were smirking widely at their prisoners.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in..." Hades was saying, "Excellent work, babe." He attempted to put a hand on Larxene's slender shoulder. It was slapped away immediately.

"So," Ruxik said, taking a few steps toward the cage, "You must have heard our little chat then. Well it won't make a difference kids, you're not going anywhere."

"So what will you do?" Bariss asked, not looking at all afraid. "Kill us?"

He fixed that cold smirk that was so horribly remeniscant of Riku's on her. "Oh, not yet slave." Said 'slave' bristled. "I'm sure that my master would enjoy _squeezing_ the life out of you. And Xaynew would certainly like to crush his brother... If you're lucky they'll be quick."

"And judging by your luck so far..." Larxene said with a devilish grin, "They _won't_ be. Can I kill the other girl, Ruxy?"

Nehrut just managed to smother a snort. Yuffie couldn't supress her grin despite the fact that they were comprehending killing her.

"Not quite yet, Gorgeous." Ruxik said, placing a hand on her shoulder with more success than Hades.

_So they do feel something..._

"This one has been a friend of Sora and his allies for a long while now. She'll be more valuable as a hostage than a corpse."

Nehrut's eyes flickered ever so briefly to Yuffie's. So the Brotherhood hadn't learned about Riku and Yuffie yet? Well, the less they knew the better. Ruxik would be dogging her every move if he did.

"Then can I at least get rough with them?" Larxene asked, giving him a very credible puppy-dog pout.

Ruxik looked at the three for a moment, and then said, "Knock the telepath out."

"YES!!!"

A flash of excruciating pain, then paralyzing numbness, and Nehrut was out like a light.

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Ruxik smirked as Xaynew's brother fell, twitching to the floor. Bariss let out a cry of fear and shock and bent down over his inert form, checking his vital signs. Yuffie glared daggers at Larxene.

Larxene just grinned and laughed shortly. And to everyone's surprise, she turned and pressed a huge kiss against Ruxik's lips, which he returned.

"C'mon, c'mon, we're on a schedule here." Hades said impatiently.

Ruxik pulled away. "If any of them get out of line, you know what to do."

"This will be fun."

With that, Ruxik walked into the chariot with Hades, Pain, and Panic. The creature at the front let out a screech and took off into the sky.

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_Yes, I paired Larxene with Ruxik. I don't know what on earth possessed me to do it, but the deed is done. For some reason, I like her. She's sadistic, homicidal, traitorous, and manipulative, but I like her...... I need therapy._

_Please review!_


	41. Chapter 40: Nessus

_It's that time again! So Roxas, the disclaimer please!_

_Roxas: "Alright. DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else he wants to use... You know, now I think you're just getting lazy with these disclaimers."_

_I knew I should have asked Kairi..._

_---------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Chapter 40: Nessus

Back at the Coliseum, spectators were filing into the stands. Waiting in the atrium with Kairi, Riku, and Hercules, Sora figured they'd be in for a show.

"So who do you think this guy is?" Riku asked to whoever may have an answer. He wasn't the type of guy who could wait patiently for a fight. He had to actually get in there. He was pacing up and down the room, a sure sign of anticipation and nervousness. It didn't help matters that his girlfriend had gone down into the Underworld where who-knows-what could find her.

"Didn't Hades say he was 'eager to meet you again' Hercules?" Kairi asked. "Is there anybody you know who might carry a grudge against you?"

"Have a few days? I must have a hundred creatures who'd like nothing better than to tear my arms off and beat me with them."

"Join the club." Sora said. "I've had computer programs, a jaguar, undead pirates, lions, and an evil genie after me. The list goes on for a few miles. Once I was attacked by a _cave_." (1)

"Well, your enemies are a lot more diverse, I'll give you that..."

Then Phil walked in, and the debate on who had the better enemies ended. "You guys ready?" He asked. "Feeling confident? 'Cause the guy is here."

"Never better." Riku said somewhat bitterly.

"Yuffie will be _fine_, Riku." Kairi said, latching onto his chain of thought.

"So who's our opponent?" Hercules asked.

For some reason, Phil let out a short, harsh laugh. "You remember your old pal, Nessus?"

"Hades sent _him_ here?" Herc said with a smug smile. Then he laughed in relief. "Oh man. And here I was starting to get worried."

"Nessus?" Sora asked.

"He's a centaur I met once a while back. He acts tough, but he's really just a big thug. He'd captured Meg last time I met him, but I beat him easy enough."

"Nothing to worry about, then?" Riku said.

"Nope," Phil said, "I'm gonna introduce you guys soon, so be ready." He walked out.

The four of them waited for about five minutes before they heard his voice amplified again. "Ladies and gentlemen, it's time to start the main event! You've seen him battle here day after day after day after night! He's the true hero who hasn't lost a match yet! You know him, you love him... Hercules!"

"That's my cue." Herc said. He walked out confidently, and the crowd screamed like never before.

"And now for his partners!" Phil continued once the applause had died down somewhat. "You've seen him battle in this coliseum before –even go toe-to-toe with the champ! He's the chosen wielder of the Keyblade, and he's saved the universe twice... and he's only fifteen! Give it up for Sora!"

Sora summoned the Keyblade to his hand and winked at Kairi and Riku. He put it over his shoulder and strode out. While the applause wasn't quite as loud as it had been for Hercules, it was clear that the audience remembered him.

He gave them a wave, and stood next to Hercules, who smiled at him.

"And now, two newcomers to the coliseum!" Now that he had a better view of the coliseum, he saw Phil standing high, high up in the stands in what looked to be a commentator's box. He was holding an old-fashioned megaphone cone-like instrument. "They're Keybearers too, and definitely no strangers to combat! Make 'em feel welcome people! Riku and Kairi!"

Whether the crowd was extremely pumped up, or just had to listen to Phil, Sora didn't know. But they cheered excitedly as Riku and Kairi walked into the arena with their heads held high and Keyblades in hand. Riku stood on Hercules's other side, and Kairi next to Sora. They waved at the crowd, finding that most of them were off their feet, and jumping up and down.

But Sora could hear one dissatisfied voice, "What's a girl doing in the colleseum?"

Apparently Kairi heard too. Her head snapped in the direction of the voice, and they saw a fat, balding man in the front row glaring at her. "Get out of the arena, girly! This is a man's game!"

In response, Kairi pointed her Keyblade at the man and blasted a fireball at the wall two inches away from the man's body. That shut him up quite nicely.

Sora grinned widely and put a hand on Kairi's shoulder. She smiled back at him. Riku smiled approvingly, and Hercules gave her a thumbs up.

Phil continued, "Our four champions will be facing an old goon from the stinking Underworld team." Phil's tone became much less enthusiastic at this part. "Introducing Nessus."

Through the doors at the other end of the arena came their opponent. Nessus was a large blue centaur with blue-grey skin. His hooves were the size of anvils, and made a loud noise with every step he took. His hair was jet black, and flowed back his head down his back. His beard was at least two feet long. He wore chain bracelets on his muscled arms, and he was sneering.

He raised one of those arms and pointed an angry finger in their direction. "Hercules!" He snarled.

He wasn't impressed. "Hey, four-legs." Sora suspected that this was some kind of inside reference.

"Get ready for a stomping!" Nessus growled. And without any further preamble, he charged at them.

Fearlessly, Hercules charged right back, for some reason head first. The three Keybearers followed in his wake, weapons ready.

Nessus and Hercules picked up speed, and met with a resounding crash in the center of the arena. Herc's head had smashed directly into the centaur's gut. Nessus let out a huge burst of air, and flew across the air back in the direction he came from.

"Yeah! Way to use your head champ!" Phil exclaimed from wherever he was. "Oh, geez I'm still holding this, aren't I?"

Nessus staggered back to his four feet, clutching his stomach with both hands. But he was smirking. Lifting one of his hands, he snapped his fingers. A dozen Nobodies appeared all around the arena, surrounding them.

These Dark Knight Nobodies were about the size and build of an average human man, and were of course mostly silver. Their faces, however were covered by a jet black Nobody emblem. That black symbol was repeated on their chests. They all carried identical black swords that resembled elongated Nobody symbols. (2)

"Can't handle us on your own, tough guy?" Hercules mocked.

Nessus laughed heartily. Suddenly, he seemed to ooze darkness. Sora recognized the symptoms. The look of pure hatred and fury, the aura of darkness, not to mention the diabolical laughter. Nessus had become a semi-intelligent Heartless like Shan-Yu and Scar. He lifted his hand into the air, and pointed at the Keybearers, "Get them!"

The Nobodies sprang to life and rushed at the trio. Sora blocked a very fast horizontal strike from a Knight, and then a strike from the opposite direction from another Knight. He jumped into the air over them, and shot a fireball at them while in midair.

Unfortunately, the Nobodies simply teleported to a safe distance ten feet away. The fireball scorched the ground where they had stood. Sora landed just in time to block twin strikes at his back. He spun around and stabbed one of the Knights in the shoulder, not enough to kill it, but enough to get it off his back for a moment. He focused on the other one.

His blade was a blur as he advanced on the other knight, striking from every angle. Eventually, his blade found it's mark: the neck. The Nobody's head flew briefly through the air before disappearing along with the rest of the body.

The wounded Knight took up it's blade again and rushed at Sora as it happened. Sora ran to meet it, and just before the Keyblade cut through it, the Nobody teleported to Sora's other side and struck at his back. He was able to leap away, but he felt a shallow gash on his back. Another Dark Knight ran directly at him with it's sword ready.

He slipped to the side, and cut it in half as it passed him.

Kairi ducked under a horizontal swipe, and stabbed forward with her blade. The Nobody went down hard. She jumped at another one, blade coming down. The Knight blocked this and threw her blade up, lunging forward. Kairi threw herself backwards to avoid the blade and smacked it out of it's hand and onto the ground.

She delivered what should have been a killing blow, but it teleported away. It went behind her and picked up it's fallen blade. She turned around and engaged it, and it was soon joined by a second. She ignited the end of her blade with fire and slashed horizontally. The fire sprayed off of it and hit both Knights, sending them staggering backwards.

She rushed forward and put her blade through the first one.

Riku swept at the legs of a Knight, and his blade was blocked. He followed up with a strike to it's head, which was also blocked. So, Riku engulfed his fist in dark fire and bashed into it's face. The Nobody fell backwards, writhing and clutching at it's face until it disappeared. Riku twisted around and disarmed an oncoming Nobody, and then slashed it across the chest.

The Nobody teleported away and picked up it's blade. It teleported behind Riku just as another one appeared in front of him. Riku extended his left hand, and blocked the front attack with a dark shield. He moved his arm almost casually around and intercepted the attack from behind with the Keyblade.

A burst of dark energy from his hand sustaining the shield caught the Nobody in front right in the chest. He spun around and dueled with the other one.

Nessus was actually giving Hercules a hard time. As a Heartless, he had gained a new measure of strength and speed. He rushed at Hercules and threw swift, heavy punches at the hero. Herc weaved in and out of them, and delivered punches of his own whenever possible.

Nessus reared back and punched the ground, creating a shockwave powerful enough to send everyone stumbling, and even upset the spectators in the first row. Nessus ran forward and tried to stomp Herc into a pancake while he was down, but he rolled away from the smashing hooves every time. He managed to roll underneath his body, and kicked up with both legs into his underbelly.

Nessus cried out in pain as he was thrown bodily across the arena. When he landed, he crushed one of the Nobodies Sora had been fighting. The Keybearer flourished his blade and unleashed a barrage of attacks on the centaur, Hercules joined in soon. Nessus had gotten himself stuck in a corner during his landing, and could do very little to defend himself from the Keyblade and fists.

Kairi and Riku worked to take out the remaining four Dark Knights while Nessus took his beating. Riku beheaded one, Kairi set another on fire. The Princess of Heart jumped over one that charged at her with it's blade ready. When she landed on it's other side, she assaulted it with strikes from her Keyblade. It flailed about until she finished it with a burst of electricity from her palm.

Riku locked his blade against the other one's. They struggled for dominance, pushing the other's blade as hard as they could. Riku ruined his opponent's concentration by surrounding his blade with darkness. With one mighty push, he knocked the blade spinning away totally out of the coliseum. He followed up with a powerful blow that cut the Nobody in half.

Hercules finished the whole fight off with a devastating punch to Nessus's jaw, nearly breaking it. The centaur fell to the ground, unconscious. A fine trickle of drool fell from his slack mouth.

There were a few long seconds of total silence, as if the crowd wasn't sure it had ended. Then they all burst into deafening applause, cheering on their champions. Sora could see the man who had wanted Kairi sent out of the arena actually jumping up and down in enthusiasm.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Phil said again, "Our champions! Hercules, Sora, Kairi, and Riku!"

The four of them waved briefly at the crowd, before the Keybearers walked quickly back to the atrium. Hercules gave the crowd one more arm flex (just a little something for them to chew over) and then scooped Nessus up over his shoulder and followed them out.

They walked through the atrium and out into the courtyard, and dumped the centaur onto the ground. Phil and Meg walked out to join them with buckets of water in hand. They stood over the unconscious Nessus and emptied the buckets onto his face.

He flinched, coughed, and raised his head. He was clearly trying to focus on them, but suddenly had his windpipe stepped on by Herc's foot. "And now, four-legs, you're going to tell us all you know about Hades's plans."

**************************************************

Thousands of miles away from Olympus and the coliseum, the ocean was in chaos. A demonic creature pulling a demonic chariot flew fifty feet above the churning waves. In the chariot were Hades and Ruxik, practically shivering in anticipation. Pain and Panic were shivering in fear just behind them.

The chariot stopped in a specific area over the ocean, no visibly different from any other bit of sea. Hades smiled and lifted both hands. The ocean below became three times more violent. It started bubbling, and frothing, sending gouts of water into the air.

The water began to separate, forming a circle empty of water nearly two hundred feet across. Below was a horrible sight; a cage of lightning was covering an opening in the sea floor far below. Behind that, four gigantic figures could be seen, each with glowing eyes peering out.

"Brothers!" Hades called, his face lighting up with manic pleasure. "Titans! Look at you in your stormy prison! Who put you down there!?"

"ZEUS!" Four loud, chilling voices cried out.

Ruxik lifted Way to Dusk into the air, and pointed it down at the opening. A beam of light shot out, mixing with the cage lightning. There were a few seconds of chaos below.

"And now that we set you free..." Hades went on, "What's the first thing you're going to do!?!?"

"DESTROY HIM!!!" The voices proclaimed. Four giant fists smashed through the lightning.

Hades smiled. "Good answer."

_Do we actually know what happened to the Rock and Ice Titans after KH1? There was no preamble or anything, they were just there._

_(1) Sora: "Seriously!"_

_(2) In case you still haven't noticed, the Nobodies are named after FF job classes. I'm doing my part to continue the trend._

_Please review!_


	42. Chapter 41: Takeover

_I can't believe that we're finally over forty chapters... And I'm not even half-way done with the story yet!_

_Kairi: "Yes, folks! You can expect a lot more BotD for the next several months."_

_Yeah. I've got a lot of work to do. And I promise that I won't just abandon this story._

_Kairi: "On that note: DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else."_

_And also: A Happy Early Thanksgiving to all those about to celebrate it!_

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Chapter 41: Takeover

"Nice digs." Axel said, strolling around the area. His feet kicked up little bits of cloud with every step.

The home of the gods was magnificent. The buildings were beautifully made with precious materials that resembled fine marble. Some parts were gold, or encrusted with precious jewels. Instead of a floor, the ground was all cloud. It gave Mickey an uneasy feeling, like he would fall through it at any moment. It didn't seem to bother anyone else.

They stood in Zeus's throne room. The 'floor' was covered by cloud. They were surrounded by massive, shining pillars stretching into the sky. This 'room' was actually more of an open air platform overlooking the rest of the god's dwellings. No walls, just pillars. A large, golden throne marked with the crest of Olympus engraved at the top was in the back.

Zeus was a large, muscular man with orange skin. He had a faint glow surrounding his whole body. His beard was large (not long) and silver, and he had shoulder-length hair. He wore a purple robe with his very own version of the Olympus stone on the shoulder. His face was lined by years of laugh lines, and his smile was that of a reasonable, friendly man.

"Now then, my friends." He said, in a pleasing bass voice. "Let's get down to business. What can I do for you?"

"Well sir," Mickey said, "Hades is back again, we've met him once already."

"Hades?" He shook his head in irritation, and pinched the bridge of his nose as if trying to ward off a headache. "What's that annoying hot-head up to now?"

"We have no idea." Axel was standing at the front gazing out at Mount Olympus's buildings. "But he has Hercules, Sora, Kairi, and Riku down at the coliseum fighting some dude."

"He's obviously just trying to keep them occupied while he does something big." Mickey continued. "So another three of our friends are searching the Underworld for Hades himself."

"I see..." Zeus thought for a few minutes, eyes closed in contemplation. "Hermes!"

A short, blue-skinned man in a toga flew in. He had wings on his sandals, and wore a helmet with wings on it as well. He wore small, circular sunglasses, and carried a small, golden harp in his hands.

"Zeus, baby, what's up?" He asked casually.

"Hermes, I need you to go to the Underworld."

"WHAT!? I-I mean, sir. I am _really_ not cut out to handle the Underworld, I mean..."

"Relax Hermes, relax." Zeus pulled out the Olympus Stone, and Mickey wondered just how many of them there were. He flipped it like a coin, and it landed in Hermes's hand. "I need you to search for three young people down there, and give them any assistance you can. I'd send someone else, but you'd get there the fastest."

Hermes gulped, and saluted. He sped off with his winged feet and was soon out of sight.

"Your friends may need some help, and it seems only fair that we provide it after everything that boy's done for us."

"Thank you sir." Mickey said, bowing. Donald and Goofy repeated the gesture.

"Ah, don't mention it lad. Now, in the meantime would you like to..."

"MY LORD!"

Hermes was streaking back at them, going so fast he appeared a blur. "My lord! The titans have escaped! And their heading right for our GATE!"

Zeus's face was complete shock, and so were Donald and Goofy's. Mickey and Axel summoned their weapons immediately. The god of thunder stood up, face set. "Sound the alarm! Launch an immediate counter-attack! Then continue on with the task I assigned you, Hermes. GO GO GO!"

"Gone, babe!" Hermes saluted, and took off and flew over Olympus, blowing a trumpet loudly enough to wake the dead. All below them, the gods looked up in surprise, and hastily prepared for battle. Weapons were drawn and chariots readied.

Zeus stood up, and cracked his knuckles. A whole batch of inert lightning bolts were tossed up from below and landed at his feet. He scooped them up with one arm.

"We could use your help." He said.

"You've got it." Mickey said.

A short time later, the many gods were assembled at the gates of Olympus. Zeus was in their midst, Mickey, Axel, Donald, and Goofy with him. They stood silent, waiting.

Then, the ground shook briefly and stopped. It wasn't drastic, but enough to catch their attention. Then it shook again, slightly harder and, stopped. Then again, still harder. And Mickey realized that they were footsteps. Massive, approaching footsteps.

"They're here!" One of the gods shouted. Mickey and Axel ran to the front of the group, and peered through the gates down the mountain. It was a terrifying sight. Four massive figures were walking in single file toward the mountain. From what he could tell from this height, they each represented four elements.

The one in front was probably the largest. It was made entirely of dark brown rock, large chunks of it protruded from it's back and arms. It had two heads, with small, red eyes on each of them. Its massive arms could brush the ground as it walked. Its huge feet left craters with every step.

The one behind it looked like a giant humanoid skeleton made of ice. Its head was similar to a horse's. Its long snout was filled with pointed 'teeth'. Its eye sockets were dark and empty. Its glacier-sized feet feet froze to the ground every time they touched down. They broke off from it's legs, and regrew as it took it's next step.

The next one resembled a large, fat man covered in oozing lava with a cooled layer of magma covering its head and shoulders. The eyes could still be seen through that crust, as glowing pools of white-hot lava. Lava dripped off of it frequently, and it seemed to slither across the ground, leaving a burning trail behind it.

The last resembled a hundred foot tall tornado with fists. It sucked up everything around it as it tore across the ground. Glowing red eyes peered out through its depths.

And they moved among a black ocean of Heartless and Nobodies.

The Rock Titan had just reached the mountain, and was beginning to climb up when Zeus called, "CHARGE!"

The gods mounted strange animals, or climbed into chariots. Their weapons were brandished. And with an unbelievable battle cry, they charged fearlessly down the mountain at the oncoming titans.

The Battle of Mount Olympus had begun.

*****************************************************

The first blurred image that Nehrut saw as the world came back into focus was that of two bright green eyes framed by blonde hair. For a wild few seconds, he thought he had died and an angel had found him.

Bariss was leaning over him; She seemed supremely relieved to see he was alright.

"Hey."

"Hey yourself."

"No talking!" Came a third voice. The two of them were hit by a brief surge of electricity. Bariss cried out in pain, and Nehrut's hatred of Larxene grew. Yuffie helped the two of them to their feet, and they glared out at the Nobody.

"That was uncalled for!" Yuffie.

Larxene only smirked. "No backtalk!"

More lightning.

So, they settled for glaring at her. Larxene put a finger to her chin in contemplation, then she smiled.

"No dirty looks!" It's easy to guess what happened next.

The three prisoners were down on the ground, clutching at burnt patches of skin. Nehrut looked up at Larxene, his face neutral. "Tell me Larxene. How is it that you're keeping this cage up around us? Just with your usual abilities?"

"Yeah..." She looked slightly perplexed. "What do you care?"

Nehrut went silent. He continued to stare at Larxene, directly into her eyes. After a minute, his hair started to swirl around his head like he was underwater. "Then I guess all you have to do is concentrate on it, right?"

"Yeah..." She looked at him, puzzled.

"Then it'd be a shame if your concentration was... broken."

Larxene suddenly looked as if she was suffering from a migraine. Beads of sweat began appearing on her forehead, and rolled down her face. Her eyes shut tight, and she lifted a hand and pinched the bridge of her nose. "What are you...?"

"You should have kept me unconscious." The electricity was becoming less intense. The bolts all around them weakened, and fizzled out. Larxene's concentration on them had been broken, so the cage was gone.

Nehrut's hair sat back down on his head, and he sprang to his feet. He rushed at Larxene, drawing Presul. Larxene broke free of whatever psychological hold he'd had on her, and back flipped away from the blade just before it struck her.

She landed a full ten feet away, and glared at him. "'No dirty looks!'" He quoted. Using his mind, he blasted her with that invisible force generated from his mind. She flew across the hanger and skidded to a stop, still angry.

Electricity crackled around her body, and she seemed more enraged than ever. Daggers appeared in between her fingers, four in each hand. "You're going to pay for invading my mind!" The daggers in her right hand crackled with electricity, and she hurled them at Nehrut.

He ran toward her, and swept them away with a slash of his blade. More daggers appeared from thin air in her hand, and she threw them at Bariss. She jumped over them, and drew her whip with the characteristic _crack_! As soon as she got within range, she lashed at her with the whip. Larxene caught the end of it with her empty right hand, though she grunted in pain.

She gave it a firm pull, and it flew out of her hand. Bariss fell to the floor, and rolled away from a strike of lightning, then the three that followed it. Yuffie entered the fray by tossing her shuriken at Larxene. She ducked under it, and when it boomeranged back, she caught it and threw it at Nehrut.

He juked around it as he closed in on her. His blade flashed, but she jumped over it and kicked him in the jaw in midair. He stumbled back, and she got more knives. She delivered a punch at his face with them in hand, but Bariss intercepted the fist with her sai.

Yuffie stepped in with her shuriken back in hand and smacked Larxene across the face with it. She staggered, and blasted the girl with lightning when she tried to attack again. The ninja flew backwards, but in her place was Nehrut.

His blade was a blue blur as he slashed at her from every direction. She did her best to evade the strikes, but most left cuts across her skin. She managed to dive backwards, and threw some of her daggers at him. They froze in midair, and then flew back at her, point first.

She let out a huge burst of lightning, destroying the projectiles, and stunning Nehrut. Then Bariss was back in the battle, her whip back in hand. It was all over the place, cutting off any escape, like her fight with Nehrut just over a week previously. Larxene backed away as fast as possible, and called electricity to her hands.

She brought them together, and discharged the energy in one massive burst at Bariss. She was too quick, though. She dropped the whip and ducked under the blast. It missed her by an inch, though a few of her hairs were scorched. She pulled out Rose Blade, and charged at her with Nehrut back at her side.

Larxene jumped at Nehrut, delivering a kick to his gut. As he staggered backwards, she prepared more knives and charged them. She swiped at Bariss's head, but she ducked under them, and got to her other side. She cut across her back with the sai.

Larxene cried out briefly in pain, and twisted around to attack her. But instead her face met with the bottom of Yuffie's boot. She fell onto her back, and before she could get up, the tip of Nehrut's blade was held at her throat. If she moved more than a centimeter, she'd be dead.

Again.

So instead of moving up or to the side, she went down. A corridor of darkness opened on the floor, and she fell right through it. Before anyone could pursue, it closed. The hanger was silent again. The three of them panted for a few minutes, and sat on the ground to catch their breath.

"Everybody alright?" Nehrut asked.

"Fine."

"Fine."

"Good." He stood up, and extended a hand to help Bariss to her feet. "We should go to Olympus, maybe if we move fast, we can warn them of the attack before the titans get there. Put a plan together."

Then from the doorway flew a short, blue-skinned man. "Hey!" He shouted to them. He flew right at them, and they reflexively drew their weapons. Spotting this, Hermes stopped in midair. "WOAH woah woah woah woah! I'm one of the good guys, babes. I'm with you!"

Breathing out sighs of relief, the trio put their weapons away.

"Listen, the titans are attacking Olympus. I was sent to get you, now come on! We gotta get Hercules, and get back to the mountain!"

****************************************************

Mickey sprinted away from the Rock Titan's falling fist. It smashed the ground just behind him with enough force to knock him over. He got to his feet just as a Neoshadow leapt at him. He took it out with one swipe of his Keyblade, and kept running.

Things were rapidly deteriorating. The formerly glorious buildings were mostly destroyed, either burning, smashed, covered by a thick layer of ice, or just blown off the mountain altogether. Piles of rubble were strewn everywhere.

The battle had started off with the flyers charging down the mountain to keep the titans from getting up to the mountain in the first place, but they had simply been sucked up, and spit out by the Wind Titan. The Rock Titan had smashed the great gates of Olympus open with a boulder, and the titans had stomped inside with the Heartless.

Most of the Heartless had been destroyed, no match for the gods and the Keyblade. But the titans were in a class all on their own. Zeus had been right to seal them away.

_But how did they get out?_

Axel was now at Mickey's side, shooting fireballs at oncoming Heartless. Unfortunately, the Ice Titan, came stomping toward them, chanting, "Freeze them!" in its appropriately chilling voice. It opened its wide mouth, and a gale of icy air spewed from it.

Axel stepped in front of the king. He engulfed his arms in flame, and released it at the titan in a continuous stream. Its ice met his fire and melted. The fire continued along its path and struck the titan full in the face.

It cried out in pain or in rage, and brought its fist down on them. An inch before it flattened them, it was struck by a powerful bolt of lightning. It pulled its hand away immediately, clutching at it.

Zeus ran toward the two with Donald and Goofy. The Lava Titan wasn't far behind them. Donald was casting blizzard magic at them as they went along, but it just wasn't enough to stop it.

The five of them were trapped between two titans, and the other two were coming up from behind them. Then there was a voice from above them.

"Zeussy! I'm home!" Everyone looked up. In a flying chariot hovering above the Ice Titan's head sat Hades. Ruxik was standing next to him, looking smugly down at them.

"Capture the mouse," He said, "We can make good use of the Keyblade."

Hades lifted his hand, and gave a signal to the titans. The Ice and Lava titans opened their mouths. They were frozen in place by a blast of ice, completely immobile. The cold was numbing, but Mickey was still able to move his eyes. Hades was laughing as he gave another signal.

The Lava Titan belched hot lava. Combined with more ice from the Ice Titan, it formed a layer of rapidly cooling lava over them. The last thing the King saw before it covered his eyes were Hades and Ruxik's triumphant faces.

********************************************************

Hades's chariot touched down in front of Zeus and Mickey's cooling rock prison. Pain and Panic shot out and danced around it, cheering.

Hades and Ruxik walked out. "Oh, it's a beautiful day!" Hades said. He looked at the titans. "Boys! Take care of the gods still fighting. Put 'em in chains and march 'em down to the Underworld. This is our house now!"

The titans let out some sort of victory cry, and stomped off.

"Now we wait for the others to come." Ruxik said. Suddenly, a corridor of darkness opened up behind them. Out limped Larxene, clutching a wound on her shoulder, and grimacing in pain. Ruxik walked over to her, and caught her just as she fell.

She looked up at him and said, "Sorry boys, they escaped."

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_Another chapter bites the dust. Hope you liked it!_

_Please review!_


	43. Chapter 42: Battle of Mount Olympus

_Sorry for the delay, guys. Here's a nice, long(er) chapter to make up for it. Now, Larxene?_

_Larxene: If you expect me to do this, you're stupider than you look. Here's a little tip: Get a haircut, a girlfriend, and a life._

_(backs away slowly)......Um, I don't own anything..._

_-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Chapter 42: Battle of Mount Olympus

Sora, Hercules, Kairi, and Riku sprinted towards the doors to the colliseum. They did not like what Nessus had told them, not at all. His last words echoed in all their minds, urging them forward at top speed.

"_Zeus'd make a good Heartless."_

Time was a factor. If the gods couldn't hold up against the titans, then this world was doomed. And of course, the King, Donald, Goofy, and Axel were still up there.

The instant that they had burst through the front doors, Hercules brought his fingers to his lips, and whistled sharply. In a few seconds, Pegasus swooped out of the sky and landed in front of them. They skidded to a halt in front of him, and Hercules leapt onto his back.

"We gotta get to Olympus." He told him. "Hope you're ready for a fight."

The responding whinny sounded like an affirmative.

"C'mon!" Herc told the rest. Riku jumped on behind him, but Sora stayed put.

"Thanks, but I'll fly myself." The Keyblade flew out of his hand, and transformed into the Keyboard. Sora stepped onto it and summoned Sleeping Lion.

"Angels in flight!" Kairi held out her hands, and with a burst of light entered Angelic form. Oathkeeper appeared in her hands.

"Let's do this!"

With a huge beat of his wings, Pegasus lifted off the ground. Sora and Kairi moved to either side of him, and flew with him like an honor guard. Hercules led them from the nearby mountain the colliseum sat on, to Mount Olympus. It was a magnificent sight, so tall that the very tip was hidden by clouds. The side was marked with craters where the titans had dug in with their massive hands and feet to climb up.

Then, there was a shout from below them, "Sora! Herc! Guys!"

They looked down, and saw four tiny specks that were getting larger by the second. As they got closer, they realized that Nehrut was the one who had called out to them. He was flying, and using his mind to keep Bariss and Yuffie floating on either side of him. The fourth was a small man with blue skin.

"Guys!" Sora and Kairi floated down to meet them while Pegasus somehow hovered in the air above. "We were getting worried."

"With good reason." Nehrut admitted. "Hades and Ruxik siced Larxene on us. Unfortunately, she got away."

"Ruxik and Larxene?" Riku said. "Must have been unpleasant."

"Especially when they were making out in front of us." Yuffie interjected.

"EWWWW!"

"Why didn't anybody tell me about this?" Nehrut asked. "I'm unconscious for a few minutes and I missed that?"

"Consider yourself lucky." They all shared a good laugh.

Then, slightly impatiently, Hercules called to them, "Titans! Remember?"

"Things weren't looking good when I was up there, Herc." Hermes said. "I don't know how well the big boys are faring against them."

"Don't worry Hermes." Hercules replied, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "I need you to do me a favor, okay? Go back to the collisseum, and make sure that Meg stays safe."

"Can do, babe." He saluted. "Good luck up there." He shot off back toward the opposite mountain as fast as his winged sandals could carry him.

The rest all took off as fast as they could to the mountain. They reached the side, and then rocketed upward, getting a little wet as they broke the cloud cover. They received a very unfriendly welcome.

Larxene had obviously warned Hades of their approach. The Rock Titan and Lava Titan were peering over the edge of the mountain above them. Standing on the shoulder of the former was a man that looked absolutely tiny in comparison: Ruxik. "NOW!" he shouted.

The Lava Titan started belching huge glops of lava toward them, and they were accompanied by huge chunks of rock thrown by the other titan. Ruxik chipped in by blasting dark energy down at them.

They did their best to weave around the projectiles, still flying up as fast as possible. Lava passed so close to them that they could feel its heat. But they were good in the air, and avoided almost everything. Those they couldn't, they smashed through.

A huge rock descended toward Nehrut and Bariss (Yuffie had gotten on Pegasus's back with Riku). Drawing his sword, Nehrut shot forward like a bullet, and speared completely through the rock. It burst to pieces when he reached the other side, the glowing chunks falling to the ground without hurting anyone.

Riku managed to catch a bit of Ruxik's dark energy and held it in his hand for a few seconds, before launching it at a rock that nearly crushed them. Hercules leaned forward in his seat and smashed what was left away from them.

Kairi swerved expertly around the projectiles, sometimes covering over a dozen feet with just one beat of her angelic wings. Whenever she couldn't get away fast enough, she'd cast an impressive spell. A lightning bolt that broke rocks to tiny fragments, or a blizzard spell that froze lava. She'd spear through these, and come out unharmed.

Sora easily sliced through boulders with the Keyblade, surfing on air as easily as he had once surfed the waves on Destiny Islands. There had been an incredible day where the biggest waves topped seventy feet (and there had been the added perk of seeing Kairi in a bathing suit). (1)Sleeping Lion easily cleared a path for him through the projectiles raining down on them.

As they reached the peak of the mountain, the Rock Titan swung a giant fist at Pegasus. The flying horse shot into the air just before impact, and amazingly, Riku jumped off. He landed on its still outstretched arm, and sprinted up it, calling Way to Dawn to his hand. Ruxik growled at him and called Way to Dusk. They collided on the titan's shoulder and jumped off together. Yuffie lept off the horse and followed them down.

Kairi flew circles around the Lava Titan's head, blasting its face with blizzard spells. It bellowed and swiped at her like a particularly annoying fly. Sora entered the picture and blasted from the opposite direction. It got angry, and stretched out its arms. Huge gouts of lava burst from both hands.

The two swerved out of the way toward the ground, just avoiding a punch from the other titan. They landed, and Kairi changed forms. Oblivion went back to Sora's hand. They stared down the two massive behemoths in front of them. Sora turned his head to Kairi, and said, deadpan, "I'll take the ugly one."

****************************************************

While Sora and Kairi faced down two titans, Nehrut and Bariss were facing two of their own. Together, the Ice and Wind Titans were the equivalant of the worst possible blizzard on the top of Mt. Everest (which only actually existed on a total of eighteen worlds). And they made for a chilling sight at any time.

The Wind Titan came toward them, the air around it swirling dangerously. Any rubble it passed was immediately sucked up into its depths, and was eventually crushed by the pure speed it attained spinning around inside. Its deep red eyes displayed a horrible desire to destroy. Its voice sounded like the rushing wind that composed it. "Blow them AWAY!"

Insanely, Nehrut took to the air and charged right into the titan. Literally, INTO.

This shocked the titan as much as it did Bariss. The wind didn't seem to have any effect on him, he just shot right through the gale into the swirling mass just below those horrible eyes and couldn't be seen from the inside. The titan let out a howl of pain.

In the heart of the storm, Nehrut floated. His hair billowed all around him, obscuring his vision for a moment. He had a theory on how to bring this thing down quickly; He just hoped it would prove true. He closed his eyes, and breathed deeply.

He began to rotate on the spot, slowly at first but gradually picking up speed. He spun in the opposite direction of the gale around him. Faster, faster, faster, faster, so fast he would appear a blur if anyone could have seen him.

_I'm going to throw up._

The Wind Titan was in serious distress. Its own speed was being dwarfed by the speed of the teen inside it. The force of its wind was slowing down, its equilibrium was being thrown off. And to everyone's astonishment, it began to dissipate. Howling about how impossible it was (indeed, Nehrut wasn't sure if the laws of physics would allow it) it faded away. Its eyes were the last to go, and it became dust in the wind.

Bariss's mouth fell open in shock.

Nehrut came to something of a halt in the air. He was incredibly disoriented. He thought he could see the Ice Titan, but when he tried to fly toward it, he ended up going in a completely different direction. He crashed into the side of a ruined building and slid down it like a bug on a windshield.

Bariss ran up to him as he started coming out of his daze. "Are you alright?" She asked, helping him to his feet. He staggered a bit and looked at her cross-eyed.

"Fine, thanks for asking." He pulled out his sword. "Let's get him."

Then he staggered off in the completely opposite direction and tripped over himself five feet later. "Give me a minute..."

*****************************************************

Riku and Ruxik's blades met in a flash of light. Sparks flew from the impact. They both leapt from the shoulder of the Rock Titan, and landed easily on their feet. Ruxik brought his blade down at Riku's head. He brought up his blade quickly to stop it. He parried the attack and stabbed forward.

Ruxik weaved out of the way, and struck at Riku's head. He ducked and sent a blast of dark fire at his face. The Nobody staggered backward, stunned. Riku charged at him, with his blade ready to strike.

Ruxik growled and took flight. Riku shot more fire at him, but he was able to catch every shot with his Keyblade. The fire gathered around the blade, and Riku only realized what he planned to do after it was totally engulfed in fire.

He pointed the tip of his blade at Riku, and his own fire blasted back at him. He jumped out of the way and the fire exploded behind him. The force of it was enough to send Riku flying across the battlefield to land fifteen feet away. He landed on the half-destroyed steps of a building, sprawled on his back.

Rubbing his aching back, he got to his feet. Suddenly, two arms were thrown around him from behind. One of them was holding a dagger to his throat. "Hello, kiddo." Larxene said.

Riku mentally glared at her. He just _hated_ that smug quality in her voice.

Ruxik strode slowly toward them, with a smile that would have made Larxene proud (it did). Both hands blazed with dark energy. He held one of those burning fists up to Riku's face. "Let's take a trip back to base."

"Stay away from my man!" A voice shouted. And suddenly the dagger in Larxene's hand was knocked away by a much different throwing knife. She recoiled, and during that brief window of opportunity where they were distracted, Riku kicked his Nobody in the chest, sending him staggering backward. As Ruxik fell, Riku reached behind him and grabbed Larxene by the wrist, tossing her over his shoulder at him. They collided painfully.

The two eventually skidded to a stop ten feet away.

Yuffie dashed up to Riku with her shuriken in hand, clearly ready to tear them apart if they got too close to him again. The silver-headed Keybearer couldn't help himself, and pressed his lips against hers.

They parted in a few seconds, "Thanks."

"You owe me." She smiled coyly. "Tonight. Lounge. You. Me."

His face split into a grin.

"Ohhh, that just makes me want to _puke_." Larxene said, getting back to her feet with Ruxik.

"Well, this is certainly interesting." Ruxik said, smirking, "I'm really going to enjoy ripping her away from you, Riku."

Way to Dawn appeared. "Try it and I'll take your head off."

The two Keybearers charged at each other across the debris strewn ground, seeming to float above the ground, they were so fast. Their girlfriends were right behind them, rushing at each other. Weapons met with a resounding clang.

Ruxik went at Riku relentlessly, blade coming from every direction. Riku met every one of them, and matched his ferocity. It was impossible to tell who had the upper hand, their Keyblades moved too fast to see clearly, and they moved all over the battlefield.

Yuffie and Larxene battled ferociously as well. Their daggers clashed against each other with blinding speed. Small bolts of electricity flew from Larxene's with every impact. Yuffie leapt away from a punch aimed at her face, and tossed her shuriken.

Larxene ducked under it, and threw a pair of daggers. Yuffie displayed her amazing flexibility and bent over backwards to avoid them. She then lept into the air, and caught her shuriken as it boomeranged back to her. In a puff of smoke, she vanished. She reappeared behind the Nobody. She sent a devastating kick into the back of her head, and she fell flat on her face.

"How's that?" She spat out.

Larxene let out something sounding like a cat's angry hiss, and sprang back up, swiping at her with a fist full of knives. Yuffie blocked it with her own oversized weapon.

Meanwhile, Riku and Ruxik had somehow gotten on top of the roof of a crumbling building. Riku was gradually pressing his Nobody across the roof toward the edge. When they got there, Riku sent one horizontal slash at his waist, but he jumped over the blade, and it's wielder. He landed on the other side, and struck out at his neck.

He stuck his blade over his shoulder and caught the blow. He twisted around and swept at his legs. He jumped over it, and kicked at his face. Riku simply caught the kick, grabbed the ankle firmly, and tossed him over the side of the roof.

Ruxik fell over twenty feet, but landed squarely on his feet. He looked up just in time to dodge away from Riku's blade. He had jumped off the roof with his blade pointed down. Riku dislodged his Keyblade from the ground and blocked a vertical strike from his enemy while still crouched on the ground.

He tossed the blade off of his and threw dark fire at him. Ruxik blocked the strike with his blade and brought it down hard on Riku's. Riku gathered all the strength he could muster and pushed him back, while getting to his feet.

These two separate duels eventually crossed paths, and Riku and Yuffie were soon back-to-back, staring down the other's opponent. Spontaneously, they leapt into action again, switching opponents. (2)

*****************************************************

Sora's blizzard spell went crashing into the Lava Titan with little effect. A large billow of steam rose from its chest where it had been hit. The lava there cooled, and hardened, though only for a second. Then the surrounding lava would move in on it and melt the hardened rock again.

To his left, Kairi was on top of the Rock Titan's left head, smashing down into its forehead with all the force she could muster. She seemed to be having some luck, he could see cracks on its forehead where she had been striking relentlessly for the past few minutes. The behemoth hadn't quite been able to shake her off yet, though it had come close several times.

He only saw this briefly before his titan attacked him again. Huge gouts of lava spewed from its mouth at him. Sora ran as fast as he could out of its path, casting blizzard spells at the stream approaching him. His magic was powerful to freeze it, but the titan just kept doing it, and he was getting tired.

His magic only had a limited effect on it, and he couldn't get too close. The heat radiating off its body was nearly enough to barbeque an ordinary human –Keybearer or not.

Then an idea came to him. And it was so simple, he wondered why it had taken him so long to think of it. "Wisdom!"

His clothes let off a flash of light. When it faded away, they were blue and black. On the sleeves and pant legs were patterns of light blue and white flames. His Keyblade had changed as well. It was the Star Seeker Keyblade. He had received the keychain (a golden crescent moon) from Master Yen Sid near the beginning of his last journey. The shaft was long and blue, and dotted with white stars. At the end was a large, five-pointed golden star. The guard was a section of grey on either side.

Sora's feet floated just above the ground as if he were standing on something slippery. The space between his shoes and the ground seemed to sparkle.

Immediately after taking on Wisdom Form, Sora dashed around the titan, easily avoiding its lava attacks, and firing off energy bullets from the tip of the blade. Those small attacks (oddly enough) had more of an effect than Sora's original blizzard spells. They got under its 'skin' instead of just blasting at it.

Sora went back around the titan and pointed his Keyblade at its face. He thought of the icy peaks of the Land of Dragons, and the harsh blasts of the titan not far away. "Blizzora!" He cried. (3)

A huge burst of ice-cold air came from the Keyblade, freezing the water in the air around it. This resulted in a huge, freezing shard of ice shooting at the Lava Titan's face. It smashed into it with devastating effects.

It practically exploded against the titan's face, sending bits of ice and blobs of rapidly cooling lava all over the place. The titan howled in pain, its massive hands coming up to its face. Sora didn't let up, he cast the spell again, this time at it's chest. It howled again, moving one hand from its messy face to the wound in its chest.

It's face was steaming, the lava had been frozen on it, and resulted in a strange, frosty hole in it's face. It's mouth could not be seen clearly, and it's glowing eyes were now lopsided. It wasn't a pretty picture. Steam rose between it's fingers from the similar wound in it's chest.

He did it again, and again. One spell hit its shoulder, causing its left arm to fall off altogether, cooled at the end where the spell had hit. That left its chest uncovered, and Sora fired there again. The spell was powerful enough to go all the way through its chest to the other side. Its wailing was deafening.

The next few shots of ice enlarged the hole in its chest, nearly caved it's face in, and blew off the other arm.

The Lava Titan writhed in agony. Chunks of rock, frost, and lava fell from its mutilated body, covering the ground around it with over twenty feet of debris. It let out a huge bellow that sounded decisively final, and collapsed in on itself. It fell, and became a huge puddle of lava on the ground. It was slowly spreading, but it was somehow beginning to cool at the same time.

Sora took a moment to admire his handiwork, and 'ran' to assist Kairi with her titan.

*****************************************************

On the other side of the mountain, Nehrut and Bariss were battling the Ice Titan.

Nehrut buzzed around its head, avoiding its icy breath and swiping claws by inches. His sword struck at its face whenever possible. His blade Presul was strong, and it was strong enough to cut through most materials easy enough, but this icy giant had some kind of magic protection.

He swept low and caught Bariss's outstretched hand. He gave her a toss up toward the titan's face, and Rose Thorn uncurled. She flipped in the air and landed on its snout. She lashed out and struck the behemoth right between the eyes. It howled, and brought up its claw-like hand to swipe her away.

Nehrut came out of nowhere again and snatched her away before impact. The two flew just over the ground, and streaked away from any icy blast that completely froze the ground behind them. The two of them flew back into the air, and ran their weapons across its ribbed chest as they went up. Bits of ice and frost fell to the ground.

There was a crack in between the Ice Titan's eyes where Bariss's whip had struck. She pulled out her sai, and he got an idea. "Hey Frosty! Catch the pretty girl!" He shouted. He spun her around in the air, and then tossed her at that crack between its eyes. The girl dug her sai in up to the hilt into that crack, enlarging it. The titan howled in pain.

Nehrut flew back in and picked her up. They decided to put a bit of distance between the enraged being. As it turns out, this was something of a mistake. It was injured, but not incapacitated. Its hand stretched out, and huge sharp shards of ice burst from its fingers. They came within inches of the two in the air.

Nehrut reached out with his mind and caught one of them. Gathering as much strength as he could, he altered its trajectory. The ice bullet spun around and streaked back at its source.

"NO!" The titan cried as it crashed through its ribs and into it's spine. It shattered into tiny pieces, and broke the titan messily in half. Its legs and most of its torso crashed to the ground, useless.

It's upper chest and everything up fell with a huge slam that sounded almost like breaking glass. They walked over to the seemingly defeated titan...

And were almost crushed by a giant fist.

They retreated away, and watched in amazement as the Ice Titan's top half pushed itself up on its two remaining limbs, and glared at them with those cold, empty eyes.

"Oh..."

The titan let out a shriek, and from its maw came a huge blast of arctic temperature air. Nehrut threw out his hands, putting an invisible barrier between them and the icy air. The ice and sleet pounded relentlessly against the shield. There was no end in sight, but Nehrut could hold on as long as it needed to take.

_Hopefully._

The half-titan was approaching them now, dragging what was left of its body across the ground. All the while it was still spraying them with icy breath. Apparently, it didn't really need to catch its breath.

Bariss was crouched down by Nehrut, she saw his face change. Before it had been filled with confidence. Now he just looked like he had a headache. Beads of sweat were dripping off his face despite the cold, and his eyes had a pained look about them.

"Nehrut..."

"I don't think I can hold it much longer, Bariss." He said. "Just not strong enough. Get out of here. Not to use the cliché but, save yourself. I'll buy you some time."

"Oh stop being so stupidly _noble_." She rolled her eyes. "You can do this. I'm not going to leave you alone against that _thing_."

Nehrut looked at her, a curious light in his eyes. Then he looked back outside his shield at the titan. Its massive face was right in front of the shield, glaring at them and spewing ice. Amazingly, he smiled.

"Noble, huh? I must be hanging around Sora too much. He's the one with the hero complex..." (4) He glared at the titan. "Okay Frosty. You'll be seeing your friend real soon in whatever afterlife you freaks go to."

He mustered every ounce of mental strength he had. His hair and clothes billowed around him as if he were underwater. The air around him rippled as if in a heat haze. And to Bariss's delight, the confidence had returned to his face. The shield bulged, became thicker.

With a shout, Nehrut thrusted his hands forward. His shield blasted forward, and collided with the titan. Its face smashed against it, and Nehrut knew it would be one of his most cherished memories. Its face cracked and splintered in several places, eliciting pained howls from it.

It threw its head back,howling, and the shield crashed into its chest and arms. They shattered into pieces, littering the ground with chunks of ice. For a brief moment, hail pelted against the shield, then it all came crashing down.

The Ice Titan's cracked head crashed to the ground fifty feet away, its mouth hanging open in a permanent silent scream. The other pieces of its body were scattered around in a heap in varying shapes and sizes.

"You did it!" Bariss cheered, pumping her fist into the air and slapping the telepath on the back. He fell to his knees, exhausted and panting. She knelt down next to him. To his delight, she pecked him on the cheek quickly. It turned red. "Rest, you've earned it. The others can finish things up from here."

*****************************************************

While the Keybearers and their off-world allies fought the titans, Hercules sprinted through the crumbling buildings of Olympus. There was just a smattering of Heartless left around. They leapt at him whenever they saw him, only to be met with a crushing fist. He only had a vague idea what he was looking for.

He came across a huge mound of cooled rock that looked as if it was covering something. If it was, it was a much bigger barrier than necessary. Herc ran toward it, smashing a Neoshadow into the ground by merely stepping on it, and batting a Shadow away with the back of his hand like a fly.

He reached it, and drove his hands into the rock. He dug through the layers of cooling rock and ice, clawing his way to the center. After about three feet, he hit something interesting: a face. He felt around for a second, and shifted some rock out of the way, and found a head of spiky hair. Grabbing it, he gave a firm tug.

"Aaagh!" Axel cried out in pain as he was pulled out of the lava by his hair. He landed on the ground hard, rubbing the top of his head. He was amazed that the guy hadn't ripped any out.

"Is my father in there?" Herc asked him, hauling him up by his arm.

"Yeah... And dude, never touch my hair again. Got it memorized?" He rubbed his head again.

Herc turned back around and dug his fists into the lava again. In the next two minutes, he found Mickey, Donald, and Goofy, and yanked them out unceremoniously.

Finally, he found a bushy beard with his searching hands, and lifted up with all his might. A big orange head burst from the top of the rock beard first. Hercules released Zeus's beard from his grasp. Zeus beamed at his son, and shouldered the rest of the way out. He gave his son a firm pat on the back.

"Let's go!" Mickey said, summoning Kingdom Crown.

"And do what exactly?" Axel asked.

"First," Herc said, "We free the other gods. Then we take the fight to Hades."

The six of them sprinted off toward Olympus, in the opposite direction of the remaining titans. Nehrut and Bariss were just finishing off the Ice Titan. While this may have seemed cowardly, it was anything but. They found the gods on the other side of the mountain. They were in a straight line, being marched down the side of the mountain by the remaining Heartless (this amounted to about seventy-five).

Then, at the end of the line Hades appeared in a burst of fire and smoke. "That's it! Half of you," He shouted, adressing the Heartless, his 'hair' turning red, "Go after those brats back there. And the rest of you get these snobs to the Underworld PRONTO!"

The shouting wasn't necessary, but the Heartless obeyed. Thirty-eight slipped into the ground and slunk off, and the remaining thirty-seven picked up the speed with their prisoners. Hades vanished again, presumably to oversee the battle with the Keybearers and titans.

"That makes things much easier." Mickey said, and aimed with his Keyblade. A beam of light shot from the tip. It streaked toward the last god in line, the purple-skinned Apollo, wearing dark red armor. It struck the shackles binding his wrists. There was a flash of golden light, and they disappeared, along with every other chain on the prisoners.

Everyone stared at the empty space between their hands for a split second of shock. And then they pummeled the Heartless adjacent to them.

Their rescuers shot down the mountainside to join them, picking off the Heartless three-by-three as they went. By the time they reached them, there wasn't a single Heartless left around.

"Boys!" Zeus called. "Down to the Underworld! Drive out every last Heartless! We're gonna make them sorry they ever messed with the gods!"

The gods let out a great battle cry, and ran down the mountain to the gates that would take them below the earth to Hades's domain. One of them tossed a large bundle of lightning bolts to Zeus, and caught them easily. He flashed them all a grin, and took off in the other direction. "Now!" He said to Herc, "Watch your old man work!"

*****************************************************

Sora landed on his feet and faced the Rock Titan. It had cracks all over its earthen body, including several on its left forehead where Kairi had struck it. It was nearly down, even as Sora thought this, a large chunk of its chest fell off, just barely missing Kairi. She dove out of the way to Sora's side.

"This guy is really getting on my nerves." She said, wiping a few beads of sweat from her forehead.

"Try fighting him in a cramped space."

"Crush them!" The titan bellowed, advancing. They took up fighting stances, when it suddenly stopped in its tracks. For the first time, it seemed to show fear. "Uh oh..."

A massive lightning bolt struck it in the left face, shattering it into hundreds of pieces. The right head turned to look in horror, before it was struck by an even larger bolt. The now headless titan flailed its arms around spastically, stumbling backwards. It backed up toward the edge of the mountain, waving its arms to try and keep its balance. One final bolt of lightning holed its chest, and it toppled backwards off the mountainside.

It hit the ground a full minute later, and broke into pieces.

Sora and Kairi spun around, and saw Zeus standing there, with his hands on his hips, looking triumphant. Hercules walked up to his side and gave the two of them a wave, and they were soon joined by Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Axel.

"Well, that was anti-climactic." Kairi said as she dismissed her Keyblade.

Over thirty Heartless materialized around them.

"Oh..."

Sora quickly dug in his pocket for the little charm he had found in Deep Jungle, one with the 'M' and the eyeball on it. He tossed it in the air and called out, "Sully!"

_There was a long, tall room in a factory-like building. Lined along the walls were doors held in place by some sort of machines. One of the doors, which was painted white with little pink flowers on it, burst open._

_Out charged a monster. He had light bluish-green hair with occasional purple patches covering his entire body. He had black claws on his fingers and toes. His head was topped with two bony horns that curved inward toward his head. He had two large orange canisters strapped to his back. He let out a loud roar, which startled Sora. But then they both smiled._

"_Hey, Sora!" Sully said, showing a mouthful of white, pointy teeth. He rushed over to the Keybearer. "Let's go!"_

Sully rushed at the nearest Neoshadow and immediately tore it apart with his razor-sharp claws. He grabbed another by it's head and tossed it at its fellow. Two more rushed at him with their claws slashing wildly. He glared at them and roared loudly. The intense soundwaves sent the two Heartless flying backwards.

Sora jumped behind him and cut two approaching Heartless in half with one swing. He jumped at another one, cutting it vertically in half. He turned around and blasted another one in midair with a fireball. He blocked a strike from one more and ran it through its stomach and out through the other side.

Sully smashed his hairy fist into a Heartless, destroying it, and twisted around to roar three more of them into submission. His claw flashed out, taking out another two.

Sora jumped over a Neoshadow, and sliced it in half from its other side. He stabbed backwards and caught another one in the gut. He pulled the blade away and lunged forward, destroying a third.

He and Sully then stood back to back. Sully pulled one of the canisters off his back, and held it in front of him like a bazooka. He turned the valve on the top. A loud, high-pitched child's scream burst from the end. The sound waves were enough to obliterate most of the Heartless in the area.

Once the sound faded away and the remaining Heartless began to charge again, Sora pulled the second, larger canister off Sully's back. He set it on the ground, and turned the valve on top. A louder, and much different sound issued from this one: Laughter.

A little girl's laughter burst from the end and destroyed all the remaining enemies almost instantly.

The sound died away slowly, and everything was peaceful again. Sora turned to look at Sully and smiled. They shook hands and he said, "Thanks, Sully."

He simply shrugged and smiled, "We scare because we care, buddy."

He vanished back to his home world.

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_Okay, so everybody knew that Sully was the summon, but it was never intended as much of a secret, anyway. This chapter was really fun writing!_

_1) Before you say anything, I am not a pervert. I was just pointing out that Sora is a hormonal teenager, just like any other._

_2) There you go, Shire. ;)_

_3) No, not 'Blizzara'_

_4) Kairi: "But that's why we love him."_

_Review please!_


	44. Chapter 43: To Anger a God

_Alrighty! Here we go, the god-sized butt-kicking you've all been waiting for! Along with a twist I hope you'll enjoy, just to keep things interesting... So Phil, if you would please...?_

_Phil: "Sure thing, kid. Now listen here readers 'cause I've got two words for you: 'Don't' 'Own' 'ANYTHING!'"_

_You guys know that I couldn't just go through this whole story without throwing in that joke. ;)_

_---------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Chapter 43: To Anger a God

Ruxik blocked a strike from Yuffie's oversized weapon, and backed away. Behind her he could see the disturbing sight of their whole plan falling to pieces. Zeus stood high up on the mountain, and he had just destroyed the one remaining titan. Then Sora and some monster had destroyed the last of the Heartless he had brought here.

Most of his enemies were regrouping. He saw their former slave half-supporting the weary psychic as they walked toward Sora and the princess. They were all together again, except for Yuffie, whom he was fighting against now. And of course Riku, who was in combat with Larxene about twenty feet away.

This was going downhill too fast. It was time to get Hades and bail out. That was when everyone noticed the demonic chariot fly overhead.

Immediately, he opened up a corridor of darkness behind him and jumped in, avoiding a throwing star that nearly cost him a finger. The corridor opened up behind Larxene. She took the hint and jumped in before Riku could react to it.

*******************************************************************************************

"Everybody alright?" Herc asked, stopping in front of Sora and Kairi. The others were approaching from other parts of the battlefield. Sora noticed that Nehrut seemed to be fading in an out of consciousness.

"You should have seen him!" Bariss exclaimed. "He took down two titans mostly on his own!" He shrugged weakly, smiling a little.

"Two?" Sora was impressed. He, Donald, and Goofy had had an extremely hard time fighting against one of them over a year ago. "Not bad!"

Nehrut chuckled weakly.

A shadow blotted out the sun for a moment as something passed over them. They all turned to look up, and saw the chariot flying away from Olympus at an impressive speed. Inside was Hades, looking infuriated. His 'hair' was burning bright red, and his skin was as well.

"After him!" Hercules shouted. He began to run toward the mountain's rim, calling Pegasus. The flying horse came out of the sky right toward him. He jumped onto his back before he had even stopped. Riku jumped on after him.

Sora mounted the Keyboard, and Kairi transformed into Angelic form. The four of them blasted off after Hades' chariot. Unfortunately, they were the only ones able to follow. The second they left the ground, a few Dark Knight Nobodies appeared around the group at Olympus.

"You know how I was saying we get the hard jobs?" Nehrut said to the King. He had straightened up a little.

"Uh-huh?"

"I think those four have it this time."

**************************************************

As Hades' chariot broke through the cloud cover, Sora moved in toward it. He was just slightly ahead of his friends.

When he was about ten feet behind Hades, and slightly to the left, the god turned around. His eyes widened in surprise, and he snarled. Fire appeared in his right hand, and he fired it at Sora.

The Keyblade flashed horizontally, and the fireball dissipated. Sora kept flying, and shot a shard of ice from the Keyblade's tip. It brushed just over Hades' head, the ice turned to water, and put out the fire that served him as hair.

Hades' eyes bulged in surprise as he rubbed his now bald head. Sora laughed, nearly falling off the Keyboard.

Hades reignited his head, and reached down into the front of the chariot. He emerged holding Pain and Panic by their tails. He angrily pulled them up and tossed them both at Sora. They screamed, and then transformed into purple and green snakes in the air.

Surprised, Sora swerved under them. They flew past him at Pegasus. Hercules caught one in each hand. Before they could even think to bite him, he tied them together in a knot. He chuckled, and tossed them over his shoulder.

Sora turned back around in time to avoid another fireball. Hades continually tossed fireballs at the Keybearer, trying to dislodge him from his board. All the dodging and juking was costing Sora speed, and he was falling farther and farther behind. Then he got an idea.

He tossed Sleeping Lion into the air, and it changed into the Keywhip. He caught it again, and flourished it. He swung, and the whip's chain shot out toward Hades. He held up his arm to protect his face, and the end coiled around it. Sora pulled as hard as he could on his end, and Hades cried out as he fell off chariot. His mount let out a shriek, but kept flying.

Hades plummeted to the ground, dragging Sora behind him. He caught himself, and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Ironically, Hades had been falling directly into the coliseum, and that's where he reappeared. He straightened himself up, and dusted himself off. A portal opened up next to him, and Ruxik and Larxene stepped out.

"It's over Hades." Ruxik said. "We have to get out of here."

"Too late for that." Sora landed in front of them, Oblivion back in hand.

"Do you really think you can take all three of us on your own, Keyboy?" Ruxik smirked, drawing Way to Dusk.

Larxene smirked too. She drew her daggers. "Now, little boy. You have two choices: come with us as a captive, or as a corpse."

"Cool, you guys have the same choice." Riku landed to Larxene's left, Way to Dawn ready. Kairi landed next to Sora, and changed back to her natural form. Hercules landed behind Hades. The seven faced off for a moment, waiting for an opening to present itself.

Larxene moved first, throwing a handful of daggers at Kairi. The girl swept them aside with her Keyblade, and rushed forward. She swung at her head, but missed. Larxene back flipped away from her and threw more knives, but Kairi advanced, dodging out of the way of projectiles and never slowing down.

Riku swept at Ruxik's legs. He jumped over the blade and kicked Riku in the chin, knocking him over backwards. Riku landed in a kind of handstand, pumped his arms and kicked the Nobody in the chest. He summoned his Keyblade back and unleashed a flurry of attacks at his head, neck, and shoulders. Most were blocked.

Hercules delivered a punch at the back of Hades' head. He ducked under it, and tried to throw an uppercut with a burning fist. He moved out of the way with surprising reflexes. He punched the god in the gut so hard he flew backwards into the stands.

Sora leapt up after him, bringing his blade down toward his head. Hades teleported to the top stands half a second before it struck him. Sora ran up to him, while Herc was jumping into the stands behind him.

From Hades' hands burst two long streams of flame. He waved his hands about, holding the flames like whips.

Sora jumped backwards just far enough to avoid the flames. He stretched out his blade a shot ice at Hades from his safe distance. Unfortunately, the fire was hot enough to melt most of the ice before it got too close. By the time it reached him, it was barely more than a pop-sickle.

Hades smiled, and retracted the flames. They became giant balls of fire in his hands. He held them in the air and fired them at Sora and Hercules. Sora jumped entirely over the one aimed at him and ran at Hades. Herc simply shouldered _through_ the fireball with not a scratch. He bolted at Hades, and delivered a punch to his face.

Hades teleported away, though accidentally landed right in front of Sora. The Keybearer slashed him twice across the back, causing him to howl in pain. Herc came back down the stands and punched him hard in the chest. He stumbled down the stands, and fell back into the arena.

Meanwhile, Kairi was locked in a high-speed battle with Larxene. The Nobody's knives whistled past her head frequently, and she had no idea how she was able to keep dodging to safety.

When she got within three feet of Larxene, however, she was greeted by a huge burst of lightning. Acting purely on reflex, Kairi stretched out her hand to create a blast of flame. The two attacks met, and exploded. Being in such close proximity to it, Kairi and Larxene were thrown in either direction.

Kairi got to her feet as fast as possible. She ran at Larxene, and would have run her through the stomach if she hadn't dove to the side. She filled her fist with knives and swung a punch at her face. Her blade came up to smack the fist away, and the knives clattered across the arena floor.

She tried to shake the pain out of her hand, and backed away from the girl quickly. She stretched out her fingers, and lightning speared from the tips. Kairi dove to the right, and the lightning singed the arena floor. She lunged at the Nobody, Keyblade flashing left-to-right.

Larxene jumped away from the blade and kicked at her face. She shifted away from it and ducked under the follow-up punch. Kairi swept her blade, kicking her legs out from under her, and she spilled onto the ground.

Unfortunately, before Kairi could finish the fight, she sank into the ground via corridor of darkness.

Ruxik stabbed at Riku, who dodged to the side. Way to Dusk stuck into the stone wall of the arena. He yanked it out just before Riku could behead him where he stood. He fired a ball of darkness at his other, which he caught with his blade. The struck high, then low. He left a cut across Ruxik's left cheek, and on on his right leg. He followed up with a kick in the chest that made him stumble backwards.

Their blades locked together for several seconds, the two pressing against the other's blade with both hands. Their faces were close together, and they were scowling.

There was something in Ruxik's eyes, Riku noted. Something in those yellow eyes looked a bit familiar. For one split second, those eyes flashed, and they were no longer yellow, but orange.

Riku disengaged, and backed away quickly. He knew those eyes.

"Xehanort?"

But his eyes were yellow again, and he came charging back at Riku with an angry snarl. He leapt, and brought his Keyblade down hard on Riku's own blade.

"Xehanort? Riku repeated, "What gives?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" He head-butted Riku, then came on once the blade was knocked out of his hands. It skidded across the ground, and came to a stop by the wall. He ducked under his blade, and covered his fist in dark fire. He punched him hard in the stomach.

Ruxik stumbled backwards, and Riku called his Keyblade back to his hand. He drove it toward his face. But it was parried, and Ruxik lashed out, clipping his shoulder. Riku grunted, but didn't slow down.

They met each other blow for blow, sparks flying from the impact. Riku jumped into the air and brought it down hard on his blade, knocking it to the ground. He spun around and kicked Ruxik right in the jaw. His blade flashed, and cut him across the chest. He staggered backwards, and Riku followed up with a blast of dark fire at his stomach.

Ruxik's Keyblade vanished, and he flew to the other side of the arena, hitting his head against the wall.

Ruxik put a hand to his throbbing head, and wiped a trickle of blood from his mouth. He started to get up, but then found Way to Dawn at his throat. Riku stood over him, glaring down at him.

"_Never_ threaten my girlfriend." He growled.

As Ruxik caught his breath, he looked up at his other. His eyes closed, and when they opened, they had turned orange again.

Suddenly, a large black mass flew from behind the Nobody and grabbed Riku by the arms. It threw Riku into the air, and he fell to the ground several feet away. Riku started to get back up, when the thing was right in front of him.

Riku's eyes widened when he realized it was the Guardian.

Xehanort's old cohort was grinning at him from three inches away behind two thin bandages. It seemed to be saying 'Hello Riku! It's me! I'm back. How are you?' The Guardian delivered a single punch to Riku's stomach and backed away.

Riku clutched at his stomach and looked back up. The Guardian was gone. Ruxik was standing at the entrance to a corridor of darkness, leaning a bit on Larxene. The two glared at him (and Kairi, who had just walked up next to him). They backed up into the corridor, and were gone.

_What was that about?_

Hades was being beaten back by Sora and Hercules. Sora brought Oblivion down toward his head, but he caught it with both hands. Unfortunately for him, Herc used the opening to uppercut him in the jaw.

Hades flew into the air, and teleported in the air down to the ground. He stretched out his hands, they spewed a steady stream fire at the two heroes. Sora dodged to the left, and Herc to the right. Hades followed them.

They ran around the god, far enough to where he could no longer both of them. So he twisted around and fired at just Sora.

Riku came seemingly from nowhere and blocked the fire with a dark shield. Sora muttered a quick thanks before rushing out to join Hercules. The two of them ran at Hades, and beat at him before he could turn the flames back at them again.

Hades stumbled backwards, and the two of them decided to finish this whole messy business.

Sora ran forward, Keyblade held at his side, Herc right behind him. When they were almost right in front of Hades, and he was just about to burn him, Sora called, "Herc!"

Hercules came up from behind him and jumped over his head. He raised his fist and smashed it into the ground so hard it created a ten foot wide crater in the ground. The shock was enough to throw Hades backwards into the wall.

"Nice!" Sora said, as Hades pulled himself out of the wall.

Herc charged as he had with Nessus: head first, nearly horizontal. He was practically a blur. His head slammed into Hades's stomach. His cough could be heard from far away as he was thrown into the stands.

Just as he was getting up, Sora came charging in. He rushed at Hades, and held the Keyblade vertically above his head. He swung down, and started spinning like a wheel. He spun toward Hades, and smacked his head, face, and shoulders repeatedly with the Keyblade.

Herc came back up behind him, and rammed him toward the arena, he smacked into the center of it, and was just getting up when they landed in the arena together. "You're going down!"

Hercules grabbed hold of the Keyblade, while Sora held it in the other hand. Together, they rammed it into the ground. Another crater was formed, cracks breaking outward from it, and pure energy spilled out of them, in enough quantity to be blinding.

The ground shook at their combined strength. Hades didn't stand a chance.

There was a loud pained shout, though it sounded like half disbelief.

When the light faded away, everyone saw Hades unconscious on the ground. He was sprawled spread-eagle in the center of the arena. His hair was out again.

Hercules wiped the sweat from his forehead, and then clapped a hand on Sora's back, nearly knocking him over. "Nice job, Sora."

"You too, Herc." Riku and Kairi ran toward them.

"You guys okay?" Riku asked them.

"Never better." Herc walked over to Hades, and scooped him up. He slung him over one shoulder. "Let's head up to Olympus. I have a feeling you guys have a lot of people up there who can't wait to thank you.

**************************************************

'A lot of people' was actually something of an understatement. The second they broke above the cloud cover that evening, the god's cheering sounded like thunder. They soared over their heads, waving. Olympus was still a mess, but the buildings seemed to be repairing themselves somehow.

They flew toward Zeus's throne. He was waiting for them there, with Mickey, Axel, and the others around him. Sora noticed that Nehrut was holding a chunk of the Ice Titan to his head as if he had a headache. Megera and Phil were there as well, smiling up at them as they descended.

They landed in front of them, and Hercules dumped Hades uncerimoniously on the ground. One of the gods walked up and dragged him away to somewhere.

The four of them dismounted, and the second Herc was down, Meg jumped into his arms and planted a kiss on his lips. He nearly fell over, but then held her in the air while he kissed her back.

Feeling in the moment, Yuffie did the same thing to Riku, wrapping her legs around his waist. He did fall over, but that didn't seem to bother either of them.

So Sora shrugged, and pulled Kairi into his arms. He kissed her gently.

With all the love going on, Bariss blushed. No one noticed, but her eyes flicked ever so briefly toward Nehrut. Two seconds later, also unnoticed, Nehrut glanced at her.

The couples broke apart after a minute, and faced Zeus.

"Well done, all of you." He said. "You've done more than anybody could have expected, or asked from you. And despite what certain _others_ may think..."

He threw an annoyed look at Phil.

"I'm proud to call each and every one of you True Heroes." He said with a broad smile.

The cheering became even louder. Sora embraced Donald and Goofy. They had waited a long time to hear that. And from Zeus himself it was unexpected.

Suddenly, Zeus's throne started glowing. It shone brightly, and the form of a Keyhole appeared on it's back.

Sora was about to call his Keyblade, when inspiration struck. He turned to Kairi and asked, "Would you?"

Destiny's Light appeared in her hand. She pointed it at the Keyhole, and silver light gathered around the tip. It came together, and burst out in a beam of light at the Keyhole. It emitted a flash of light, and vanished.

"Next time it's your turn." He said to Riku.

The cheering of the audience swelled. Far back behind them all, Sora heard the beginnings of amazing music. He could barely make out the shapes of five dark-skinned women.

"Hit it ladies!" Hermes called.

The five women –the Muses- walked into the crowd, and began to sing a beautiful song in celebration of their heroes. While the lot of them were pulled into the improvised dance, Zeus smiled, and wiggled his fingers. Glimmering silver light twinkled on his fingers, and he shot it into the sky.

The lights changed into hundreds of twinkling stars. They stopped in patterns around the latest constellations of Sora, Donald, and Goofy.

Now Kairi, Riku, Nehrut, Bariss, Axel, Yuffie, and Mickey stood beside their friends. They were perfect images of their real selves, and they each looked triumphant.

Those stars twinkle there to this day.

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_There you go! This long section of the story is finally done!_

_Now, be on the lookout for a Christmas one-shot very soon. Just my little gift to all you KH fans out there!_

_So, I'd like to take this opportunity to wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas! I hope you have a good time, but most importantly: Do not forget the true reason for the season._

_And all I want for Christmas from you guys, is a review. Please?_


	45. Chapter 44: Road to Dawn

_I hope that 2009 is treating all of you well, so far!_

_This chapter is dedicated to my good friend Shire Folk. Without him, I never would have come up with this. So, Riku?_

_Riku: "I'm really excited about this. DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or the entire concept of 'Dawn' which belongs to Shire. Enjoy!"_

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Chapter 44: Road to Dawn

"Hey, I've been wondering, but why do those guys treat 'hero' like it's an official title?" Nehrut asked a little later, back on the ship, "I mean, no disrespect, but who are they to decide?"

"I've been wondering that, too." Sora admitted. "Maybe there's some kind of union."

They were back in Warp drive, on their way to another world. The ten of them were assembled in the crew lounge, taking a much needed rest. Riku and Yuffie were on one of the couches, getting 'comfortable'. She had his shoulders pinned to the cushions, and was on top of him.

Everyone tried to look the other way, but it was getting a bit awkward. The low moans of pleasure made things a little uncomfortable.

Yet, the two didn't seem to realize this.

"Should we leave?" Goofy asked quietly.

"That may be for the best." Axel muttered.

"Thank you." Yuffie said quickly, emerging from Riku's lips for a split second before diving back in.

The other eight walked out quickly, but before he left, Nehrut said, "Don't forget to breath!" then closed the door.

"Can I kill him?" Yuffie asked briefly, before capturing Riku's lips again.

"We'll wait 'till later." He answered, not really listening, just loving the sound of her voice. He ran his hands through her hair, sinking back into the couch cushions. They broke for oxygen after five more minutes. Yuffie tucked her head under his chin, and she was amazed to find that it seemed to fit perfectly there.

He just lay there for several minutes, running his fingers through her hair, and stroking her back. She made contented little humming noises while he did this, and sank deeper into his chest. She said something quietly.

"What?"

She pushed herself up on her arms a little bit and leaned her forehead against his. "I said, I think I love you."

Riku's eyes widened. She loved him.

_Do I love her?_

He thought this over for a second, and the thoughts that came from this surprised even him.

His heart danced whenever she was in the room. All his fears melted away when he felt her in his arms. And the worst of those fears had somehow become that of losing her. And when she kissed him, it was like the outside world just melted away, leaving only them. Her smile and laughter were extremely contagious.

This all passed through his mind within the time span of about three seconds. He came to the simple, obvious conclusion, and it surprised him that it had taken him even _that_ long to realize it.

"I _know_ I love you."

Yuffie's eyes sparkled, and she leaned in toward him again. They kissed softly, caressing the other's faces, and running their hands through the other's hair. But there was something new in their kiss now, something other than just the passion that was there before.

Something wonderful.

Three hours later, she fell asleep on top of him, and Riku was nearing sleep himself when he began to think over the day's events.

Xehanort's eyes, and the Guardian. How did Ruxik do that?

Admittedly, he could have imagined the eyes, though he doubted it. But the Guardian was what had allowed Ruxik to escape the coliseum. It was impossible to imagine that. So how had Ruxik summoned it?

For some reason, the same cosmic forces that made him a Keybearer, brought him into the Dive into the Heart.

******************************************************

Suddenly, Riku was standing, and in a totally different place. This was the Station of Mystery, though who could really tell?

Sora and Mickey had told him about this place, and he had expected that he had a platform here. But it still surprised him to see it.

The picture had a greenish tint. Riku was leaning against the right side of his picture, holding Way to Dawn in the hand facing the viewer (the left). His head was bowed, his eyes were closed, and he was smiling a little. His right hand was held out, palm up, holding a ball of bright red-orange fire. The background showed one of the Destiny Islands, waves hitting the beach. The outer ring showed the Way to Dawn keychain over and over. There were four pictures, for Sora, Kairi, Mickey, and Nehrut. And one extra one that had a blood red tint. This picture displayed Xehanort: His eyes closed.

There was also an empty heart-shape.

_Empty?_

As if picking up on his chain of thought, the heart rippled, and Yuffie's smiling face appeared inside it.

Riku smiled at it, and looked back at the fire in his picture's hand. Why was it that color? Shouldn't it be blue? He had never actually learned conventional magic, he just relied on the Darkness in his heart to use in its place.

Was that what he was here for? To learn conventional magic? Seemed like a waste of time, really. He could have just asked Donald.

"You are here to learn something far greater."

The voice. Great.

"You reside in between worlds. You live in light, yet you harness the Darkness. It is time that your natural talents manifested themselves in this manner."

"What do you mean?"

"You will know."

Something was stepping out of the darkness beyond the platform. It was a tall figure, draped in a black coat.

Dear Lord, it was _him_.

Xehanort, dressed in an Organization coat. Actually Riku, after he had taken on that form.

The fake version of him stared Riku down for a moment, before holding out his hand. There was a brief flash of black energy, and he was suddenly holding Soul Eater in his hand. He took up a fighting stance that Riku himself had developed, and charged at him.

Riku summoned his Keyblade and shot a blast of dark fire at his dopple-ganger. But to his horror, the fire had absolutely no effect on 'Ansem.' In fact, it just seemed to sink into his body. Ansem didn't even react to it, just kept charging.

He jumped in the air, and brought Soul Eater down on Riku's blade, nearly driving his own blade right into his face. Riku was just able to throw the blade off, and aim a strike at Ansem's stomach.

But just as Shadow-Sora had with Sora, the blade passed through Ansem with no effect. Riku let his shock show on his face, and almost didn't see Ansem swing at him again. He threw himself backward, and just barely avoided the falling blade.

He tried another blast of dark fire, this one hit him in the face. But of course, no effect. Ansem came on in a flurry of blinding attacks, driving Riku back.

The Keybearer had few opportunities to counter-attack, and whenever he tried, the blade passed through the fake without effect. How was he supposed to beat him if he couldn't touch him?

Ansem clenched his fist, calling Dark energy to it. Before Riku had any chance to react to it, he thrust his fist forward, sending a large blast of Darkness at him. It smashed into Riku's chest with the force of a wrecking ball, tossing him backwards to land near the edge of the platform.

_That really does hurt._

"Focus, Keybearer."

He struggled to his feet, trying to ignore the pain in his chest.

Riku looked up past his blade, and glared at Ansem, who was running towards ran forward, and punched him in the stomach, not knowing why. What happened next was surprising.

As he swung, Riku's fist became engulfed in the red-orange flames that he could see in the picture. The flames felt pleasantly warm against his skin.

His fist collided with Ansem's stomach, and the flames burst out from his fist, eliciting a cry of pain from Ansem and sending him flying across the platform.

Riku gazed at his hand, bathed in red-orange fire. He flexed his fingers, and the flames danced between them. "What is this?"

"Dawn. Like the road you chose."

Ansem got back to his feet, and charged at Riku again. Riku extended his hand, and fired the Dawn at him. It emerged as a fiery mass of energy, much like his dark fire had. The blast collided with Ansem, exploding.

Ansem fell to the ground. He struggled onto one knee, and was about to get up when Riku fired more Dawn at him. He shot it out in short bursts that exploded against his skin.

Just as he was about ready to fall apart, Riku engulfed his Keyblade in Dawn, coating it with red-orange energy. He ran at Ansem as he staggered to his feet. The blades flashed, and Riku stood on the other side of him as he fell to his knees, darkness leaking from a wound that had nearly decapitated him.

Ansem didn't make any noise, just looked at Riku over his shoulder as he faded. He gave a nod, as if in respect, and vanished seconds later.

Riku held up his hand, and coated it with Dawn. He admired the way it looked and felt, then extinguished the flame. "Looks like I've got a new toy."

"There is more you need to learn."

"Swell."

Another figure was stepping out of the shadows at the far side of the platform. It was a woman with greenish-grey skin and pale yellow eyes. Her head was crowned with two horn-like protrusions. Her hands were claw-like with long fingers and sharp nails. She was totally covered by black and violet robes. In one hand she held a wooden staff with a green orb on top.

And apart from Xehanort himself, she was the person Riku hated the most in all the worlds: Maleficent. (1)

She smiled at him, and swung her staff in an arc in front of her. A disk made of green flames shot from it, and came at Riku.

He jumped over it, and sprinted toward Maleficent. He brought his blade down on Maleficent's head, but she blocked it with her staff. She threw him off with surprising strength, and pointed her index finger at him as if accusing him. Green lightning flew from it at Riku.

He threw up a shield. Instead of Darkness, it was Dawn. The lightning collided with the shield, and ricocheted into the blackness. He brought down the shield, and fired at Maleficent with a blast of Dawn.

She disappeared in a flash of green fire, and reappeared mere feet behind him. The orb on her staff glowed, and she swung at his back, knocking him to the ground.

He rolled over onto his back just in time to avoid another bolt of lightning. He kept rolling, avoiding more lightning. He jumped to his feet and grabbed hold of his Keyblade again. He blocked a fireball heading his way, then another, and another.

Maleficent took her staff in both hands, and slammed it onto the ground. Green fire burst from the ground beneath her feet and spread outward. It slowly began to cover the platform, covering the top but not burning it.

Riku didn't want to see whether it would burn him or not. He backed away from the flames quickly, and nearly fell off the platform. The fire kept spreading, it was now inches away.

Riku had no idea what he was doing, but he jumped backwards off the platform.

He fell twenty feet head first, and something incredible happened.

A red-orange mass burst from his back and floated behind him. This thing grabbed him by his arms and put him right-side-up. This thing stayed behind him, and they flew back up together.

Riku turned his head, and saw the Guardian. (1)But not quite Xehanort's Guardian. This one was the color of dawn, a bright red-orange. On its chest was the same emblem as Riku's keychain in violet. The bandages weren't there, and its eyes were glowing violet. Its expression was a bit different, too. It wasn't leering wickedly, but bore a more serious expression than its dark counterpart.

It seemed to nod at him. Riku glided toward Maleficent, and it floated above him.

The witch brought up her hand and shot more lightning at him. Immediately, the Guardian flew in front of its master, blocking the strikes. The two shot at Maleficent, the Guardian protecting Riku from attacks.

When they were practically right in front of the witch, the Guardian reached out, and grabbed her by the shoulders. It hoisted her into the air high above the platform (the emerald flames were dying).

Riku floated in between the Guardian's arms, and stared Maleficent in the face. She was struggling in vain to free herself from the Guardian's grip, and she glared at him.

He snarled, and the Guardian's grip tightened. Riku brought up one hand and engulfed it in Dawn. His Guardian tossed Maleficent away like a rag doll, and Riku stretched out his hands.

"Refraction Rays!"

Dozens of small blasts of Dawn flew from his fingertips, winding through the air towards Maleficent. They smashed into her, throwing her every which way in midair, from all directions. But they didn't lose power in any way; they just kept running into her.

Riku made a gesture with his open hand, and every little ball of energy came together directly in front of Maleficent, forming a sphere of Dawn roughly the size of a basketball. He clenched his fist, and the resulting explosion practically ripped Maleficent to shreds.

Her limp form flew out into the blackness. She was soon gone from view, and Riku hoped it stayed that way.

He lowered himself onto the ground, touching gently down near Sora's picture. He faced the Guardian. It gave him a sort of bow, and changed into energy, which moved into Riku and soaked into his skin. He let out a brief flash of light, and all was calm.

He exhaled, and looked up into the dark clouds, waiting for the voice to come. Of course, it did.

"You have done well here this day. Take what you have learned, and use it well, Wielder of Dawn. Do not be afraid."

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_Viola! I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter, which has been a long time coming. Hopefully, I've done Shire's concept justice. What do you think?_

_PS: The limit for Sora and Hercules last chapter was 'Olympian Crush'_

_1) Did anyone else actually miss fighting her in KH2?_

_2) What is this thing anyway? A Heartless, or some kind of manifestation of Darkness/Dawn?_

_Review please!_


	46. Chapter 45: This is Halloween

_Probably my favorite Disney world in the games. :) I put a lot of effort into this one, so I hope you enjoy it. And now, I'll hand things over to the Pumpkin King:_

_Jack: "Good to be back everyone! It's great to see you again! DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else he'd like to use."_

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Chapter 45: This is Halloween

Halloween Town had always been one of Sora's favorite other-world locations, mostly because of Donald's magic. He took on an interesting appearance on this world, he thought he was some kind of vampire, it was hard to tell, but the fangs led him to believe this. Donald was a diminutive mummy, and Goofy looked like a Frankenstein sort of creation.

Kairi wore a dark brown raggedy top and skirt. She also wore a witch's hat of the same color, complete with rusty bronze buckle with no clear purpose. Her stockings were orange and black striped. Her skin was paler, and her hair darker, but her eyes stuck out more against her raggedy brown clothes because of this.

Riku was pretty scary. His skin was thinner, and very pale. He was practically skin and bone. His face was sunken, and his eyes seemed to bulge. His hair was thin, and starting to fall out. He was cloaked in a black robe somewhat reminiscent of Organization XIII, without the gloves or silver ornamentation. It was longer, too. It covered his feet.

Mickey had long, sharp fangs. He wore a black suit lined with red, and a spiked black cape with the same red lining. His boots were incredibly polished, and he looked like a vampire straight out of a classic movie transformed into a mouse.

Nehrut had gotten hairier. His skin was covered in a thin layer of brown fur, and the hair on the top of his head had gotten even more unruly. His clothing had turned from blue to black, and the armor was rusted in places. The cape was tattered at the end, and his hands were tipped with dark claws. He resembled a half-transformed werewolf.

Bariss's skin appeared patched together in some places. You could see occasional lines of stitches. One of her eyes was a little brighter than the other. Her clothing was patched up as well.

Axel was interesting to look at. His flame-colored hair was now just flames. Hades would have envied him. His skin was deep red, and he had a pair of skeletal red wings growing from his back, as well as a pair of small, red horns in his forehead. His entire usual outfit was red, including his jeans.

Yuffie was pale, and looked rotted away in a few places. Her hair was graying, and there were a few clumps missing. One eye (probably missing) was covered up by an eye patch with a skull on it.

A sarcastic person might have told them that they looked stunning.

Nehrut felt his face for a moment with his clawed hands, and said, "Man, I need to shave."

"And I thought you're hair couldn't get any messier." Riku said.

"Well at least I still _have_ hair, zombie-boy."

Riku summoned the Guardian. It stared at the part-werewolf two inches away from his face. It was an unnerving sight whether it was Dark or Dawn.

"But you don't have this."

"No, I don't." He carefully reached out one clawed hand, and patted it on the head. "Good monster-thing. Please don't eat me."

"Could we get to work please?" Mickey interrupted. "Where to, Sora?"

"Let's try the town square, maybe Jack can tell us if anything is going on."

The group walked off through the forest they had landed in, and down the path leading toward town. Some were still adjusting to their new forms, testing their limbs or seeing how their new clothing might hinder them. They fell into it pretty well.

They soon found themselves in the graveyard not far outside town. One gate led to the oddly shaped Moonlight Hill. The other path led into town, from which singing could be heard. (1)

"_Boys and girls of every age,_

_Wouldn't you like to see something strange?_

_Come with us and you will see,_

_This, our town of Halloween!"_

"_This is Halloween, this is Halloween!_

_Pumpkins scream in the dead of night!_

_This is Halloween! Everybody make a scene!_

_Trick or treat 'till the neighbor's gonna die of fright!"_

A handful of ghosts flew past their heads toward town, singing.

"_It's our town! Everybody scream!_

_In this town of Halloween!"_

"Is it really Halloween already?" Kairi asked.

"I think they're just practicing. Halloween is everything to these people." Sora said.

"Wonder if they still celebrate Christmas?" Goofy thought out loud.

The ten walked toward the town after the ghosts. They nearly tripped now and then over the dozens of headstones around. Sora noticed Zero's grave a few feet away. As if on cue, the little ghost dog floated up from the ground. When it noticed them, it yipped enthusiastically and darted toward Sora.

"Hey Zero!" He said as the little guy floated all around him, barking. "How's life?"

He barked, and floated into town. Sora gestured to the others to follow him.

They entered town, and the singing got louder. They entered town square to find a great deal of the locals gathered around the fountain in the center. The serpent in the center had greenish water pouring from its mouth into the fountain below. Sora saw the Mayor of Halloween Town standing on a raised platform holding a megaphone. The song was nearing its end.

"_In this town, don't we love it now!_

_Everyone's waiting for the next surprise!"_

Something was coming up behind them. Sora turned around and leapt out of the way of a large man with an axe lodged in his skull. He was pulling a wooden horse carrying something strange. It was a scarecrow with a jack-o-lantern for a head. It passed by them and into the town square.

"_Skeleton Jack might catch you in the back,_

_And scream like a banshee!_

_Make you jump out of your skin!"_

"_This is Halloween, Everybody scream!_

_Won't you please make way for a very special guy!?"_

Sora understood just what he was seeing when the scarecrow came to life. It grabbed a torch from a person as it passed by, stood up on the horse, and stuffed the torch through the mouth of the jack-o-lantern. The pumpkin caught fire instantly, and the scarecrow started dancing on the horse's saddle.

"_Our man Jack is king of the pumpkin patch!_

_Everyone hail to the Pumpkin King!"_

The scarecrow belched fire at the audience.

"_This is Halloween! This is Halloween!_

_Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!"_

The scarecrow danced a bit longer, then dove into the fountain. Water and steam came out of it as two kids (a mummy and a corpse) walked up to the edge to peer over and sang,

"_In this town, we call home,_

_Everyone hail to the Pumpkin Song."_

And with perfect timing, Sora's old friend rose out of the water with his arms folded over his chest. A shockingly tall skeleton wearing a black suit with vertical white stripes that made him look even taller. Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King.

"_La-la la la la la!_

_Halloween! Halloween!_

_La la la_

_Halloween! Halloween!_

_La la la_

_Halloween! Halloween!_

_La la la! La la la la!_

_Halloween!_

_Weeeeeee!"_

Jack waved his hands to the clapping, cheering audience. "Great job everybody! Great job! Take a break, you've earned it!"

Jack hopped off the edge of the fountain, and made his way through the audience, trying to pry himself away from his motley collection of fans. Sora and the others crept around the crowds toward the gates of Jack's house, which was his apparent destination. They slipped inside, and walked up the steps to sit and wait for him at the top.

"Man," Nehrut said, "He's like Elvis to these people."

"Every world needs its heroes." Sora said.

After a few minutes, Jack managed to slip into his yard and close the iron gates. "Thank you!" He said to his fans, giving them one last wave. They gradually dispersed, and he turned and walked up the steps.

He only looked up halfway to the door, and his face lit up.

"Sora! Donald! Goofy!" He ran the rest of the way. "Welcome back!"

"Hey Jack!" Sora said, shaking his bony hand. "As scary as ever, huh?"

"You bet! And I see you've brought some friends."

"This is Axel, King Mickey, Yuffie, Nehrut, Bariss, Riku, and Kairi." They each said 'hello' as he introduced them. When he reached Kairi, Jack smiled wider.

"So this is the girl you always talked about!" He said. He bent down and shook her hand enthusiastically. "It is wonderful to finally meet you, ma'am!"

"Likewise." Then to Sora with a smile, "Just how many people did you mention me to?"

Sora blushed and said, "_All_ of them." She kissed his cheek.

"So what brings all of you out this way?" Jack asked.

"The Brotherhood of the Dark." Mickey said. "We've detected darkness streaming off this world, so we thought we'd check in.

"Brotherhood of the Dark?" Jack asked. "You mean the fellows you warned me about a month ago?"

"That'd be them." Axel said. "Seen anyone weird, lately?"

Jack's brow twitched upward in an immitation of a quirked eyebrow. "Yes. Actually, I see weird people every day."

The rest of them laughed at Axel's expense. "Okay, anybody _new_, and weird?"

Jack thought for a moment. "Well... I did meet somebody the other day."

"Somebody from another world?" Riku asked.

Jack elaborated. "Well, he might have been. But he certainly _looked_ like he belonged here. I believe he was some breed of zombie."

"Where did you meet him?" Sora asked.

"Oh, down there in the woods. He asked me where he could find the graveyard. I naturally assumed that he was just a relative from out of town who was looking for a certain grave. So, I told him, and I haven't seen him since."

Sora pondered this. It seemed innocent enough, but Jack was the Pumpkin King. He'd know that that person wasn't from Halloween Town. And hadn't Bariss mentioned an undead creature in the Brotherhood?

"Well, what did he look like, exactly?"

"Well, like I said, a zombie. Though, I thought it was odd. He had these... 'antlers' growing out of his head."

*********************************************************

They wouldn't know this, but the person Jack was describing to them was walking through the graveyard right now.

His crimson cloak brushed the ground, stirring up dirt and dead leaves. His hands ran across a few gravestones, searching. He needed to find a specific grave, in order for this world to fall. When his master had ordered him to come here, he had thought it amusing that his appearance would actually help him.

After a few minutes, he found it. A small, unimportant looking grave that apparently wasn't visited often. It sat in the far corner of the graveyard in the shadow of a much larger one.

He bent down, and sifted some dirt aside with a hand covered in rotting skin. Soon, he pulled out the small remains of a beetle. Squashed, and with one wing missing. He held it up to his eyes to be sure it was the right bug, and it was.

Tucking it into a pocket within his robes, he turned around and walked out of the graveyard. He pushed open a gate, and walked toward a large hill that was curved at the end. It made a nice sight, silhouetted against the golden full moon.

The Horned King waved his hands in the air in swirling patterns, and a large, black cauldron with clawed feet appeared in a flash of red light at the base of the hill. A snap of his fingers, and the cauldron was filled with bubbling, boiling water. A thin plume of steam rose from it. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a vile of green fluid.

He poured it into the cauldron, where it mixed with the water. There was a flash from the surface of the liquid, and it turned a deep red. Red smoke rose from the surface, into the sky.

The Horned King reached into his pocket and pulled out the beetle's corpse. He held it out over the cauldron in his fist.

"Return, Oogie Boogie." He dropped the beetle into the cauldron.(2)

The cauldron flashed again, and the bubbling liquid frothed violently. The contents spilled out onto the ground, spreading.

From the violent, churning potion rose a shadow. It rose into the sky, toward the moon. For the briefest of moments, the shadow blotted out the moon's pale light completely. Then it took shape against it.

A face with two large eyes and a wide mouth, topped with some kind of flap.

The shadow laughed. Oogie Boogie was back.

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_The Gamblin' Boogie man is back! But just to confirm this, in the opening song of the movie, was Oogie actually the 'Shadow on the moon at night?'_

_1) This is the first time I've tried anything like a song-fic, so bare with me._

_2) Okay, so I don't know if the Black Cauldron is good for anything other than summoning Cauldron Born, but I thought I'd roll with it._

_Please Review!_


	47. Chapter 46: Cauldron Born

_Welcome back! No, your eyes aren't decieving you, that really is the title therer. So you know what's going to happen. So, I've invited one of the Cauldron Born to do the disclaimer._

_Cauldron Born: ".............."_

_We're waiting._

_Cauldron Born: "............."_

_Okay, this is going nowhere, I'll just do this myself. I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else. Just my plot and O.C.s. On with the show..._

_-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Chapter 46: Cauldron Born

"That sounds a lot like the Horned King." Bariss said.

They were sitting in Jack's house. His study was large, and the walls were covered by book cases, filled with a wide variety of books (though most were unpleasant to read). There were a few tables in the room, on which rested a few 'interesting' items. These included a shrunken head, and a bottle of something with a horrible smell. There were a few traces of Jack's Christmas obsession. There was a bit of tinsel hanging around the room, and a book of Christmas carols sat in a chair.

It was an odd combination in the same room. There were a few burned out Christmas lights wrapped around an electric chair. Everyone was careful to stay away from it, as it was still plugged in.

Sora thought for a moment, and Donald voiced his thoughts. "What does he want in a graveyard?"

Jack tapped his bony finger to his chin in thought. "Well... We did bury Oogie Boogie there. A piece of him, anyway."

Sora's head shot up. "Do you think he wants to bring Oogie back again? Like Maleficent did?"

"I don't see how he could. We burned the sack, and buried his brain-bug."

"He's very powerful." Bariss said. "You'd be surprised what he can do if he has the opportunity."

Jack shot up from his chair, with a set look on his face. "Let's check the graveyard, maybe we'll find a trace of him there."

He led the way out of the house, and the rest filed up behind him.

********************************************************

"So you want my help?" Oogie's shadow on the moon asked. "Well, normally I'd jump at the chance, but there's one little problem I can see with that... I don't have a BODY!"

"Not a problem." The Horned King responded with a wave of his hand. "That can –and will- be easily remedied."

"Hmmmm..." The shadow paused for thought. "Alright, I'll do it. On one condition."

"Very well. Name it."

"I want control of this world myself, and revenge on the bone-head that put me in the grave!" The shadow on the moon (which only he could see) looked enraged at the very thought of Jack Skellington.

The Horned King nodded. "Fair enough. We have an accord, Oogie Boogie."

"Perfect! The deal is struck! So, where do we start?"

"I believe you're familiar with a Doctor Finkelstein. He currently has a project in the works that should be just what you need..."

"Oooh, I'm liking the sound of this."

Suddenly, another voice cut into the conversation. "Mister Oogie!"

The Horned King spun around, his hand outstretched to cast a spell should the newcomer prove to be a threat. As it turned out, there were three of them. Three small children dressed in trick-or-treating costumes. One devil, one witch, and one skeleton.

Lock, Shock, and Barrel were standing by the iron gates leading to the graveyard. They jumped at the sight of the Horned King ready to incinerate them.

"Relax, partner." Oogie said. "These are a few _acquaintances_ of mine. Why don't we see if we can put 'em to work? It'd be better than vaporizing 'em."

The Horned King pondered this for a moment, and nodded. "You three, come here."

The trio tentatively stepped toward the undead creature. "We have a job for you."

"Is it bad?" Lock asked.

"Oh yes. Very, _very_ bad."

Oogie laughed.

********************************************************

Sora, Jack, and the rest walked into the graveyard, eyes scanning the area for anything out of the ordinary (besides the obvious). Not a tombstone was out of place.

"We put it back here." Jack said, pointing to a tiny, nondescript headstone that was easily missed. He walked right over to it and bent down to get a better look at the grave. "Oh no..."

Sora peeked over his shoulder to see what was up. He saw a tiny hole in the ground before the grave. The Horned King had dug up the beetle's body.

"What could this mean?"

"That we've got trouble." Sora said. He mostly said this because there were now Heartless in the graveyard. Shadows were charging toward them, accompanied by White Knights, Trick Ghosts, Graveyards, and Ghouls.

The Ghoul Heartless looked like floating, semi-transparent violet ghosts. They had glowing yellow eyes peering out from under the mass of violet. They also had bony skeleton hands that were detached from the main body, floating in front of them. On top of each of the hands was a small Heartless emblem.

The group jumped into action immediately. Sora brought the Keyblade down on the first Shadow, and dodged away from a purple-tinted fireball a Ghoul shot at him. He shot a shard of ice at it, destroying it. He spun around and impaled a White Knight. It continued to try and claw at him, until he ripped the Keyblade out its side.

Jack leapt over Sora, and landed in front of a pair of Trick Ghosts. Both of his hands became engulfed in fire. He stuck them out, and plunged them into their chests. They caught fire, and he grabbed them by their top throats. He tossed one at a White Knight in front of Kairi, and smashed the other into a Shadow at his feet.

Riku called up his Guardian. It smashed the Shadows in front of him into paste. Riku spun around and cleaved a Ghoul in two. He fired Dawn energy at a group of Heartless running into the graveyard. They exploded, nearly ripping the iron gate off its hinges. He rushed at a Graveyard with the Guardian right behind him. The Guardian pried its lid open, and Riku shot blasts of Dawn inside before it could attack them.

Donald dove away from a White Knight's ferocious slash. He crashed into a tombstone, but lept to his feet just as the Heartless dug it's claws into the headstone. Donald ignited the tip of his staff, as it was trying to pull itself free. He smashed it into it's head, incinerating it. He turned and used the spare energy to take out another three coming toward him.

Yuffie threw her shuriken at a Ghoul, cutting right through it. As it came back to it's owner, it beheaded two Trick Ghosts. She caught it with one hand, and stabbed through the face of a Shadow behind her. She ran forward, leaping easily over a large headstone. She rolled forward and struck a White Knight below the chin. Three Shadows jumped on top of her, but she vanished in a puff of smoke, and was suddenly standing over them. She took them out with three clean swipes of a dagger.

Goofy leapt into the air, and landed on top of a Shadow, crushing it beneath his shield. He jumped back up and slammed it into a White Knight, sending it stumbling backwards. He followed with another hard bash in its face. He spun around, and threw the shield like a discus. It cut through seven Heartless before flying back to him.

Nehrut's blade sliced through three Heartless. He jumped into the air, and brought it down hard on another, cutting it vertically in half. He blasted a few of them backwards into the face of a tomb. Dust and dirt fell from the ceiling from the impact. He cut down another one horizontally, and twisted around to knock a Graveyard backwards, to where it landed on its lid, unable to open it back up.

Axel leapt into the air, and unleashed fire on the Heartless, burning a dozen of them. He landed and blocked a Ghoul's weaker fire with his chakrams. He tossed one at the offending Heartless, and the other one to the one next to it. They came back to him, and he threw them both at a Graveyard just as it opened up.

Mickey cut the legs out from under a White Knight. He jumped over the dying Heartless and brought Kingdom Crown down on another one. He spun around in a circle with his blade horizontal, destroying the Shadows rushing at him with claws slicing. He leapt into the air and plunged his blade into the ground, light energy shot outwards, eliminating four more.

Kairi blasted a group of Heartless with fire, and dodged to the side to avoid return fire from two Trick Ghosts. She quickly closed the distance between them, and destroyed them both with one strike. She ducked under a flashing claw, and cut the Heartless in half. She jumped through the area it had occupied and destroyed three more with a thunderbolt.

With only five Heartless left in the graveyard, Bariss cracked her whip and wrapped it around the legs of the two remaining White Knights, pulling them towards her. Her sai flashed, taking them both out at once. She then threw her blade, destroying the last Shadow. She jumped high into the air, and her whip took out the fourth. When she landed, she picked up her sai and stabbed in between the eyes of the last one.

Once that had happened, the graveyard returned almost immediately to its eerie peacefulness.

"Hey, we didn't cause as much property damage as I thought we would." Nehrut said, examining a headstone with fresh claw marks on it. Then he looked at his own new claws, and realized that he had, in fact, done that by accident.

"Well, we know that the Horned King is here," Mickey deduced, "And that he's probably planning something with Oogie Boogie's 'body.' But where do we go from here? We have no leads."

As fate would have it, the perfect lead presented itself at that moment. From the direction of Moonlight Hill came the three familiar figures of Lock, Shock, and Barrel. They were laughing their heads off, which usually meant that they were up to no good. They ran in the direction of the Hinterlands, not noticing Jack or the off-worlders hiding behind a lot of graves.

From the gates they had come through came a terrifying person. He was wearing a red cloaked hood with a rim of brown fur around the neck. His face was skeletal, and he had antlers growing from the top of his head. His eyes were glowing red.

"That's the fellow I told you about." Jack whispered to Sora.

"That's the Horned King alright." Bariss confirmed. "What is he doing?"

The Horned King had stopped, and was waving his hands in the air. A black cauldron appeared in front of him with a flash, already filled with bubbling, blood-red liquid. He took a strange powder from an inside pocket of his robes, and emptied it into the cauldron. It let off a brief flash.

"Arise my messengers of the dead!" The Horned King summoned. "Your time has arrived."

The effect of his words was terrifying. The cauldron began to shake, and a huge column of gold fire and red smoke exploded from it. The fiery shape of a skull appeared above the cauldron, leering out at its surroundings. A surge of lightning shot from the cauldron up at it, and it quickly lost its shape and sank into the cauldron.

In contrast to the horrifying light show moments before, now an eerie, greenish mist seeped from the cauldron, slowly and silently spreading to cover the whole graveyard.

"Arise, Cauldron Born."

The ground seemed to shake, as all around them, the truly dead beings came to life. Mounds of earth parted, and bony hands reached out above the ground. Headstones cracked, tombs fell open. Out of their graves came dozens of undead creatures.

Most were humanoid; some had rags that had once been clothes hanging from their bones. Most of them were only bones, though there were a number with patches of skin remaining. All of them held weapons, as if they had been buried with them.

They marched toward the Horned King, paying absolutely no attention to the group. Sora lost count of them around eighty. They stopped in front of their master.

He looked them all over, and nodded in satisfaction. "You'll do. Your orders are to storm Halloween Town. Lay waste to anything in your path. With the exception of a few. Three small children in masks will run into the town after you. They are not to be harmed, and you will provide them aid if they request it."

"Also, if you encounter any of four beings using a Keyblade, try to capture them alive. Anyone, or anything else, can be destroyed with the exception of the laboratory in town."

"Now go!"

The Cauldron Born stomped off toward the town with absolutely no noise apart from their footsteps. Once most of them had left, the Horned King smiled horribly, and looked directly at the tomb that Sora and the others were hiding behind. "You may want to stop them, before they do too much damage."

_So he knew we were here._

The party of eleven leapt from their hiding places and pointed their weapons at him. The creature simply smiled wider and disappeared in a burst of fire and red smoke, in similar fashion to Hades and Maleficent.

Jack turned to them with a grave expression. "We have to stop those creatures before they destroy everything!"

"Right. Let's split up. Some of us will go after those pranksters, and the rest of us will protect Halloween Town."

After a moment of deliberation, it was decided that Donald, Goofy, and Axel would go to the Hinterlands and deal with Lock, Shock, and Barrel. The rest would take one of Jack's shortcuts to Halloween Town, and get the civilians someplace safe before the Cauldron Born arrived.

"Be careful." Sora warned Axel before he left after Donald and Goofy. "They're a lot more dangerous than they look."

"Relax, man. It's three little kids against a knight, wizard, and ex-Nobody. How bad can they be?" He gave him a mock salute before running toward the Hinterlands.

"Bad." Sora said to his departing back.

"I wonder how many cuts and bruises he'll have when he gets back." Roxas wondered.

Sora mentally nodded and walked into the crypt Jack opened for them. It was part of a large, underground tunnel system that honeycombed all of Halloween Town and a great deal beyond.

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_The answer to Roxas's question? Well, you'll find out soon enough._

_Hope you've enjoyed this, and next chapter, you're in for a pleasant surprise!_

_Please review!_


	48. Chapter 47: Oogie's Revenge

_Really guys, really? Six review last chapter? Come on!_

_Anyway, This chapter contains a few elements from the Nightmare Before Christmas sequal video game, 'Oogie's Revenge.' So that's one more thing to add to the disclaimer list. Oogie!_

_Oogie: "That's what I'm talkin' about! Oogie's revenge! Darth doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or Oogie's Revenge. Gah, I love saying that!"_

_You died at the end._

_Oogie: "Oh…"_

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Chapter 47: Oogie's Revenge

"Where are those little brats?"

Axel had lost Lock, Shock, and Barrel's trail several minutes ago. They had been running all through the trees in crazy patterns, probably trying to lose anyone who tried to follow after them, and they had done a good job of it.

"I'm starting to wish we'd brought Nehrut with us." He said. "He'd have found them by now."

"Don't worry." Goofy said optimistically. "I'm sure we'll find them troublemakers eventually."

They kept walking, and eventually picked up some new tracks. They were different than before, but Donald and Goofy identified them pretty easily. They were deeper than the original tracks, and looked barefooted.

"They got their bathtub back." Donald concluded.

"I'm sorry, 'bathtub?' You're joking right?" This mission was starting to sound more and more ridiculous. "Whatever, let's keep going."

They followed the trail the bathtub had left, weaving in and out of trees. The tracks were nice and deep, making them easy to follow through the dirt and mud. There was a surprising lack of bushes in these woods; it was almost entirely trees in this place. There was something a bit odd about it.

After a few minutes, they could hear a whispered conversation between three little voices. Axel, Donald, and Goofy slowed their pace, sneaking toward the voices. They hid behind some of the thicker trees (there weren't many), and listened.

The first one, a boy, said, "Just wait until Mister Oogie is in charge! Can you imagine what we could do then?"

The second, a girl, said, "I know! I wonder what he'll do with Jack?"

The third, another boy, answered, "Maybe he'll make him into snake-and-spider stew!"

They giggled. "And all we have to do is take the doctor's new thing?"

"Yeah! We just wait for the skull-guy to soften the town up, and take it!"

"What about Jack and that Sora?"

"We can sneak right past them!"

"And when we get it back to Oogie Boogie..."

"The town will be all ours!" They all laughed.

Axel traded looks with Donald and Goofy. "Looks like we need to stop them here." He whispered. They nodded to him.

Axel counted down from three, and they charged into the clearing where Lock, Shock, and Barrel were talking in their tub. Shock quickly cranked the faucet in the tub, activating a trap.

The walls of a thick, iron-bar cage rose from the ground under the feet of Axel, Donald, and Goofy. A lid slammed down on the top from a tree above. The three of them hit the bars and slid into the ground. The cage emitted a flash of light, creating a magical shield. The kids jumped out of their tub and ran over to the side of the cage.

They pulled off their masks and laughed. "We got ya!"

"Just like the skull-guy said!"

Heartless appeared all around the cage, but they ignored the kids, and walked or crawled toward the cage. The ones with hands scooped it up, and some of the Shadows crawled under to move it on their backs.

"See ya!" The kids called, putting their masks back on. They laughed and jumped into their tub. It was still for a moment, before it started walking back to town.

"Not again! Phooie!" Donald said to himself. He plopped down in the cage next to Goofy.

Axel sat down in the cage, leaning his back against the bars. He sighed and rubbed his temples.

_Roxas is never gonna let me live this one down. (1)_

*******************************************************

"Come on!" Jack was calling to a group of stragglers, including a very large clown on a unicycle and a trio of witches on broomsticks. He held open the door to the town hall, and they rushed in with hurried thanks.

The panicked looking mayor turned to him. "Are you sure you'll be able to hold them off, Jack?"

"Of course!" Jack said reassuringly, prodding the mayor into the hall. "You've got nothing to worry about." He said over his quiet whimpering. "We've got it all handled. Just stay inside."

When the mayor walked in, and Jack closed the door, Sora and Riku walked up to him. "The doc refuses to leave his lab." Sora said.

"That guy is waaay too attached to his toys." Riku added, clearly annoyed.

"Sally won't give an inch either, Jack." Sora added sympathetically. "She says she wants to be as close to you as possible, and the lab is just as good as Town Hall."

Jack didn't look totally convinced, though Sora hadn't expected him to. He seemed about to protest, when Yuffie appeared by his side in a puff of smoke. "They're coming!"

Sora, Riku, and Jack sprinted toward the town gates. The rest of their party was waiting there, gazing down the hill at a small army of undead soldiers. They had absolutely no rythm. They marched however they wanted, crawling over things, or kicking stuff on the way.

As they approached, Sora tried again to count them. He got to ninety-four when Kairi said, "One hundred ninety."

"How did you count that fast?" Yuffie asked. She shrugged.

They lined up in front of the gate; left-to-right it was Bariss, Nehrut, Kairi, Sora, Jack, Riku, Mickey, Yuffie. They brandished their weapons, ready for battle.

"So about two-hundred?" Bariss asked. Kairi nodded.

"Too easy." Riku said with a smirk, summoning the Guardian.

Jack held up his hand, engulfing it in fire. He lifted one finger, and pointed it forward at the army. "CHARGE!"

The eight sprinted down the hill at the army, weapons and otherwise held aloft, showing no fear. At the same instant, the Cauldron Borns' unruly march turned into a rabid charge up the hill at the defenders.

They met with a clang of weapons, and the fight was on.

Mere minutes into the fight, it became clear that the Cauldron Born were dangerous enemies.

Being devoid of both heart and soul, they never questioned orders. And their orders here were only to destroy. They were perhaps better than Heartless, because they could still think about how best to achieve their orders. They felt no fear, no doubt, and no regret. In short: near perfect soldiers.

It wasn't long before Sora became separated from the rest of his friends, and found himself surrounded on all sides by Cauldron Born. Three of them charged in from different directions, and Sora cast a fire spell. The flames revolved around him, burning the enemies that charged into them. He leapt into the group ahead of him and beheaded a soldier with a clean swipe of Oblivion.

He swept low, and literally took out the legs of another. He blocked a strike from another one's sword, and leapt away from an axe strike that could have killed him. He blocked a strike at his legs, and a follow up attack at his head, then struck through the soldier's chest.

He jumped into the only clear space he could find, back into the gates. He saw that a few of the undead soldiers had already slipped through, and that Mickey and Bariss were trying to deal with them.

"There are a whole lot of them out there." Roxas said. "You probably won't be able to keep them out of town indefinitely."

_I'm afraid you're right._

A Cauldron Born with a spear stabbed at his chest. He knocked the weapon out of its hands, and cut it in half with a single strike. Two more appeared in its place, sporting gruesome-looking swords. Sora parried the first strike, and ducked under the second. As he came up he struck one with a fireball. He jumped over the head of the other one and took its head off before he touched the ground again.

In a matter of minutes, everyone was fighting in the town itself. The strength of the Cauldron born had been reduced from one hundred ninety to one hundred ten. They were now fighting in separate areas of town. Sora, Jack, and Nehrut were in the town square by Dr. Finkelstein's lab. Riku, Kairi, and Yuffie were at the Town Hall. And Mickey and Bariss had managed to stay near the town gates.

"These guys are really getting on my nerves." Nehrut said as he decapitated one out of about forty soldiers.

Sora ran right at them, with Jack at his side. When he got close he shouted, "Jack!"

"Prepare to scream!"

Sora jumped into Jack's arms, and he held him in a dancing position. He spun the Keybearer like a top, and then did the same. As they spun, magically created ghosts emerged from the air around them. They spun with them, inflicting some punishment to the Cauldron Born that got too close.

They stopped, and Sora lept into the air above Jack's head. He stuck there, and hovered in place over him. He spread his arms, and seemed to shake all over. His body flashed with dark red energy, and balls of energy shaped fittingly like jack-o-lanterns burst from his skin. They hovered around him for less than a second, and then blasted toward the soldiers, exploding on contact.

He did this twice, before switching places with Jack. Now the Pumpkin King was floating above him, and doing something similar. His body was surrounded by pale blue light. From inside of his bones shot the same magically created ghosts from before. They floated around his head momentarily, before blasting toward the Cauldron Born and inflicting as much punishment as possible.

And then there were less than ten remaining. Jack landed on the ground, and picked Sora up again. He tossed him into the air, and all around him flew the pumpkins, the ghosts, and scarlet bats. Sora seemed to float in the air for a second, before he backflipped in the air and came back to the ground.

He landed in front of Jack, and the second he did, they struck a pose. The ground cracked open, and light burst from it like the laser effects at a rock concert. The remaining ten Cauldron Born were hit by the light, and destroyed immediately.

Sora wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Well done boys!" Jack congratulated. "Now, let's go see if we can lend our friends a hand!"

"Um, actually guys..." Nehrut interrupted. "You might want to look at _that_."

He pointed up. Jack and Sora followed his finger, and received an unpleasant surprise.

Lock, Shock, and Barrel's bathtub had bat wings. They were flying past the full moon directly toward an upper window of Dr. Finkelstein's lab. Even as they watched, one of them through something at the barred window, and it exploded. The tub flew right through.

There was a scream from the inside.

"Sally!" And for once, the Pumpkin King was truly afraid.

Not hesitating, Nehrut lifted the three of them into the air with his mind. They flew up as fast as they could to the window, and dove inside.

Apparently, the kids worked fast.

They stood in a tall, roughly octogonal room with two more barred windows on two other walls. There were a few metal tables sitting around with chemicals or machine parts on them. On one wall sat the remains of the doctor's puppet-like experiment from Sora's last visit. He could still see the hole where the Keyblade had punctured its metal chest.

At another wall was something eerily similar. It had a barrel-shaped chest with a few odd-looking controls. Two long, claw-like arms extended from the sides with three, pointy metal fingers. The feet were bird-like, with extremely sharp talons. The head had no definite shape, but looked like a floppy metal mask stuck to the top of the chest.

Apparently, the doctor hadn't learned his lesson last time.

Sally was already restrained by thick ropes with a gag over her mouth, and stuck in a corner near them. Lock, Shock, and Barrel were in the center of the room, still in their tub (its wings had retracted). "Get away from me you brats!" The doctor shouted.

There was a quick motion, and the doctor cried out. He had been tipped out of his wheelchair, and was now unable to get up. The kids laughed, and the tub walked toward the new machine in the corner.

"Freeze punks!" Nehrut shouted. The tub stopped in its tracks, and Lock, Shock, and Barrel turned around.

"You three have a lot of explaining to do!" Jack said, hands on his hips.

"Why are you here?" Sora asked, summoning the Keyblade in case this got out of control. With these three it was very likely.

"We're getting the experiment for Oogie Boogie, of course!" Barrel exclaimed.

"Don't tell them that!" Shock shouted, and slapped him in the back of the head. His mask fell off, and he scrambled to pick it up.

"Oogie?" Jack exclaimed in disbelief.

"That's right! As a matter of fact, he might be doing all sorts of nasty things to your friends right now!" Lock said. They laughed.

"Donald, Goofy, and Axel?" Sora said.

Roxas's figure suddenly appeared. He leaned over and whispered to Sora, "I'll see if I can find them. Maybe they left a trail."

"Just try to hurry." Roxas ran off through the wall, and disappeared.

"And now," Sora said, taking up a fighting stance, "It's time you three got a spanking."

"You just try it!" They shouted in unison. They pulled out a strange variety of projectiles. A fight broke out immediately, and it somehow became like a song, too. The tub sprouted wings again, and took to the air.

"_La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la,_

_La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la."_

"_Hail to Mister Oogie,_

_You will never win!_

_When you find our booby traps,_

_They will do you in!"_

In the air, the pranksters dropped those booby traps. There were large, exploding scarlet dice that detonated whenever one got too close. There were also large bear traps that acted of their own accord. They snapped like metal jaws, attempting to take a chunk from someone's leg. Shock sang,

"_First, we heard our boss was back,_

_To take this town away from Jack!_

_We knew you'd fight to set things right,_

_So we brought bad guys to attack!"_

Jack and Sora took the next verse. They leapt into the air, attempting to knock the three out of their tub.

"_Stop! I've had enough of you!_

_Your punishment is overdue!"_

"_You've instigated chaos here,_

_And turned this town onto its ear!"_

They were unsuccessful. Lock pulled out what Sora thought was a toilet plunger, and hit him in the head. He lost his grip on the side of the tub, and fell down to the ground. He hurriedly jumped away from an exploding die.

Jack was dislodged from the tub during the next verse.

"_Hail to Mister Oogie,_

_Put them to the test!_

_Keep 'em guessing all the time,_

_Never let 'em rest!"_

Nehrut used his mind to scoop up some of the exploding dice, and tossed them at the airborne tub. They exploded when they hit the reinforced bottom. The tub shook, and Barrel nearly fell out. He dangled on the edge for a moment, before Lock pulled him back up and tossed a bear trap at Nehrut.

"_Then Mister Oogie Boogie Man,_

_Can take the whole town over then!_

_He'll be so pleased, I do declare,_

_That all worlds should beware!"_

Nehrut threw two bear traps up at the tub, and they gnawed their way through the wings on the sides. The wings were severed, and they fell to the ground, vanishing in twin wisps of smoke. The tub fell to the ground with a loud crash, and the bottom of the tub broke open. They looked a bit dazed and jumped out.

Lock ran at Nehrut with the plunger, swinging it in one hand and holding a bear trap in the other. He sang,

"_When our Oogie is the king,_

_We'll get away with everything!_

_You cannot scold us for our pranks,_

_To new King Oogie let's give thanks!"_

Nehrut ducked under the bear trap Lock threw, and used his mind to throw it right back. Lock swung his plunger like a baseball bat, and it hit the ground and was still. Nehrut scooped the little devil up and tossed him at Barrel. He continued,

"_Don't be foolish! Think now,_

_All this danger isn't fun and games!_

_When this town is back to normal,_

_Do you really want the blame?"_

Sora swung at Shock, who was trying to hit him with a broom. He didn't like the fact that it was glowing green, and didn't want to see what would happen if it hit him. She ducked under the swing, and jumped at the Keybearer, swinging the broom at his face. He just barely managed to duck.

"_Hail to Mister Oogie,_

_This is so much fun!_

_We make mischief day and night,_

_Our work is never done!"_

Jack came back with hands burning. He swiped at Barrel. The kid pulled out what looked like a frying pan and blocked the blow. Then the frying pan started to burn as bright as the hand it held at bay. He broke it free of Jack's grip, and swung hard at Jack's head. Jack caught it again, and froze it. He tossed the thing away.

"_I told you once, I told you twice,_

_To straighten out your act._

_You'll never get away with this,_

_And that, you brats is fact!"_

Lock, Shock, and Barrel came together in the center of the room, standing back-to-back-to-back. They pulled out armfuls of exploding dice, and threw them at their respective opponents.

Sora jumped over the explosives, and threw fireballs at Shock.

"_I've had enough of this disgrace!"_

Nehrut caught the dice with hardly a move, and threw them at Lock.

"_So take us to the hidden place!"_

Jack dodged away from the projectiles. He looked as if he was dancing to the improvised beat.

"_Where our friends sit locked in a cage!"_

Jack and Sora blasted fire at the trio, while Nehrut propelled more of the explosives into their midst.

"_Or you will face our rage!"_

There was an explosion, and when the smoke and dust cleared, Lock, Shock, and Barrel were lying on the ground, unconscious.

Nehrut scanned their minds. They felt blank, and he didn't expect them to wake up in a while. Something bothered him, though.

"How did we just sing that song without any rehearsals?"

Sora and Jack could only shrug.

"Would one of you _help_ me already?" The doctor asked. He was still on the ground, and had remained miraculously unscathed throughout the fight. Sora and Nehrut walked over to him and helped him back into his chair.

Jack rushed over to Sally's side, and took the gag out of her mouth. He hurriedly undid the knots on the ropes, and helped her up. He embraced her tightly, and he kissed the top of her head (which barely came up to his collar bone).

Nehrut whispered to Sora, "That's sweet and somewhat creepy at the same time."

"Like being in the same room as Riku and Yuffie when they're being... _friendly_?"

"Exactly."

Jack and Sally parted, and he walked over to the unconscious kids. He picked them up by the napes of their necks, and used the rope to tie them together in a corner. "Well, now we have to drive the rest of the invaders out of town, find our friends, and Oogie."

"The first need no longer concern you. I ordered a retreat." Came a voice.

There was a flash of fire, and the Horned King stood in the room. He ignored their drawn weapons, and walked calmly toward the doctor's new experiment. "If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself."

"You!" Finkelstein shouted. "Get away from that!"

The Horned King ignored him. He ran a rotted hand along the surface of the machine, and said. "Your friends are in Christmas Town, my boy," He said, without turning around. "As your better half has no doubt discovered by now."

He turned around, smiling, and said, "I look forward to watching the battle that will undoubtedly unfold there."

Sora ran toward him, Keyblade ready to run him through. The Horned King laughed low in his throat, and vanished along with the experiment. Sora's blade struck nothing but empty air. The creature's laughter echoed in the room.

He grunted in exasperation, and dismissed the Keyblade.

He turned around to the doctor and asked, "What exactly was that that he took?"

"I was struggling to create a new robotic lab assistant after those brats didn't work out and the old one was destroyed." Finkelstein answered. "It wasn't finished yet, though."

Roxas arrived on the scene again, appearing right in front of Sora in a flash of blue light.

"Guys, they're in... Okay, what'd I miss?"

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_I hope you all liked that impromptu musical. It's not a good fic without one! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it, because there's another one next chapter._

_(1) It only now occurs to me that Axel is getting completely thrashed in this fic. He was captured by the Brotherhood, pummled by Ruxik, imprisoned by the titans, and now he's been captured by a few kids who are like, seven years old..._

_Review please!_


	49. Chapter 48: Evil's Upgrade

_Sorry for the delay, I just finished the TAKS test, and there's a bunch of stuff going on. Good news is that I have spring break next week! WOOT!_

_Sora: "Good for you. But do you mind if we get to the story? DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, Oogie's Revenge, or anything else. But he does own a PS3 and a copy of Call of Duty."_

_And if you guys have the time, I have a poll on my profile that I'd like you to check out. Please?_

_------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Chapter 48: Evil's Upgrade

"You know, you don't seem that jolly..." Axel said.

"Under the circumstances, I can't see how that's very surprising." Santa responded.

Axel, Donald, Goofy, and now Santa Claus were sitting in the magic cage somewhere below the toy factory. The room was stacked sky high with crates filled with toy parts. They'd been dumped down there by the Heartless after Lock, Shock, and Barrel had trapped them. Axel didn't know why they were here, they had just gone through a door in a tree, and were brought here.

Santa had been dragged down by a handful of Cauldron Born minutes after their arrival, and thrown inside. They had been left alone since then.

Donald had already taken the liberty of transforming their appearance. Axel looked mostly normal again, though he was now garbed in a coat faintly reminiscent of Santa's. His buttons looked like chakrams.

"Why have they left us here?" Santa wondered. "Why not simply eliminate us, I wonder?"

"For _revenge_, Santa baby!"

The door to the room burst open, slamming against the wall, and in walked a strange figure.

He had a metal, barrel-shaped torso with lots of buttons and dials, and several hidden compartments that held who knew what. His large feet were bird-like, and scratched the floor when they touched the ground. His wide arms were clawed. The head was sort of familiar. It looked like a metal sack with large eye and mouth holes.

Oogie Boogie had gotten an upgrade.

"Ah, Oogie Boogie." Santa stood up in the cage, which wasn't hard given his height. "Now I know who to add to the naughty list."

Oogie laughed. "Oh, Sandy, Sandy, Sandy. Don't you get it? You're not gonna live long enough to do that! In fact, none of you will!"

"Why keep us in this cage if you're just going to kill us?" Axel asked.

"Because, it'd be much more fun to wipe you _all_ out at the same time." Oogie's eyes glinted, and he laughed.

********************************************************

"Hurry!" Jack said. "Time is of the essence!"

The party sprinted through the Hinterlands, down the well-beaten path that led to the holiday doors. Sora was almost afraid to ask if Jack had tried any of them apart from the Christmas door.

They arrived in a clearing. Six of the trees surrounding the clearing had painted doors on them. There were ones for Easter, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Thanksgiving, Independence Day, and of course, Christmas. And it was this last one that Jack ran toward. He pulled it open by the golden doorknob that looked like a tree ornament.

"Ladies first." He said, bowing.

Kairi, Yuffie, and Bariss jumped in, and seemed surprised when they fell.

"After you."

Sora didn't hesitate, and jumped in. As he fell, he could here Riku, Nehrut, Mickey, and Jack jump in after him. He felt like he fell for several minutes, and closed his eyes.

He landed on something soft, fluffy, and slightly wet. He opened his eyes and saw snow everywhere. He smiled when he saw the familiar sign that read, 'Christmas Town'. He straightened up, and shook some snow loose from his hair.

He had no sooner stepped away from the snow mound he had landed in, than Riku, Nehrut, and Mickey fell out. They got tangled up, and he could hear Riku complaining about Nehrut's claws in his back.

"Well I'm sorry! They aren't retractable!"

The King's hands glowed, and he snapped his fingers. They all reverted from their scary forms, and into more appropriate winter clothing. Their clothing resembled Santa suits of varying colors and buttons. They wore mittens, and some of them had matching hats.

Black with crown buttons for Sora, pink with Oathkeeper buttons for Kairi, grey with Dawn buttons for Riku, blue with the crests of his family for Nehrut, green with heart buttons for Bariss, black with shuriken buttons for Yuffie, red with his seal for Mickey.

Sora thanked him for the new clothing (it was chilly) and walked over to Kairi. "How do you like the snow?"

Kairi was gazing at the white landscape in awe. It very rarely snowed on Destiny Islands. 'When it snows' had generally had the same meaning as 'when pigs fly.' The last time it had snowed there was about a half inch the year after Kairi arrived.

"Wow." Was all that she could say.

"So you guys have never seen snow?" Nehrut asked, admiring his fur-trimmed hat.

"Just a little bit."

He winked at Bariss, and the two scooped up two giant snowballs. They took careful aim, and threw them as hard as possible at Sora and Kairi. They were hit on the back of the head, and fell into the snow in a heap.

As Nehrut and Bariss laughed, Riku and Yuffie pegged them in the same place, and they fell into the snow. Bariss was awkwardly positioned over Nehrut, causing them both to blush.

While Riku and Yuffie were still laughing, Jack landed gracefully in the snow from the door. He was clothed in his old Santa suit, minus the false beard. He took one look at Sora, Kairi, Nehrut, and Bariss in the snow, and Riku and Yuffie laughing, and scratched his head.

"I'm getting the feeling that I've missed something, but you can tell me later." He walked past the sign. "Let's get going."

Everyone followed after Jack, following him down the hill to the shining little village that was Christmas Town. As they approached, they began to notice something strange.

"It's quiet." Kairi observed.

"Too quiet." Riku added. "This place reeks of Darkness; there are dark beings around here somewhere."

"We'll be ready when they show themselves, then." Sora said. He called Oblivion to his hand.

Christmas Town appeared deserted. There wasn't a movement anywhere. The festive merry-go-round in the center of the town square was vacant, but spinning just barely. It was as if the riders had suddenly abandoned it not long ago. There were a few tiny footprints that probably belonged to elves, followed by the thin, bony ones of their skeletal pursuers.

But Riku was right, it was _too_ quiet. There was normal, background noise, and then there was _forced_ silence.

"We're being watched." Nehrut said quietly. "But you don't need a psychic to tell you that. They're everywhere."

It was exactly ten seconds after this statement that they were attacked. The twenty remaining Cauldron Born that had fled after Lock, Shock, and Barrel's defeat now charged out from over hills and behind buildings. They rushed toward their prey, accompanied by Heartless. There were mostly Shadows, but with a few more unique ones thrown in.

They came from all sides, but Sora was right. They were ready. Weapons appeared, magic was used.

Sora lifted his Keyblade into the air and cried, "Thundaga!" Bolts of lightning came down, and struck the incoming enemies. Several Heartless were incinerated by the bolts, but that left plenty more. A Cauldron Born shoved a spear at Sora's face.

He ducked under it, and stabbed his Keyblade into its chest. His foot shot out, kicking it backwards. It didn't move again. Three Ghouls fired at him at once.

Nehrut jumped in the way and put a shield up around them. The fireballs collided with the barrier harmlessly, and he lunged forward, taking them out with one strike. Sora quickly thanked him, and destroyed a White Knight to his right.

Bariss smashed in the hollow head of a soldier with the blunt end of her whip, and then used the practical end to catch the legs of another. She gave it a firm tug, sending it onto its back. She dove onto it and plunged her sai into its face. Then she got to her feet and destroyed a Shadow with it.

Riku dove away from the shot of a Trick Ghost, and the Guardian dealt with it with one smashing fist. He brought his blade up under the jaw of a Cauldron Born, and it poked up through the top of its skull. He tore it free, making a gaping hole out of its face. He shot a burst of Dawn at a Toy Soldier Heartless, destroying it in seconds.

Yuffie threw her shuriken at a Cauldron Born. It got lodged in its chest. Kairi came up behind it, and beheaded it. She pulled out the shuriken, and tossed it to Yuffie, who caught it easily and jumped over to her side. Kairi cut a leaping Shadow in two, and then struck a Trick Ghost through it's stomach. Yuffie backflipped over her and destroyed a Ghoul as it flew by.

Jack picked Mickey up by the collar, and threw him at a Toy Soldier still in it's box. Mickey extended his blade, and it punctured the box. He went in after it, and the force of Jack's throw sent him all the way out its other side. The Heartless faded away, just as Mickey leapt into the air and took the head off of a Cauldron Born, then backflipped over a White Knight to destroy it.

Jack sent a burst of icy cold air at two Cauldron Born and five Heartless. They were frozen in place. He then sent jets of fire at them, they burned surprisingly easily. He then spun around, and kicked a White Knight in the face.

The battle was fought all over the square. Sora leapt onto the top of the merry-go-round and took out the three soldiers that climbed up from there. Riku flew into the air, and landed on the roof of Santa's workshop, Ghouls and Trick Ghosts followed him, and he destroyed them. Bariss climbed up a lamp post, and took out enemies even from there.

The fighting was intense, but eventually, the Heartless were destroyed, and the Cauldron Born (which had been reduced to a mere three in number), were beaten back. They retreated into the snow mounds, and the heroes didn't follow, yet.

"Everybody alright?" Jack asked.

"I've got snow in a few uncomfortable places," Nehrut said, emptying snow from his hat, "But other than that, I'm fine."

"I'm going to get frostbite in this place, I know it." Kairi muttered.

The rest of the group walked toward Santa's workshop. Sora went first, and cracked the door open, he peeked his head in, and was glad when nothing attacked him. The others came up behind him, one by one.

Santa's living room was empty, but it hadn't been that way for long. The fire was still crackling merrily under the mantle, and the naughty-nice list was spread out on the table. The place still smelled like cookies.

"Empty." Riku stated the obvious.

"Let's check the workshop." Sora suggested. He pushed open the other door in the room...

And dove away from a hail of projectiles that ripped through the air. Nehrut reacted instantly, and put a shield up over the door. Pushing it in front of him, he ran into the factory. The bullet-like projectiles bounced off the shield, and clattered to the floor. They looked more like tiny arrowheads than anything else.

Down in the factory was the doctor's experiment, fully active, and firing at them from hidden compartments in it's right arm. The rest of them rushed inside after Nehrut, behind the shield. When they were all in, it ceased fire.

Sora and Jack recognized it's new face.

"Oogie." Jack said. "Up to no good?"

"Jack, Jack, Jack..." Oogie said, shaking his head. You could hear the gears and servos in his new body working whenever he moved. "What else would I do? What else is worth the time?"

"Where are Donald, Goofy, and Axel?" Sora asked.

"And Sandy!" Jack added.

"They're under the factory in the storage plant. Not that you'll be conscious long enough to ever see 'em again!" He pointed his arm at them again, the weapon compartments opening up. "So here's the deal, I capture you party crashers, put you with your buddies, and then blow this place sky high!"

"Keep dreaming Oogie. You're going down!"

Oogie opened fire.

He was dancing as he attacked. The mood hit, and he started singing.

"Well, well, well. What pests you are! Still around huh? Oooh... Can't say I like that!"

"Oogie it's time we finished this! Once and for all!" Jack shouted.

"_You're joking! You're joking!_

_I can't believe my ears!_

_You're kidden' me, you gotta be!_

_Best laugh I've had in years!"_

Jack lept toward him first, hands on fire. He danced around the bullets, and struck at Oogie's face. Oogie brought his left arm up, and a rectangular metal plate the size of one of Goofy's shields emerged. Jack's hand collided with it, with no effect. The shield then crackled with electricity, and he jerked his hand away.

Sora jumped in, and struck the underside of the shield. It flew off in a burst of sparks, and clattered to the ground. Jack then engulfed his hand in fire and delivered a punch to Oogie's face. He stumbled backwards, and Sora and Jack sang again (Sora first).

"_I hope you did amuse yourself,_

_With this, your little fling,"_

"_You better pay attention now,_

"_Cause I'm the Pumpkin King!"_

Riku came down with his Guardian. It grabbed Oogie by his shoulders, and threw him into the air. Riku flew up, and smashed his fist (covered in Dawn) into his chest. Oogie flew backwards, and dented the toy-making machinery when his back hit it. This didn't seem to have much of an effect on him, and he got up a second later, to be faced with Kairi's blade.

She swung at his legs. But the hydrolics inside allowed him to leap to an impressive hieght. He lept into the air, over her blade. He was just taking aim at the girl, when a shuriken smacked him in the face.

"_You think you are 'a winning,_

_But that's a lot of noise!_

_Just to be a sport, dear friends,_

_I'll share my Oogie toys!"_

The panels in his chest opened up. And out flew large red dice. The dots on the sides were shown as skulls with different amounts of eyes. Dozens flew out, and it seemed impossible that all of them could fit in his chassis. They exploded almost immediately after hitting the ground.

Riku, Kairi, and Yuffie echoed his next words.

"_Wo-oh....._

_Wo-oh!_

_Wo-oh....._

_Wo-oh!_

_Wo-oh....._

_Wo-oh!"_

"_I'm the Oogie Boogie man!"_

Bright explosions were all over the floor. Sora, Jack, Riku, Kairi, and Yuffie, who were down on the floor did their best to get away from them. But they were all tossed around a bit. The light was nearly blinding, and some of the explosives punched holes in the floor. Riku, Kairi, and Yuffie fell down one of these into a dark room.

Sora and Jack were knocked onto their backs. They were just getting up, when they saw Oogie standing over them with his arm cannons ready to fire.

They were saved at the last second when Mickey jumped down from above, and whacked his arm with Kingdom Crown. A large gash opened up, and sparks flew out. Oogie used his other arm, and threw the mouse away. Nehrut and Bariss leapt down. Nehrut swung Presul, and the entire arm fell away from the shoulder. Bariss plunged Rose Blade in the empty socket, twisting it around and messing with the wiring. Those two sang,

"_It's over! It's over!_

_Man, you have gone too far!"_

"_It's over now, you're finished here!_

_Just who do you think you are?"_

Oogie howled in pain, and clutched at the shoulder that should have been attached to a limb. He backed away from his opponents, and then came his last resort. His other arm grew three blades from around the elbow, which extended past his hand. Electricity crackled in between the blades, and coursed to the tip, where it gathered together in a single ball of electricity.

"_If you think that you will beat me,_

_Then you couldn't be more wrong!_

_And this will be the last time,_

_You hear the Oogie Song!"_

He stomped toward them, pointing the blades at them (more specifically, Jack). The energy kept gathering together. During the last verse, he launched the entire sizzling mass out as a beam of electricity. Nehrut put up a shield, and pushed it forward with all his might.

"_Wo-oh....._

_Wo-oh!_

_Wo-oh....._

_Wo-oh!_

_Wo-oh....._

_Wo-oh!"_

"_I'm the Oogie Boogie man!"_

"It's over Oogie!" Nehrut said. He pushed the shield one final time, and Oogie's attack rebounded back upon its source. Oogie let out a long, extended, very loud shout. The blast ripped through his metal chest, and out the other side.

He fell to the ground with a crash, twitched a few times, and then was still.

Jack walked over to the body, and prodded its side with his foot. No reaction.

"We did it!" He exclaimed.

"Hey guys!" Yuffie's voice floated out from one of the holes in the ground. "Guess what we found!"

From out of the wide hole popped four heads: Goofy, Donald, Axel, and Santa.

"Sora, Jack, hello my boys." Santa said as those two helped him out. As he dusted off his coat with his hands he said, "Ah, Nehrut as well! Glad to see you again, lad."

"Salus Pax Pacis, Mr. Claus."

"Safety and Peace." He responded, patting him on the shoulder.

At Sora and Kairi's looks, the psychic said, "What? I get around."

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_Yes, Nehrut does get around. Sorry if this boss fight wasn't quite up to your standards, there's a better one very soon!_

_Please review!_


	50. Chapter 49: A Giant Falls

_You thought Halloween Town was over? Not likely. Happy belated St. Patrick's Day, everyone!_

_Nehrut: "And Happy Halloween... Wow, that was a lame line. Why did you make me say that?"_

_I'm running out of witty things to say... So just do the disclaimer._

_Nehrut: "Whatever. Darth doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, Oogie's Revenge, or anything else. He does own a copy of 'Legendary' which he just bought, though."_

_--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Chapter 49: A Giant Falls

They sat in Santa's living room a few minutes after the fight. Santa sat on the large, green armchair in the corner of the room by the fireplace. "Once again, I can't thank you enough." He said.

"It's what we do, Santa." Sora said with a smile.

"And I think it only makes sense that I reward you." Santa continued. "Tell me, what do you want for Christmas?"

They were pleasantly surprised, and mentally called up their secret wish lists. Some were a bit more obvious than others. A certain two people in the room felt that they had everything they needed.

Nehrut was closest to Santa. And after a bit of hesitation, he leaned down and whispered so quietly that he could just barely hear. "_Her_." He just barely inclined his head to a certain blonde girl in the room.

Santa smirked a little and chuckled.

Bariss had just taken a step forward when there was a huge cracking noise. The factory shook, and everyone jumped to their feet. As if in agreement, everyone rushed through the door to the factory.

They didn't like what they saw.

Chunks of the ceiling and floor from the second and third floors were all over the ground. On the far side of the room, over three stories high, was a monstrous machine. It was made totally out of the toy machinery, and had taken on the shape of Oogie Boogie. The head was the same shape, but the eyes had yellow lights deep inside of them.

Down near its legless lower half was the Horned King. He smiled at them, and waved his hand toward the giant Oogie. "I thought you should have one final battle. Best of luck." He disappeared.

The giant Oogie laughed, and it was enough to shake the building.

"Well, well, well! Look what we got here! I'm large and in charge, and it's payback time!" There was sort of a metallic ring in his voice.

"Why won't you stay dead!?" Riku shouted in exasperation.

They ran into the room, ready for the last battle. Sora summoned the Keyboard, Riku brought out the Guardian, Kairi transformed into Angelic form, and Nehrut flew up on his own accord. The rest prepared for a fight on the ground, as Jack and Sora began to sing.

"_It's over! It's over!_

_Your scheme was bound to fail!"_

"_It's over now, you're finished here!_

_Your next stop will be jail!"_

Panels opened on Oogie's shoulders, missle platforms emerged. Three missiles shot from each shoulder and homed in on a seperate target. One for Sora, one for Kairi, one for Riku, one for Nehrut, one for Jack, and one for Santa.

"_They mock me, they fight me!_

_I don't know which is worse!_

_I might just split a seam now,_

_If I don't die laughin' first!"_

Sora swerved around his, and as it flew into the distance, he shot a fireball at it. He could see it explode harmlessly over fifty feet away. Kairi shot over hers, and when it twisted around to follow her, she blasted it with lightning. She rode the shockwave toward Oogie and destroyed one of the launchers. Riku's Guardian rushed to _catch_ the missile, and threw it back at the remaining launcher.

Jack danced out of the way of the missile aimed at him. It exploded against the ground a full five feet away. Jack didn't so much as stumble. Nehrut stopped in the air and redirected his missile with his mind; right into the path of the missile going for Santa. He flew up right into Oogie's face, Sora right behind him.

"_What's this, a trick? I'm not impressed,_

_You're bad and now you're tall."_

"_It makes it all the more worthwhile,_

_To see a giant fall!"_

Oogie swatted at Nehrut like a larger than average fly, but he shot high into the air over his head. In his place was Sora, who had transformed Sleeping Lion into the Keyfist. He punched Oogie hard in the place where his nose would have been. His head reeled back, and he howled. His mouth opened wide, and out poured an avalanche of exploding dice that fell to the ground where their flightless friends were assembled.

"_Talk, talk, talk, but I tell you,_

_This giant's goin' nowhere!_

_If I were you, I'd take a hike!_

_There's danger in the air!"_

Riku dove into their path, with the Guardian right behind him. The Guardian spread its arms, and Riku reinforced it with a shield of Dawn. The dice hammered against it, and exploded on contact. Nobody was harmed, and Riku immediately took to the air again. Kairi swooped down, and picked Jack up by his hands. They flew at Oogie's face, and she threw him at the place where Sora had injured him. Jack covered himself in flame, and smashed the place again. They all sang,

"_Wo-oh....._

_Wo-oh!_

_Wo-oh....._

_Wo-oh!_

_Wo-oh....._

_Wo-oh!"_

"_I'm the only Pumpkin King!"_

When Oogie recovered from Jack's attack, he glared down at them all. He brought one massive fist down to crush them. He was stopped when Nehrut tossed a chunk of the building at his fist, deflecting it. He tried to crush them with the other, only to be stopped by a blast of burning fire. Jack and Axel were firing together.

"_Well, I'm feeling angry,_

_And there's plenty left to do!"_

"_We've fought your most unwelcome help,_

_And now we're after you!"_

The flames hit Oogie's metal chest. They kept pouring it on, and they were gradually melting through it. He brought his arm up, crackling with electricity, and delivered bolts of lightning down on them. Nehrut moved to block them, but Axel and Jack had to stop their attack.

Sora and Kairi flew at Oogie's chest were it had been weakened. The metal was now mostly melted. They sent twin Blizzaga spells into it, freezing it. Riku came out of nowhere with the Guardian, and smashed through it. Oogie shouted, and swung at the three. They just barely got away.

"_Even if you catch me,_

_You could never do me in!_

_I'm ten stories high! And just as strong,_

_Which means I'm gonna win!"_

Nehrut flew up with Jack and Mickey together. He threw them, and they landed on Oogie's head. They struck at him with whatever means they could. Oogie tried repeatedly to shake them off (as his arms couldn't seem to reach), but they wouldn't get off.

"_Wo-oh....._

_Wo-oh!_

_Wo-oh....._

_Wo-oh!_

_Wo-oh....._

_Wo-oh!"_

"_I'm the only Pumpkin King!"_

Oogie finally managed to shake Jack and Mickey off, but as they fell, Jack delivered a well placed fireball into Oogie's giant gleaming eye. Whatever was inside the socket keeping it lit was destroyed, and Oogie now had one functioning eye. The two hit the ground gracefully. Kairi flew toward Oogie's face, with Sora next to her. They struck his face repeatedly, singing,

"_It's over! You're finished!_

_You'll never get away!"_

"_You? The king of Halloween?_

_That'll be the day!"_

Oogie opened up compartments on either side of his eyes, revealing what resembled gatling guns. Bullets fired from either one at Sora and Kairi. They flew away as fast as possible, dodging the projectiles, or otherwise deflecting them. The Guardian was suddenly there. The bullets didn't seem to have an effect on it. Riku emerged from behind it, and fired volleys of Dawn at the guns, destroying them. Oogie didn't seem harmed.

"_How feeble! How childish!_

_Is that the best you got?_

_You think that you are heroes, boys,_

_But _I_ think you are _not."

"I'm the King of Halloween Town!" He shouted.

"You're king of NOTHING!" (1)Jack shouted back, defiantly.

Oogie snarled. Blades appeared on his arms. He shouted, and struck at them. They were barely able to duck under them, or fly away from them.

"_Wooooooooaaaaaah!_

_Now it's time for you to see,_

_What it really means to scare!_

'_Cause I'm a gamblin' Boogie Man,_

_Although I don't play fair!"_

Nehrut skimmed along the side of one of Oogie's arms, where the long blade was attached. He ran his sword along the metal on the side, trying to sever the blade from his arm. After a moment, he was successful. Riku caught on to what he was doing, and started to do the same to the other one. The blades crashed to the ground at Oogie's nonexistent feet. Oogie was forced to attack with only his fists.

"_It's much more fun, I must confess,_

_With lives on the line!_

_Not mine, of course. But yours, oh boy!_

_Now that'd be just fine!"_

They decided that enough was enough. Nehrut lifted them all into the air toward Oogie's face, avoiding his fists. As they ascended, they sang,

"_Wo-oh....._

_Wo-oh!_

_Wo-oh....._

_Wo-oh!_

_Wo-oh....._

_Wo-oh!"_

"_I'm the only Pumpkin King!"_

Right as Jack delivered his final line, they attacked Oogie with everything they had. The Keyblades, the fires, the mental blasts, and other weapons collided with Oogie's face. It was too much.

Oogie screamed. His metal face caved in, and there was an explosion as whatever was in there caught fire. Oogie's head was now a shredded, burning, smoking piece of metal. The rest of his new body sagged.

Nehrut set them down gently on the floor. Sora looked up at the twisted metal body, and then noticed Santa running quickly, tracking something on the floor. He realized that it was a beetle with a mangled wing. All that was left of Oogie Boogie.

Santa scowled, and crushed it, smashing it into the ground beneath his boot repeatedly.

"So," Axel asked. "Are we finally done here?"

"Not quite." Sora answered, gazing around the workshop. "I think we've got a bit of a mess to clean up."

"Do we _have_ to?"

"You'll have some help, boys. Don't worry." Came a voice. Everyone turned around to see Dr. Finkelstein and Sally at the head of a large group of elves and Halloween creatures. He was carrying the skull of one of the three Cauldron Born that had fled Christmas Town. The doctor turned to the group and said, "Alright, listen up! Carefully remove the pieces from that giant robot! We don't want Christmas to be delayed, now do we?"

Nehrut's jaw dropped when the group got to work immediately. "This seems..."

Riku finished for him. "Convenient?"

"Uh, guys?" Bariss tapped him on the shoulder.

They turned around, and saw something on the ground, it was glowing brightly, and Sora only realized what it was when the light faded. It was the Keyhole.

Way to Dawn appeared in Riku's hand. He looked at it, and then at Sora. He smiled. He pointed it at the Keyhole, and a narrow beam of red-orange light shot from the tip.

*********************************************************

So, they all got to work, salvaging machinery from Oogie Boogie's old body. They were carefully supervised by Santa and his elves, the only ones who could actually tell one machine part from another. It took over an hour, but they managed to separate the functional machines from the scrap. Dr. Finkelstein usually salvaged this.

Almost five hours after the fight, they agreed to take a break, and the group scattered. Sora and Kairi wandered around outside for a while, to be on their own. They walked along the outskirts of town for a while, looking at the snow.

"Walking in a winter wonderland..." Roxas sang.

_Stop._

But he was smiling inwardly.

They came to a halt, when they saw Nehrut and Bariss sitting under a Christmas tree. They weren't talking, just gazing up into the starry sky in friendly silence. Sora thought they looked incredibly peaceful.

"Will you look at that?" Kairi said, leaning her head on Sora's shoulder.

"They look quite nice together, don't they?" Santa Claus walked up to their side. He really was quieter than a mouse. "I believe that they have feelings for each other."

"You're right." Kairi confirmed. "They just won't admit it."

"Rather like you two." Santa rolled his eyes. "I've got an idea..."

He put a finger to the side of his nose, and tipped his head to the side for a second.

There was a little flash of golden light above their heads in the tree.

*********************************************************

Nehrut smiled. There hadn't been much snow in Pax Pacis, and he was enjoying every second in this paradise. It was even better, getting to spend it with the girl sitting next to him.

There was a flash of soft light above them, and they both looked up. His faced paled, and he gulped. His throat was suddenly very dry.

Mistletoe.

He cast a tentative glance at Bariss. She looked at him, and gulped.

"Just a quick one." She said, quietly.

He nodded, feeling somehow grateful that she wasn't rejecting the concept outright, and leaned in slowly. She did the same. He felt like there was a bee hive in his stomach. 'Butterflies' was much too weak a word to describe it.

Their lips touched gently. His lips pressed against hers, and he felt her nervousness dissipate slightly.

The shy kiss lasted for exactly four seconds before Bariss pulled away, turning and blushing so bright her skin stood out like a beacon against the white landscape. Nehrut smiled very briefly to himself, and looked in the other direction as she had.

_Best four seconds EVER!_

They both found it hard to concentrate on the snow after that.

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_Now_ Halloween Town is done!

I had been waiting so long to write that last scene! I was originally planning that for Riku and Yuffie, but that was back when they were supposed to get together at the very end of the story. But I think it works better for those two.

(1) Xemnas: "Excuse me?"

Review please!


	51. Chapter 50: Princess of Light

_We are officially at fifty chapters (not counting that unbearably short prologue). And this chapter is a special one._

_Kairi: "Thank you, by the way. I'm tired of being the least useful one in a fight."_

_Well, what about Donald and Goofy? You're better than them, and a lot cooler._

_Kairi: "Good point. Thanks! Anyway, Darth doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else he feels like using."_

_---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Chapter 50: Princess of Light

"Does this bucket have a radio or something?" Nehrut asked, leaning on his pool cue. "I've got that last song stuck in my head."

"I still don't get how we did that in the first place." Axel muttered, taking his shot and sinking the nine and eight balls. "You lose."

"Did not." Nehrut levitated the eight ball out of the hole.

"Dude, not funny."

Kairi walked out of the mostly empty lounge smiling, leaving Nehrut and Axel to their game, and down the hallway. She pulled something out of the inside pocket of her robe. A special souvenir she had picked up from Christmas Town. She pushed open the door to her room, and –just as she expected- found Sora lying on the bed.

He smiled as she walked nearer, laying down on the bed next to him. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and she leaned in to him. She held up the sprig of mistletoe over his head, and kissed him on the cheek.

"Merry Christmas."

He tilted her chin up toward his face, and he leaned in toward her. They kissed softly, keeping the mistletoe above their heads.

They kissed for nearly a half hour, before Kairi put the mistletoe in the drawer of their nightstand. She had been collecting little souvenirs from each world they had visited. She had a tropical flower from Deep Jungle, and an Olympus Stone from Zeus himself.

She settled down into him, nuzzling his neck. She heard a contented hum rise from his swollen lips. "I love you, Princess."

"I love you too."

Soon, he was sleeping. She smiled to herself, and closed her eyes. She loved it when he called her 'Princess'. She wasn't sure why, she didn't think she could stand being a ruler, and she definitely wouldn't act like one. Maybe it was the whole 'Princess of Heart' thing. No darkness in her heart, only light.

The cosmic forces that brought about Dives were back with avengeance. It was time for Kairi to experience her very own Dive into the Heart.

******************************************************************

Kairi was surrounded by black clouds, apart from the glowing mosaic platform beneath her feet. _Her_ platform in the Station of Peace.

It was tinted pink, and showed mostly the seas of Destiny Islands in the background. Kairi stood in the middle of the portrait, gazing into the sky with a smile on her face. Her right hand held Destiny's Light, her left was held over her heart. The outer ring was made up of her Oathkeeper charms. Riku, Namine, Donald, Goofy, Mickey, and Nehrut were in the pictures around her. Sora was in a heart.

"You are a Princess of Heart." Came a voice, making Kairi jump. She drew her Keyblade, before remembering that the voice wasn't supposed to hurt her. "Your heart is one of pure Light. It is time you learned to use it."

"Excuse me?" But she didn't get an answer.

From the shadows beyond the platform, someone was approaching. He was bit taller than her, and striding calmly into what would soon become an arena.

Her jaw dropped. It was Riku.

Granted, he looked a little younger than he really was now. He was wearing some kind of armor. It was dark blue and violet, and had the Heatless emblem on the chest. His gloves looked like part of the armor itself, though they faded to red. He had some kind of combat skirt made with a beige, cloth-like material. In his hand was the artificial Keyblade, Broken Heart. (1)

The fake Riku smirked at her, and wordlessly charged at her. Kairi did the same, Keyblade ready to strike.

Their shockingly different blades met in a flash of sparks. They pressed against the other's blades, trying to overwhelm their defenses. They seemed evenly matched, and they leapt apart.

Riku's hand was enveloped in dark energy. He stretched out his hand, and dark energy flew from it in quick, powerful bursts. Kairi leapt to the side, just missing the attacks. Riku fired again, and Kairi brought up her blade. She blocked the blasts, but the force was enough to knock her back a step with each impact.

When she nearly stumbled off the edge, Riku rushed forward, blade ready. He struck hard, and if it weren't for good coordination, Kairi would have fallen off the platform. As it was, he knocked her to her knees, and was trying to beat past her blade with multiple strikes.

Her blade was being pushed slowly toward her own face. But she wasn't going to lose to something from her friend's past life. She gathered all her strength, and threw his blade off hers. Riku stumbled backwards, and she slashed at his unguarded stomach.

When the blade passed right through it with no effect, she got worried. Riku's hand was covered in dark fire again, and he shoved his fist out, knocking her to the ground.

He raised his blade into the air, ready to bring it down on her head, and end her existence. She looked up into his face without any trace of fear. What happened next seemed to go in slow motion. Her hand stretched gracefully out at him, her fingers spread slightly, and pointed at him. It started to glow silver. The glowing intensified into a bright shining light.

Pure silver light burst from her hand in the form of a narrow beam. It collided with the fake Riku's chest, and he flew to the other side of the platform, crashing to the ground.

Kairi got to her feet, and looked at her hand, which was now glowing again. "What...?"

"Your Light is strong. It can be used in many ways. To defend, to attack, to heal. You must master it."

Riku was getting to his feet, clutching the false Keyblade in his hand so tightly that it was glowing with dark energy. He ran toward her, but didn't even get half way across the platform. Kairi raised her hand, and let fly another blast of Light.

Riku was hit in the shoulder, and he stumbled forward, dropping his blade and clutching his shoulder. Kairi fired another blast. It struck Riku in the forehead, and he fell backwards. He got on one knee, his forehead leaking darkness rather than blood.

He moved his hand like he was swinging something, and a disk of dark energy shot from the empty space and streaked toward Kairi.

She clenched her hand into a fist, and the Light formed a shield like one of the real Riku's. The disk bounced off the shield, and flew away into the blackness. Struck by inspiration, she dropped the shield, and moved her arm like Riku had. A disk of Light flew toward him, cutting through the air with a humming noise.

It struck Riku in the chest, and went all the way through, nearly cutting him in two. Riku dropped his blade, which faded away when it hit the ground. He fell onto his side, darkness pouring out of him like smoke, mingling with the clouds surrounding the platform.

He took deep, gasping breaths, clutching at his wound as he faded away. He looked at Kairi with an unreadable expression. His eyes closed, and he faded into the darkness.

Kairi put away her Keyblade feeling satisfied.

"There is one task more. Do not be afraid."

Kairi immediately summoned Destiny's Light back after the voice had spoken. She scanned the clouds, searching for anything else. But she saw nothing.

But she certainly _heard_ something. It was a steady, rhythmic sound like someone beating on a drum softly. The sound seemed to come from everywhere, but it was definitely getting louder each time. But no matter how hard she looked, she couldn't see anything.

Then a gust of wind brought her to her knees. Her head shot up, and her eyes widened in shock. She dove out of the way just as a massive form landed hard on the platform. She now stood at the edge of her platform, looking at a massive black creature that took up almost all of the room on the platform, leaving little room to move.

It was a massive, jet black dragon. It had to be fifty feet long from head to tail its bat-like wings were spread. It had spikes on its head, neck, spine, and tail. Its claws scratched across the glass, and would have torn it apart, were it not for the magic protection it seemed to have. Its underbelly was dark blue. Its glowing yellow eyes narrowed when they sighted the Princess of Heart.

Kairi recognized it from Sora's stories. It was Maleficent, totally immersed in Darkness.

The dragon belched green flames at Kairi. She reacted instinctively, and did the only thing that came naturally, she jumped away from them...

Over the edge.

She fell many feet, tumbling helplessly as she went. She closed her eyes, and hoped for a miracle.

She got one in the form of her Light. Her arms and feet shone, with silver light. She stabilized in the air, and just floated fifty feet below the top of her platform. Kairi tried to adjust her position, since she had stopped nearly upside-down. She lifted her arms, and lowered her legs, and she righted herself.

She smiled to herself. She could technically already fly with Angelic form, but at least she didn't exhaust as much energy this way. She shot up into the air, reclaiming her Keyblade.

She shot up over the side of the platform and fired a beam of Light at Maleficent's face. The dragon let out a howl, shaking her massive head. She roared, and more flames shot from her mouth. Kairi dodged away from them in the air, and blasted at the dragon again.

Maleficent was agitated, and rose into the air with two great beats of her wings. She hovered in the air, and then shot at Kairi, belching flames. She went under them, and shot forward.

She avoided two vicious strikes from the dragon's claws, and then fired bursts of Light energy at her underbelly. Maleficent roared in pain, and fell a bit as she flew past. Kairi came out the other side, and struck at her tail with her Keyblade.

She and Maleficent turned around, going higher into the air. Kairi blasted Light at Maleficent's gaping mouth just as the dragon let out more fire.

The dragon had only managed to let out a bit of flame before the blast struck her in the back of the throat. Kairi threw up a shield of light as she moved to protect her from the flames.

As she closed in on Maleficent, she swung her arm twice, and two Light disks shot from the spaces and toward Maleficent. The first clipped the dragon in the neck, and she shot up higher still to try and avoid the second. It cut her in the lower leg.

Kairi followed her up, firing as she did. The blasts struck her all over, the stomach, wings, tail, and head. Maleficent swung her tail at Kairi a few times to try and shake her, but she was agile enough to swerve away every time.

Finally, the dragon turned around, and flew straight down at Kairi, mouth agape and spewing green fire. Kairi raised her shield, and fired a massive beam of Light at the same moment.

The Light pushed aside the flames, and rushed toward the oncoming dragon, striking her full in the face. She shrieked, and the flames stopped coming. She lost control, and her flight became a fall.

Kairi dove down to the ground, and then out over the edge of the platform. She heard a crash behind her, and stopped. She turned around, and the dragon looked pathetic. Darkness was oozing from all the wounds she had sustained in the battle, and she looked unconscious.

As Kairi flew back to her platform, Maleficent was fading into Darkness. By the time she touched down, she was gone altogether.

Her limbs stopped glowing when she gently touched the ground, and she dismissed her Keyblade. She smiled to herself. For a princess, she figured she had done pretty well for herself.

"You have done well here today." The voice came. "Use your new abilities well, and consider yourself gifted, Princess. Do not be afraid of whatever may come next."

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_Alright, there we go! The next chapter should mark my one-year anniversary on the site, and BotD's birthday. See you then!_

_(1) This outfit was the coolest one I've seen in KH. Is this a good name for that Keyblade?_

_Please review!_


	52. Chapter 51: China's Finest

_As of today, it has been exactly one year since I joined , and posted my prologue for Brotherhood of the Dark: Message in a Bottle. And let me just say that it has been one heck of a year! So, I would like to thank all of you readers and reviewers for checking out my humble little story. Since I began posting, I've gotten over 40,000 hits! Thank you all very much for that!_

_Also, I'm about to take my poll down, so let me tell you the results. I had planned on putting the leading three into the story, but since there is a three-way tie for third, there'll be five: Red XIII, Rude, Cait Sith, Zell, and Kimahri. Thanks for voting!_

_Sora: "I'm doing the one-year disclaimer, cool! DarthKingdom does not own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else."_

Chapter 51: China's Finest

Sora's feet crunched on a thin layer of ice and snow. It definitely wasn't Christmas Town, but it was very chilly. Sora looked around the familiar village he and the others had landed in. The majority of the small buildings were pale yellow, with scarlet ornamentation. This had been a temporary military camp for the Chinese army around the time of his last visit.

Kairi and Riku were on either side of him in the space between two buildings, Nehrut, Bariss and Axel were just appearing behind them when he heard a disturbance. There was shouting in the distance, and what sounded like cannon fire.

"Already?" Nehrut muttered under his breath. "I'd really like to sightsee for just once."

"But then we wouldn't be doing our job, would we?" Sora answered.

Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Yuffie came down seconds later.

"I guess there's fighting to be done." she observed.

"Let's see."

They exited the gap between the buildings, and were run over by three soldiers running in the direction of the village gates. The shortest of the three scowled, "Hey!"

He yanked Sora up by his hood, and held a fist to his face. "What's the big id- Oh, hey Sora."

After Sora scraped some of the snow off his face, he recognized the red and black armor, the permanent black eye, and the odd facial hair. "Hey Yao. Thanks for not hitting me this time."

Yao of the Chinese army let go of Sora's hood and patted him roughly on the back. His companions smiled at him. Chein Po, a large, portly man with slanted eyes gave him, Donald, and Goofy a hug that pushed all the air from their lungs. Ling, a very thin man, said 'hi' quickly, and then became very interested in Yuffie.

"Hey, good-looking." He said with a smile, thinking that he looked charming. "The name's Ling, and you are?"

Yuffie, looking disgusted, drew a dagger from her belt and held it at Ling's throat, causing him to gulp loudly. "The name's Yuffie, and I'm already taken."

"By me." Riku added, picking the shorter man up the back of the neck, and holding him up to his face like a scared puppy. "You might want to choose your words more carefully, buddy."

"First impressions are very important." Nehrut said with a smirk. Bariss laughed quietly.

"So who are these jokers?" Yao asked.

"Well, you've met Yuffie and Riku." Sora chuckled. "This is King Mickey, Nehrut, Bariss, Axel, and Kairi."

"Oh, the girl!" Ling said, smiling.

"Yeah, the girl." Sora said, giving Kairi's hand an affectionate squeeze.

"Hate to interrupt the reunion," Axel said, "But what's up over there?" He pointed up the mountainside, where the sounds of battle were coming from. Just as they all looked, a cannon fired, and they could see a projectile trailed by dark smoke shoot to another side of the mountain.

Sora half expected an avalanche like Mulan's from the last time, but nothing happened. It was like the snow refused to move.

"Oh yeah, that." Yao explained. "Ya see, about a week ago, this guy showed up with an army of those Heartless things. Don't know much about him other than he creeps everyone out. He's been attacking villages and soldiers since he got here, just adding on to his army."

"Is he tough?" Riku asked.

"Well, he started at the Great Wall seven days ago, and he's already this close to the palace, so... OF COURSE HE'S TOUGH!"

"Weapons grade sarcasm today then?" Nehrut asked.

"Anyway," Ling continued, "The Emperor got the message from one of our few scouts that managed to escape this Heartless army. The guy decided it was a threat that had to be stopped at once."

"So he sent all available forces to meet this army in the mountains." Chein Po said. "But things have been tough. We're being pushed back, there's just too many of them for us to hold off forever."

"Sounds like you need some help." Sora said.

"What makes you think that?" Yao said, trying to hold on to his pride.

"Because you're being pushed back, and there's just too many of them for you to hold off forever." Riku quoted. Another explosion from the mountains reinforced his words.

"Okay, you have a point." Yao admitted. "You up for it?"

In response, they drew their weapons. "Just lead the way." Kairi said.

Yao, Ling, and Chein Po rushed through the snow, kicking up little clouds of it with each step. At the gates, Chein Po scooped up an armful of portable cannons from a passing cart and tucked them under his arm. They passed up a few other soldiers along the way to the summit, tending to their wounds, moving supplies, or otherwise rushing toward the mountains.

As they got nearer the summit, the sounds of fighting grew louder, and more distinguishable. The shouts of commanders issuing hurried orders to their soldiers. The sounds of rushing feet, crunching through the ice and snow. The sounds of cannon fire, and blades whistling through the air. It sounded fierce.

They scaled the mountain, and started meeting weapons emplacements. Men took cover behind natural rock formations, or makeshift barricades. They would emerge only once in a while to fire at something below with cannons or arrows. Sora recognized some of them from his last visit.

When they got high enough, Sora looked down into the snow-filled valley below them. It was covered with tiny specks of black, that were unmistakably Heartless. Fighting them were hundreds of men in armor, utilizing swords, daggers, or arrows. They were fighting bravely, but they must have been outnumbered one-hundred to one.

"We have to help them!" Kairi said.

"You will, princess." Yao said, likely not knowing how accurate he was. "Just need to let the commanders know you guys are here."

Sora had a good idea which commanders he was referring to, and didn't ask. He just smiled. Soon enough, he could hear two very familiar voices shouting orders. They reached the summit where Shan-Yu was nearly killed, and saw ground zero.

Soldiers were holding a line from behind stone barricades, firing at rapidly approaching waves of Heartless. Two of them, Sora recognized. Fa Mulan, and Li Shang. Their blades were out, and ready. Sora noted that Mulan was wearing a set of deep green and black armor, like when he had first met her. But this was clearly a custom set, rather than the slightly bulkier set belonging to her father.

Though any other military commander would have chastised him for it, Sora ran up, and tapped Mulan on the shoulder. She turned her head, looking grave, but still determined. Her expression changed totally when she realized who had approached her.

"Sora!" She exclaimed, throwing her arms around him in a sisterly hug. Shang and the soldiers nearest her turned at the sound of her voice. The common soldiers were wondering why their commander was embracing a stranger, but Shang was smiling.

"Sora?" A small, red lizard-like thing leapt from beneath Mulan's collar, and landed on the top of Sora's spiky head. "Man, it's been waaay too quiet around here since you've left."

"You should probably get your ears checked." He said, smiling. He lifted him gently off his head and set him on Mulan's shoulder. "So we hear you have a Heartless problem?" Sora asked, with a grin.

"We could use some help, soldier." Shang said. He noticed the others behind him. "Donald, Goofy. And who are these people?"

"Nehrut, Bariss, King Mickey, Yuffie, Axel, Riku, and Kairi." He introduced them.

Mushu shot off Mulan's shoulder at Kairi. He grabbed two locks of hair at the front of her head, and hung in front of her face. "So _this_ is Kairi!" He said. "Girl, you know that Sora would not stop talkin' about you?" He smiled, showing a row of sharp, pointed teeth. "Y'know, I didn't wanna say anything, but girl, he has got it BAD for you."

She smiled. "I know. We've been dating for a few weeks."

His face drooped. "Oh, well... Dang it, I was looking forward to annoying you two love birds with it."

She whispered very quietly into his ear, "Try Nehrut and Bariss." She winked.

Mushu looked over the top of her head, and his eyes lit up when he saw Nehrut. "NO WAY!" he leapt off her head and onto Nehrut's. "My brotha! What's crackin' man?"

"Hey Mushu." Nehrut said, smiling.

"Seriously!? Who haven't you met?" Riku asked.

"So!" Sora said, addressing Mulan and Shang. "You want a bit of help with these guys?" He swept his arm out to indicate the Heartless.

"Yes please." Mulan replied.

"What're we waiting for then?" Axel asked. "Let's get us some Heartless!"

Without a word, he leapt over the barriers, and charged fearlessly (or foolishly, possibly both) at the Heartless, chakrams blazing, laughing like a lunatic. He set a group of Heartless ablaze, and Mushu exclaimed. "Ooooh yeah! I like this guy's style!" He leapt off Nehrut's head and 'ran' into the battle.

"Hold this line!" Mulan shouted to her troops, and ran after him.

The others were right behind her.

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_And there you go! The action starts up soon, obviously. It's short, I know, so I'll post again soon._

_Review please!_


	53. Chapter 52: Avalanche

_Here you go, fresh from the oven. Hope you like Chinese._

_Mushu: "Dude, that wasn't even _close_ to funny."_

_I know, I know._

_Mushu: "DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else."_

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Chapter 52: Avalanche

The Heartless forces that Sora, his allies, and Mulan and Shang's regiment were facing were impressive in number. In fact, they were facing the largest part of the invading 'army'. It was composed of mainly Shadows and Neoshadows, but there were also Nightwalkers in abundance. The big guns were the Assault Riders, and long, snake-like Heartless called Red Fangs. There were Rapid Thrusters for air support. So, almost five thousand Heartless. Against a few handfuls of soldiers, plus the Keybearers and their off-world friends.

_Not so tough._

Sora ran directly at an Assault Rider. The half-horse Heartless lowered its human portion, and swept its lance horizontally at Sora. He leapt over it, and smashed it in its face twice with the Keyblade, destroying it. He touched down on its other side, and blocked a fireball that a Nightwalker shot at him. He stabbed behind him, and impaled a Neoshadow. He ran through two Shadows, and became involved in a fight with another Assault Rider.

Kairi cut a Nightwalker in two as it took to the air. A Red Fang launched itself at her, mouth open, displaying two giant, scarlet fangs. She dodged over to the side, and beheaded it with an upward sweep of her blade. She stretched out her hand, and immediately destroyed two Heartless running at her with Light. A third stumbled and fell at her feet, where she destroyed it.

Nehrut blasted into the air, into the midst of a mass of Rapid Thrusters. His blade never ceased moving, and by the time the Heartless registered that an enemy was in their midst, he had destroyed a dozen of them. He shot into the air high above them, still attacking. They grouped together as they flew at him, looking like an orange and black cloud shooting toward him.

This made it easier for Riku to obliterate them, when he flew up with the Guardian. He fired blasts of Dawn, as the Guardian's huge fists knocked them all to pieces. Nehrut flew down toward him, cutting through the Heartless almost effortlessly. They met in the center of the cloud of Heartless. They faced each other for the briefest of seconds, then spun around, floating back-to-back. They blasted in either direction, taking out dozens of the tiny Heartless.

Axel tore a flaming path through the Heartless. Both of his arms were coated in flames, and his chakrams were too. He was burning so hot that the snow around him was melting. He tossed his weapons forward, destroying two large Heartless. He sprung forward, and picked them up from where they had stuck into the ground. He sent a strong burst of fire at more of them.

Mickey jumped off of Goofy's shield, shooting directly at the chest of an Assault Rider, his blade pierced through it, and he jumped away as it faded. A Red Fang appeared in its place and struck at the king. Goofy jumped in the way, and held its mouth away with his shield. Donald ran toward them, and struck the Heartless with a ball of fire. It writhed in pain when it hit it, and Goofy finished it by smashing the same place.

Yuffie tossed the shuriken at a group of Shadows. It cut through one, two, three, four, and then lodged itself in the ground. She ran to retreave it. A Nightwalker appeared right before her. Instinctively, she pulled out her dagger, and plunged it into its face. She pulled it out, and continued her sprint for her weapon. A Neoshadow emerged from the ground right in front of her, and was immediately taken out by a whip.

Bariss ran toward Yuffie, tossing her the shuriken. She caught it easily and smacked an Assault Rider with it. Bariss finished it off with a few well placed strikes with her whip. She turned around, pulling out her dagger, and impaled a Neoshadow with it. Yuffie jumped in the air, and spun, with the arm holding the shuriken out. She took out several Rapid Thrusters.

Mulan blocked a shot from a Nightwalker, reached forward, and stabbed it all the way through. She spun around, destroying a Shadow and Neoshadow. Mushu jumped to her side, shooting small blasts of flame from his mouth.

Sora ran over to her side. "Mulan!"

She knew what to do. She stood at his back, exclaiming, "For China!" Mushu jumped on her shoulder.

Mushu leapt off her shoulder for a moment, and hovered around them, shooting larger fireballs from his mouth. They burst outward, colliding with the incoming Heartless, exploding against their skin, and causing serious injury.

Sora and Mulan floated into the air, Mulan holding Mushu in one hand. She would wrap the other hand around Mushu's long, scaly body and squeeze. Thin, powerful jets of flame would shoot from his mouth at enemies, and explode on impact. She did this over and over (much to Mushu's discomfort. He didn't like 'being used for a lighter').

Flames surrounded Sora, blazing white hot around his entire form. As he shot toward the Heartless, the flames expanded around him, becoming hotter and more intense. He spun, and he looked for a moment like a spinning cloud of fire.

They worked like this for several minutes, reducing the Heartless numbers by dozens.

They flew towards each other after about five minutes. Mulan held Mushu by the tail, and Sora grabbed him midsection. "Mushu!" Mulan shouted. They threw him as high into the air as they could possibly do. When he reached him maximum height, he opened his mouth wide, and shot about two-dozen fireballs into the air above him. They flew into the air, and became larger.

The fireballs fell back down to the ground, landing exactly one second after Mushu landed in Mulan's outstretched palm. They exploded whenever they hit the ground, taking the nearest Heartless out with them.

They landed in at least a fifteen foot radius around Sora and Mulan, who were back on the ground, looking out at the numerous explosions, feeling rather satisfied. When the explosions stopped, and the thick layer of smoke cleared, the snow had been blown away at the fifteen foot line, revealing blackened rock below. The nearest Heartless had been completely destroyed.

"I'm on FIRE!" Mushu exclaimed. He flexed his tiny little arms from his perch on Mulan's shoulder. The two humans laughed for a moment, before charging back into the battle.

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From much higher up in the mountains, two people were watching the battle play out.

The first one was just a bit under average height. He had dark skin, and predatory orange eyes. He had a great deal of muscle under his clothing of black and grey. Strapped to his back was a black, wave-bladed sword.

The second one had a long, almost horse-like face, green eyes, and pale skin. He had long, greasy, dirty blonde hair that was parted on either side of his face. He wore a long, black coat that totally covered his body.

A Nobody, in a past life. The Chilly Academic, and number IV of Organization XIII. Vexen.

"The Keybearers have entered the battle." Xayn Shu said. His eyes had turned to slits; the eyes of a falcon. He could see every motion the soldiers made down in the pass. This pass was crucial to taking the palace, and he wasn't going to let this pathetic army stop him. "This is where things get fun."

Vexen put a hand to his chin, and thought. "If the Keybearer Sora and his allies are here, it may spell the end of the invasion. I suggest pulling out all the stops."

"I'll pull back the Heartless." Xayn Shu smiled horribly, showing slightly pointed teeth. He gestured, and the Heartless began to sink into the ground, or disappear through corridors of Darkness. Then he said quietly to himself, "Let's see how you like this, little girl."

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When the Heartless suddenly abandoned their attack and disappeared, Sora knew that something was about to go horribly wrong.

The soldiers behind him started cheering. They thought that these strange, foreign beings with miraculous powers and weapons had driven away the Heartless, and saved them. They had no idea that things were about to get worse.

"I hate it when they do that." Nehrut said, keeping his sword out.

"You mean stop attacking and drawback for no reason?" Sora asked.

"There's _always_ a reason."

"Maybe you should look for someone's mind, or whatever it is you do."

"I have, and I've found something interesting." He said. "There are two advanced Nobodies up in those mountains there." He pointed at the highest peak in the mountain range, covered entirely with snow, except for where cannons had struck the side.

"The Brotherhood." Riku had walked up to join them. "I can pick out their scents. One of them is Vexen."

"Someone you know?" Sora asked.

"You knew him too, actually. He died at Castle Oblivion, I think Axel did it."

"Good man." Nehrut said.

"Thanks!" Axel called from his position several feet away, having somehow heard them.

"But if Vexen is here, and this place is covered by ice and snow..."

Sora's eyes widened in horror. "Oh n-"

"Look there!" Mulan exclaimed. She was pointing at the peak where Riku and Nehrut had sensed Vexen and the other Nobody. It took Sora a moment for his eyes to pick out what she saw. There were two tiny specks up near the very top, which must have been the Brotherhood's agents on this world.

One of them lifted his arms high into the air, and as he did, there was a rumbling sound. The ice and snow on the mountainside shifted just slightly. Sora understood what was going to happen seconds before it did.

Sora twisted around to the soldiers, and screamed at the top of his lungs, "FALL BACK NOW!"

There was a low rumbling sound as thousands of pounds of rock, ice, and snow slid down the mountainside. Back on the ground, the soldiers stared in stunned horror at the avalanche for exactly one frozen second, before spinning around and sprinting the other way as fast as their legs could carry them.

"I'll buy you some time!" Nehrut shouted. He extended his arms, like he was trying to push a massive object. "Get to cover, quickly!"

The group reluctantly followed his command. Except for one.

Bariss ran through the snow, juked around Goofy, and jumped over Donald. She rushed to Nehrut's side, and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Bariss, run!" He said.

"I didn't leave you in Olympus, and I'm not about to leave you now!" Her grip tightened on his shoulder.

The avalanche was approaching fast, just barely slowed down by Nehrut's mental powers. The roaring was almost deafening.

"Bariss!"

"NO!"

"Bariss! Save-"

"If you say 'save yourself' I'll kill you!"

Nehrut seemed to realize that he was getting nowhere. He craned his neck to get a better look at her beautiful, determined, stubborn face. He looked a bit farther back, in time to see Sora and the other soldiers dive into a trench, with a rock overhang that would be able to protect them. "Ugh... Then hang on!"

He spun around, and did something unexpected. He grabbed the ends of his cloak in either hand, and embraced her tightly.

Over ten thousand pounds of roaring ice and snow washed over them.

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_Dum, dum, Duum! A nice, big cliffhanger for you. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!_

_Please leave a review!_


	54. Chapter 53: Left Behind

_Bariss (having just finished reading the last chapter): "You... You buried us!?!? Why on earth would you do that!?"_

_Pfft. Relax, you're fine. To quote Quartermass: "You know how it is in the Land of Dragons. You can be burried under thousands of pounds of snow one minute, popping up like daisies the next." But if you think this is bad, wait until Chapter 123._

_Bariss: "What are you going to do to us!?"_

_Don't worry. I promise you that Nehrut will probably be fine maybe. Now, the disclaimer?_

_Bariss: "Darth doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix or anything else."_

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Chapter 53: Left Behind

Several minutes later, Ling poked his head up from the trench and looked out at the new snowy landscape. He looked back down after a moment. "It's all clear!"

Sora, Riku, and Kairi were the first ones scrambling over the edge. "Nehrut!" They started shouting. "Bariss!"

Axel, Donald, and Goofy were the next ones up. And by the time Mickey, Yuffie, Mulan, and the others had gotten up, they were all calling their names.

Sora ran over to the place where they had vanished into the snow –or rather, where he thought they had. It was hard to tell. He knelt down, hoping for some reason that he'd be able to reach them under the snow, to perhaps rescue them from below.

It may have seemed a bit preposterous, but he started digging (by hand). Yao, Ling, and Chein Po were soon right next to him with shovels, and started digging themselves. Axel was coming up to try to melt the snow, when Shang let out a shout.

"Hostiles incoming!"

Sora's head shot up, and he summoned Oblivion right away. Heartless were descending on them, possibly more than before.

"We can't hope to stand up against that many of them." Shang said grimly. He twisted his head around so that the soldiers still behind the trench could hear him. "Men! Fall back to the Imperial City! A fighting retreat! Repeat: A fighting retreat!"

Sora leapt to his feet and put a hand on his shoulder. "General! We have to help them! Maybe we can still get to them..."

"I'm sorry Sora." He responded turning to face him. And he really did look sorry. "But I have to think of my men, and there's no time to look for your friends before those Heartless arrive."

"I can't just leave them!"

"Sora..." Kairi said, approaching him. She took one of his hands in hers. "I'm afraid he's right, we have no choice." But there were still tears in her eyes.

Riku said. "If Nehrut and Bariss are alright, then they'll be able to make it back to us. If they're not..." He couldn't bring himself to finish his thoughts.

Kairi took him by the hand back in the direction of the retreating soldiers, the rest of them following right behind them. They were gone for a few minutes, before the first wave of Heartless passed through down the mountains.

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"That wasn't quite what I had hoped for." Xayn Shu commented, touching a hand to his chin. "I had hoped that the avalanche would have taken out a few Keybearers, at the least."

"Need I remind you that they're useless to us dead?" Vexen interjected.

"Hmm." The Nobody wasn't paying him much attention. "The telepath must have had something to do with it. He has become very irritating."

"But he was swallowed by the snow, along with your slave." Vexen reminded. "I doubt that he'll cause much more trouble."

"No..." Xayn Shu inhaled deeply, as if trying to smell something. "Still alive...? Yes, you are stubborn ones, aren't you?"

"Still alive?" Vexen didn't sound convinced. "I highly doubt that you can _smell_-" There was suddenly a black, wave bladed sword tip touching his throat.

"They _are_ alive." Xayn Shu said, pushing his blade just a little further into his neck to emphasize his point. "I _know_. And you would be wise not to _question_ me." He leaned toward him, to where their faces were mere inches apart. "Do I make myself clear?"

"Inescapably."

"Good." He sheathed his blade, and looked back down into the pass. "Do you have the data you needed?"

"Not as much as I would have hoped, but it will suffice."

"Good." He turned around, and walked past the other Nobody without sparing him a second glance. "I'm going to the front with the Heartless."

"And the telepath and the slave?"

Xayn Shu stopped in his tracks. Without turning around, he said, "Enjoy yourself." He walked off.

As soon as he was out of sight, Vexen chuckled to himself. He gestured with his hand, and a few unearthly devices appeared from thin air.

He set to work. (1)

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The mountains had been quiet as the grave for almost a half-hour. They were devoid of all sound except the wind rushing through the mountain peaks.

Suddenly, a hand burst from the snow, upsetting a nearby bird. The hand searched the ground for a minute, and found the top of a rock. It grabbed it, and up from the snow came the head and shoulders of a young man.

Nehrut pulled himself up higher, and the head and shoulders of a girl were revealed. He had one arm around her slender waist, part of his cloak wrapped around her to help protect her from the cold. She had one arm around his shoulders to help support herself.

Nehrut was able to break free of the snow, and get both of them out, back on semi-solid ground. They lay on the ground for a moment, trying to catch their breath. Nehrut looked at Bariss. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." She looked up. "I thought we were going to die."

"For a moment, I did too." He stood up, and held his hand out to her. "Stay close, we need to share body heat."

Bariss was happy to comply, leaning into him as he wrapped his arm, holding the end of his cloak, around her shoulders. She hoped he wouldn't notice her blush.

He hoped she wouldn't notice his.

"Okay, we need to find-"

But then he heard distant crunching footsteps behind him. They turned around, and saw none other than Sora.

The young Keybearer was walking calmly toward them from the direction of the mountains. His hood was up, obscuring his face just slightly. His stride was even, as if he wasn't in too much of a hurry.

"Sora!" Bariss called, waving her hand so he could see them.

Sora didn't even look up, just kept walking slowly toward them.

"Sora?"

Almost a minute later, Sora stopped in front of them. He slowly raised his head, and looked Nehrut full in the face. He was scowling.

"'_Sora! Sora!'_" He imitated. "What is it already? Need _saving_ or something?"

"Excuse me?" Nehrut replied, surprised.

"You heard." His fists clenched. "You know, Nehrut, you're just _pathetic_. Brooding over the fact that your brother betrayed you, and your homeworld is ruled over by the Brotherhood. You're pathetic!"

"Don't you _dare_-" Bariss snarled.

"Oh shut up. You're just as bad as him." He responded, his head snapping to face her. "Your father is dead, and your mother- Oh, boo-freaking-hoo."

Her fury was palpable.

"And what good are you to us anyway?" He continued, "You've got a toy whip, and a pretty antique knife. You don't even know any magic."

He turned around, and began to walk away, clutching his head.

"The both of you make me sick. And we all feel the same way." He twisted around, and pointed his finger and poked Nehrut hard in the chest. "Why don't you just scram? We don't need you on this team of ours! _Got it_?"

"I'd like to say one thing before we go." Nehrut said, deadpan. Bariss's eyes widened in shock.

"What?"

Nehrut's hand shot out. And Sora flew backwards twenty feet into a snow drift that was concealing a large boulder.

"You're not ON the team!" He shouted, drawing Presul. Bariss followed his lead, pulling out Rose Blade.

'Sora' got to his feet, brushing the snow off his clothes. "Real perceptive." He smirked at them. "I'm not Sora. I'm better!"

He held out his hand, and a copy of the Kingdom Key appeared in a flash of light. Sora's replica took up a fighting stance like the original one, then rushed towards them.

Nehrut ran to meet him, and their blades met. The replica leapt backwards and struck at his legs, Nehrut blocked it easily, and stabbed at his face. It was parried, and he swung back at his head. He ducked under it.

Bariss jumped into the fight, her sai flashed, leaving a gash across 'Sora's' face. His palm opened, and a fireball shot at her. She dove to the side, and tossed her weapon at him. He caught it, and tossed it away into the snow. Nehrut's blade came down toward his head, and he caught it.

He kicked the telepath in his stomach while still holding his blade away from his body. As he staggered backwards, Bariss's whip shot out, and coiled around the false Keyblade. She pulled hard, and it fell out of his hands. Nehrut stretched out his hand, and it flew towards him. He caught it in his free left hand.

He wondered how he could hold it, and then realized that it must not be a real Keyblade. With both in hand, he ran toward 'Sora' and struck him in the chest with the fake blade. He was thrown backwards by the force of the blow, and Nehrut dashed forward to get him across the stomach with his own.

The replica was knocked onto his back. Before Nehrut could finish him off, he reached up with both hands. Bolts of electricity flew at him, hitting him in the chest. Presul fell from his hand, and landed on the ground near the replica's feet.

He ran toward it, and held in his hand. "See how you-"

There was a brief, but intense flash of bright blue light, and the sword hit the ground again. Sora's replica stumbled backwards, clutching his hand, which seemed to be smoking.

Nehrut walked forward, and picked the blade up in his right hand. "Presul can only be held if you have the owner's consent. And you don't."

The fake Sora snarled, and rushed toward Nehrut with his hands crackling with electricity. He leapt toward Nehrut, as if he was going to punch him with one of those hands. But then Bariss reentered the picture. Her whip struck him in the side, and he slipped, falling into the snow.

Before he could get up, he found two blades crossed at his throat. Nehrut stood over him, ready to destroy him if he made a single move.

"What are you?"

Before the replica could answer, the ground below them seemed to burst.

The snow and ice below them shot up at them, throwing them bodily into the air. The false Keyblade in Nehrut's left hand vanished as this happened, and he could only assume that it was because its original wielder was no more.

The snow obscured his vision, but when he reached about fifty feet into the air, he could clearly see a man in a black coat shooting up toward him. He held a light blue shield that slightly resembled a widened version of the Nobody emblem. It also had five sharp spikes on its edges.

Nehrut assumed that this was Vexen.

Before he could do anything, Vexen had slammed him in the stomach with the shield, sending him flying back to the ground. The breath was knocked out of his lungs instantly.

Bariss ran over to him, and helped him stand just as Vexen landed five feet away.

He smiled. "So, how did you like my little toy?"

"That was a replica of Sora?" Nehrut asked, getting to his feet. "Well, it needed a lot of work. You see, Sora can actually _win_ a fight. He was also a very bad actor."

"A miscalculation on my part." Vexen waved it off. "I suppose that I didn't have enough data to make it truly formidable. I'll be sure to work on that with the next batch."

"You're going to make more of them?" Bariss asked, clearly disturbed by the prospect of more duplicates running around. "You're insane!"

"I am a _scientist_, young lady."

"You and your toys, Vexen." Nehrut said, pointing the tip of his blade at the Silhouette. "We're not just going to let you escape to make more puppets."

"You cannot fight progress, boy." Vexen said, as if scolding him. And without warning, he rushed toward him, floating just a bit above the ground, shield held horizontally at his side. He struck left to right. Nehrut noticed for the first time that he was left-handed as his blade met the edge of the shield, and stuck between two spikes. Bariss ran toward Vexen, but then was blown backwards by the snow beneath her, sending her flying away.

Vexen could control the ice and snow all around him to move in whatever way he pleased. Considering the environment, that would be a problem.

Nehrut blasted Vexen backwards, successfully knocking the shield from his grasp. Vexen sprung to his feet immediately, ice forming around his forearm into a sharp spike. He drove it toward Nehrut's face, and he just managed to duck away from it.

Rose Blade flew from out of nowhere, spearing into the spike, and shattering it. Vexen dove backwards just before Nehrut could behead him. He summoned his fallen shield, and charged at Nehrut. He struck upwards, smacking him backwards, then twisted and struck horizontally, which he was able to block with his blade.

Bariss swung Rose Whip in a wide arc, bringing it cracking down across Vexen's back. He cried out, then aimed his free hand at the girl. A line of icy stalagmites burst from the ground, moving toward her. She dove out of the way just before one of them speared her.

Nehrut aimed a strike at Vexen's face, which he blocked. His follow-up attacks to his legs and torso were also blocked. After a fourth attack aimed at his chest again, Vexen formed another spike on his free arm. This time, he shot it out toward Nehrut.

He caught it in the air, and aimed it back at the Nobody. It struck harmlessly against the shield, and Vexen fired another one at him. He struck it with his blade, and shattered. He blasted him, throwing him into a snow drift.

Bariss was back by his side when the snow drift burst apart in hundreds of shards of ice. He put up a shield to catch them before they tore them to shreds, but he took a nasty scratch to his left arm all the same.

Vexen came on again, striking low at his feet. Nehrut floated over it, and kicked him in the tip of the jaw. He stumbled backwards, as Bariss struck him across the chest with her sai. He landed on his back, and then the ground below them erupted. A pillar of ice sent him into the air, and he was standing on top of it.

Nehrut followed him up. He struck at Vexen's midsection, and he blocked with the shield. Part of the pillar broke away, and flew at Nehrut as a giant, icy projectile. He swerved around it, but then got hit by another one, and then a second.

He fell twenty feet to the ground, and lifted his was blown off his platform, and landed on the ground at the other side of the pillar. Nehrut and Bariss ran around the pillar together, and lept toward Vexen with their weapons about to strike. The shield came up, and blocked both attacks, throwing them backwards.

"Bariss!" Nehrut called. Time for the big guns.

"Ready!"

Whip in hand, Bariss jumped over Nehrut's head. She hung suspended upside-down about a foot over his head. They looked up at each other, and winked. Nehrut spun her around rapidly, her arm holding the whip was stretched out. It hit Vexen over and over, at least a dozen times per second.

He let go of her, and she landed lightly on the ground beside him, not at all dizzy.

"Keep it up!"

Both of them took to the air, Nehrut blasted Vexen with his mind, tossing him far back every time. It took much less effort than usual, and had much more force behind it. The second Vexen got to his feet, he was blasted back into the ground.

Bariss came along, streaking like a bullet toward him. Her sai seemed to have a mind of its own. It floated around her, moving so fast around her form that it was a shining green and silver blur. As soon as she got close enough to Vexen, the sai flashed toward him, cutting every inch of him it could reach. His hands went limp, and his shield fell out of his hands.

"It's time to finish this!"

Nehrut and Bariss flew toward each other, and threw their blades into the air. They floated together, their hilts touching, with Presul on the bottom. The colors from the blades seemed to invert themselves. The lines on Rose Blade turned blue, and Presul's blade turned entirely green.

The blades shot down to the ground, and when Presul's blade hit the ground, it stuck into it. Fault lines sprouted from the place where the blade struck it. Green energy spewed from them. The light burned Vexen on impact, throwing him high into the air, and crashing back down twenty feet later.

"Salus Pax Pacis!" (2)

They landed on the ground, and winked at each other.

Vexen was lying on the ground, rippling away into nothingness like Demyx and Lexeaus. He scowled at them, which was a little hard when his face was like liquid. "I suppose you've beaten me."

"Looks like it." Nehrut sat by his head, and looked down at his face. "So why don't you just make yourself useful in these last few seconds and tell us a few things about this guy attacking China?"

"I'll tell you nothing." Vexen, prideful to the last, faded away. Soon there was only a card, and it too, faded into darkness.

"Well, that was a waste of time." Bariss muttered, sitting down next to him. She took one end of his cloak, and pulled it around her shoulders.

"Not necessarily." Nehrut said. He pointed.

Vexen's shield was still there, sitting in the snow. Nehrut stretched out his hand, and it flew toward his hand. He had heard of the occasional anomalies where the weapon of a Heartless or Nobody didn't fade away along with its owner. Donald had once taken a lance from a Dragoon Nobody, and Goofy had the tome of a Bookmaster Heartless.

He examined it for a moment, it was surprisingly light. Then he handed it to Bariss. "For you."

"Me?"

"Sure, why not? Happy birthday!"

Bariss giggled (_she_ giggled!), and took it. She held it up in the light to examine it better. It had a strap on the back, so she slung it around her shoulder, and wore it on her back. "Thanks."

"And for the record, you're plenty of good to us."

"Hmm?"

"The replica said you weren't any good to us. You are."

She smiled and threw her arms around him, in a grateful embrace. "And you're not pathetic."

They embraced for a few minutes, enjoying the other's warmth. Finally, they parted. "So, what now?" She asked.

"I meditate for a moment," He said, trying to compose himself. "and see if I can find Sora and the others. If I know them as well as I think I do, they would have stuck with the army until they drove the Brotherhood from this world."

He closed his eyes and dove into the _Mens Quero_ meditation. He searched the mountains, and wasn't surprised to find them empty, apart from the occasional small animal.

He reached out farther, down the mountain pass, looking for anything. He detected echoes of thoughts, and minds. A great number of people had been through there. He went farther, and several miles later, he found a huge mass of simple, instinctive minds. The Heartless. And one, sharp, cold, calculating mind that could only belong to a Nobody.

Still farther, a great mass of emotions struck him. Hundreds of beings were congregated together in a particular area. Most of their minds held mixtures of fear, anxiety, or determination. About a dozen of them stuck out, shining brightly through the fear and dread like beacons.

Nehrut's eyes snapped open, and he smiled. "Found 'em."

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_I'm on summer vacation, so I should be updating a little more frequently now. Good news for you! Also, 358/2 Days has been released in Japan! If you want plot details, check the KH wiki. It's crazy._

_Also, if you haven't heard, Mickey's third voice actor (who also provided his voice for the KH series) passed away a few days ago. Thank you Mr. Wayne Allwine, we will remember you fondly._

_(1) So yeah, I have absolutely no idea how he does these experiments, so I improvised._

_(2) Nehrut and Bariss's 'Mystic Rose.'_

_Please drop a review._


	55. Chapter 54: Imperial City

_Welcome back! This chapter is a tad short, but hopefully you'll enjoy it despite that. Now, if somebody would..._

_Xayn Shu: "DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or whatever else he decides to use. He also doesn't own the Star Wars reference."_

_Anybody who catches it gets a cookie!_

_-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Chapter 54: Imperial City

Sora sat on the south wall of Imperial City, the one with the front gate built into it. His legs dangled over the edge, and he swung them back and forth. His hands supported him, and he alternated between staring into the starry sky, the path leading to the palace, and out at the mountains that could just barely be seen in the distance.

"I should have stayed." He said aloud.

"Please don't beat yourself up over it."

Sora turned his head a fraction, he didn't need to. He knew exactly who was there; he had sensed her.

Kairi was floating behind him, looking at him with infinite care and sympathy on her face. She settled down on the top of the wall next to him, and sat down. She placed one hand gently over his.

"It's not your fault." Kairi said into his ear. "There was no other choice, we had to retreat."

"I just feel like I could have gotten to them if I had stayed." He said, clutching her hand tightly. "I know it doesn't make sense, but still."

"I know..." She leaned her head on his shoulder. "But you can't blame yourself. Nobody else does. Vexen and the Heartless were the ones who caused that avalanche."

They were quiet for a few minutes, before Sora said. "I miss them already."

Roxas and Namine appeared. "Right about now, Nehrut would be making some lame joke and Bariss would be rolling her eyes at him."

Namine smiled sadly. "If they survived, I hope that they admit what they feel to each other. They deserve love so much..."

"Yeah." Kairi agreed. "What if they, y'know, didn't make it?" The thought seemed unbearable to her. "They would have never have admitted it."

As the four of them sat together in silence, pondering the possibilities of Nehrut and Bariss's relationship, Ling let out a shout.

"Heartless approaching from the south!" He exclaimed from the guard post. He then promptly screamed like a girl.

Sora's head shot up, and he looked out at the path leading to the city. Sure enough, a large black mass was approaching from the direction of the mountains, dotted occasionally with little pinpricks of yellow. The Heartless had arrived.

In military terms, Imperial City was an easily defendable place. High walls would prove hard to clear, and also provide excellent vantage points for archers and cannons. And even on the off chance that an attacker could pass those by, the palace was a massive building, heavily fortified and provisioned, and hard to penetrate, and the courtyard was brimming with soldiers.

This was all in military terms, of course.

In Heartless terms, very little of this mattered. At the front of the army of Heartless was a shorter, heavily muscled man with a shaved head.

"Guys!" It was Mulan. She was below them with Donald and Goofy on either side of her. "Come down here! We need to talk strategy."

Sora and Kairi leapt from the wall, and landed easily on their feet, startling some of the soldiers nearest them, who had thought they were suicidal for taking that jump. They ran toward the palace steps, where Shang was standing talking to the troops. The hundreds of soldiers from the pass were clustering together to listen to him.

They stood next to Axel, Yuffie, and Riku, who were at the back of the growing group of soldiers. Mulan walked up to the steps to join Shang. He was saying, "I need all archers to get to the upper walls immediately. Cannons will be brought up as well, and soldiers will take up positions with them on the wall. Foot soldiers will-"

"Captain Li."

Shang stopped abruptly, and turned around to face the speaker. The Emperor of China was walking slowly down the great steps of the palace toward him, dressed in his regal golden robes that flowed past his feet. King Mickey was beside him. They strode calmly toward the captain, and stopped beside him.

"Thank you Captain, but allow me to speak." Shang bowed respectfully, and stood off to the side.

The Emperor looked calmly over the assembled soldiers. "I have been speaking to our off-world visitors. I even have the pleasure of calling some my friends. And I believe that they can aid us here."

The Emperor locked eyes with Sora, and the eyes of all the soldiers followed his gaze. Sora strode calmly up to the steps, his friends following quietly behind him. He stopped between the two rulers, and looked at the soldiers.

"We've seen how you fight. Now let's show you what we can do."

"What can an adolescent and his friends do against thousands of those creatures?" Someone near the back called.

The Emperor chuckled. "My friend, this 'adolescent and his friends' defeated Shan-Yu, _and_ destroyed a massive dragon when it menaced my palace."

Axel clapped a hand on Sora's shoulder. "Yeah, and buddy, this kid once took out a thousand of those things at once. _By himself_. Got it memorized? I doubt you've ever beat more than two."

"Yeah, Teo!" One of the other soldiers said. "I've seen them fight at the pass! One of them actually destroyed a big one without even touching it!"

Sora was saddened at being reminded of Nehrut, but at least Teo had shut up.

"Sora." The Emperor asked. "Will you help us?"

He had his answer already. He looked sideways at Kairi, she gave him an encouraging smile. He turned the other way toward Riku, who patted him on the back. Donald and Goofy gave him thumbs-up. Yuffie winked. Axel nodded.

"We'll stand and fight."

The audience cheered. Mushu leapt out from under Mulan's collar and exclaimed, "Let's kick some Heartless hiney!"

*****************************************************

As Teo watched Sora agree to the Emperor's request, he couldn't surpress the feeling that they would all soon be dead. He had a very good reason for fearing Xayn Shu and his forces as much as he did.

He was the only survivor of his very first attack.

_Teo walked along the Great Wall of China. It was night, and he was on sentry duty yet again._

_He really didn't understand the purpose of sentries in this time of peace, anymore. Nobody had ever gotten through the Great Wall since Shan Yu's invasion, which was almost a year gone. And he had taken the secret to breaching it to his grave._

_He groaned inwardly out of frustration, and gazed up at the crescent moon high above him, partially obscured by the dark clouds and a mountain. Nothing had happened for months, and nothing would happen tonight._

_That was when things went to Hell._

_Directly in front of him, a small black mass emerged from the stone where Teo's foot would have been in another second. A small black creature with yellow eyes gazed up at him, as another four appeared behind it._

_The sounds of shocked, scared shouting floated to him from the other parts of the Wall, and he knew that the other sentries were experiencing something similar._

_Swiping at one of the Heartless with his spear, he rushed past it to the nearest turret, where there was a circular stone platform filled with tar. If he could light a signal fire, then perhaps they'd be able to warn the people of China before it was too late, and they were caught unawares like the men on the Wall._

_Narrowly avoiding a Shadow's slashing claws, he scrambled up the wooden ladder, and grabbed the torch that sat on brackets next to it._

_He wasn't alone. Across from the stone platform stood Xayn Shu, his amber eyes glinting in the darkness. His sword was not yet drawn, but he was smiling. His nodded his head toward the platform._

_Teo plunged his torch into the tar, setting it alight immediately. The burning flames reached high into the sky, and it wasn't long before several similar fires appeared on the turrets on the other parts of the Great Wall._

"_Now all of China knows you're here." Teo said to Xayn Shu with a defiant glare._

_His valiant act was wasted on a Nobody. Xayn Shu took hold of a nearby flag pole, where China's red and gold banner was waving proudly in the slight breeze. He snapped it off with one quick movement._

_He held it over the fire, and watched it burn to a crisp. He was grinning wildly. "Perfect." (1)_

*****************************************************

(2)Minutes later, Sora stood outside the city gates with Kairi, Riku, Donald, Goofy, Mickey, Axel, and Yuffie. The army of Heartless wasn't far away now.

Mulan walked through the gates with Shang. Mushu sat on her shoulder.

"Close the gates!" She ordered.

Ling, Yao, and Chein Po reluctantly followed her orders, sealing the giant doors, and then putting a giant slat across both of them, locking it as firmly in place as possible. Nothing would get in by conventional means.

Sora and the others waited patiently outside the gates. Finally, the quiet sounds the Heartless made could be heard. Nothing too noticeable, just quiet slithering noises, or hissing. But only one being came into view.

Though there were a few glaring differences in his appearance, Sora knew him immediately. But Mulan was the one who voiced his thoughts, astonished.

"Shan Yu?"

The man smirked, and continued walking. He stopped ten feet away from them and responded in a quiet, venomous tone, "I was Shan Yu once. Before the Heartless found me."

"If you're not Shan Yu..."

"Surely you've guessed?" He spread his arms wide, smiling a predatory smile. "I am Xayn Shu. His Nobody."(3)

Suddenly, Sora understood why that name had struck a chord within him when Bariss had mentioned it. When a Nobody was made, it was renamed with an anagram of its original name and an 'X' added. The rule held true here.

"It doesn't matter to me what you are. You're an enemy of China, and I demand that you leave this place!" Shang ordered.

Xayn Shu chuckled low in his throat. "I'll leave. If you surrender the Emperor to me, and the Keybearers, then I'll call off my forces, and spare your pathetic capital."

"No deal!" Mulan said, drawing her blade and pointing it at him.

Mushu slithered down her body and onto the ground. He stood on his two rear feet and walked toward Xayn Shu in what he hoped was an intimidating way. "Yeah, so why don't you just take your little pet Heartless, turn around, and take your butts home? Because if y'all don't, we are gonna mess you up _SO_ bad, that-"

The Nobody pulled a black, wave-bladed sword from a scabbard on his back. He stabbed it into the ground less than an inch in front of Mushu. The small dragon looked at his reflection in the black metal, and gulped. He leapt backwards just as he flourished the blade and sheathed it.

"I find your lack of respect, _annoying_." He looked back at the others. "So, I can accept your surrender, or we can do this the fun way."

"We're not going down without a fight." Riku summoned his Keyblade.

"So be it. The fun way, then." He smirked, and stepped backward into a Corridor of Darkness.

The Heartless appeared, drawn to the power of the Keyblade, and the light in their hearts. Over a thousand charged toward them, surging toward the gates. Only eleven people stood between them and the palace.

Sora was worried. But not _too_ worried.

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_Ta-da! I seem to be doing a lot of cliffhanger-ish endings lately, despite my hatred of them. Sorry! Oh, and to altair4003, I can't read your email adress. Space out the words in it, or else I can't see it._

_(1) I get that this is a little out of place, but I added it at the last minute upon realizing how dreadfully short this chapter was._

_(2) Cue 'Mulan's Decision' from the movie soundtrack._

_(3) Le gasp! Like nobody saw it coming. --;_

_Please review._


	56. Chapter 55: Defenders of China

_The last chapter for the Land of Dragons. And the first time I show off Xayn Shu's skills. Enjoy!_

_Yao: "Hey, wait a minute! What about my skills!?"_

_(Flicks Yao's forehead with two fingers, knocking him over)_

_Ling: "HA! Great skills!"_

_Chein Po (while Ling is getting pummeled by Yao): "DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else."_

_--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Chapter 55: Defenders of China

Xayn Shu looked down on the battle from a safe distance. He saw the Keybearers and their allies battling his forces. They were doing quite well, considering the impossible numbers stacked against them. As he thought this, the red-headed one that had escaped Crucion's grip summoned a huge inferno, destroying what must have been a dozen Heartless.

He had to admit that they were quite skilled, but in the end, it didn't matter how skilled they were. In this war, quantity out ruled quality, and he had both. Already two of them were most likely dead; Xaynew's brother and their renegade slave. He had smelt them, they had survived the avalanche. But after that, surely Vexen and that experiment of his would have been able to take them.

His master would be very pleased to learn of their deaths at his hand.

His eyes shifted, and became those of a falcon. He looked closer on the battle. The girl with the Keyblade Master the last time had just beheaded a Red Fang. He'd kill her personally. But business came first. He turned his sight to the palace. Near the top of the steps stood the Emperor. That defiant old man would die first.

******************************************************

Sora leapt onto the back of an Assault Rider, and struck it in the back twice. He jumped off, and landed behind a Neoshadow, which met the same fate. Kairi came up behind him, and destroyed the Nightwalker behind him with a blast of Light.

They stood together (_as it should be_) and struck down any Heartless that came toward them. Sora hit low, and Kairi hit high. Working together, they were inseparable, and the smaller Heartless couldn't hope to hurt either of them.

But the sheer size of a Red Fang might. One was sliding toward them now, hissing. It struck at the two, with its mouth wide open. Sora and Kairi leapt apart, to either side of it. Before they turned around to face it, the King leapt at it. He fired a ball of Light down its throat. It had a nice effect, it shot down its throat and exploded on the inside, taking it out.

Mickey leapt through the battle, Kingdom Crown cutting through anything in reach. He came upon an Assault Rider. Its lance swept at the tiny king, but he jumped onto the wide part. He leapt off of it, and struck it in the face with his blade. He landed on the ground and destroyed three Shadows lined up neatly on a row. He spun around and blocked a swipe from a Nightwalker.

Yuffie ducked under two dive-bombing Rapid Thrusters. As they passed overhead, she struck both of them with her shuriken, and when she was done she used it to destroy a Nightwalker.

A Red Fang suddenly loomed over her. She didn't notice until its shadow fell over her. She turned around just as it brought its giant mouth down to crush her head. Then the Guardian shot up from the ground, catching its mouth, and parting it. Yuffie threw a knife down its gaping mouth, striking it in the back of the throat, killing it.

The ninja looked over her shoulder and winked at Riku. He threw her a smile and charged back into the battle. His blade descended on a Neoshadow, and then cut sideways to catch a Nightwalker in the neck. He leapt into the air, and destroyed three Rapid Thrusters with quick strikes from his blade, and before he even landed again, destroyed another with a shot of Dawn.

Axel, Donald, and Goofy stood closest to the gates, ready to defend it by any means possible. Axel was probably doing the most damage, calling up massive infernos upon large groups of Heartless.

If any got too close, Goofy was there to smash them away with his shield. Donald was watching the tops of the walls for the flying Heartless. The imperial archers were fairly accurate, shooting them down if they came too close. But as added insurance, Donald would call down bolts of lightning on them.

Donald shot a shard of ice into the fray farther on, taking out a Shadow before Sora even got to it. He rushed through the space it had occupied and cut down three more like it in as many seconds. Kairi shot over his head, taking down dozens of Heartless on the air, and on land.

Mulan and Shang stood together, practically in the center of the battlefield. Their shining blades were flying everywhere with the skill of practiced swordsmen. Mulan destroyed a Shadow, and the spun around, destroying a Nightwalker. Shang plunged his sword in to the hilt in a Red Fang's underbelly. Mushu came around and reduced a Neoshadow to cinders in seconds.

From the walls above, Ling, Yao, and Chein Po watched all of this happen in total awe. They stared, open-mouthed, as Kairi, Riku, and Sora (on the Keyboard) all took to the air at once, and fired at the Heartless below them in unison.

"Woah..."

They didn't realize that they were in for their own excitement very soon.

******************************************************

Back at Xayn Shu's lookout point, he stood up from the rock he'd been sitting on. He stretched out his back muscles, and decided that he'd seen enough. Over a hundred of his Heartless had been destroyed. Time for the game to end.

He pulled his sword from its scabbard. From his back burst two giant falcon-like wings, and somehow, with them released, he grew from being a man of short stature, to a six-foot tall behemoth, as his other had been.

He took a running start, and leapt from his rocky perch. His wings started beating, and he gradually leveled out. He streaked over the battlefield, shooting for the palace.

At the sight of him, the cannons at the top of the wall opened fire. Burning dragon-heads were shooting toward him from all directions. He juked over, under, and around the projectiles.

He rocketed toward the wall, and sliced one of the unprepared cannons in half. He shot over the army (which wasn't actually seeing any action) toward the top of the stairs where the Emperor stood. The old man seemed very surprised to see a supposedly dead enemy flying toward him.

He landed near the top of the steps, and ran toward the Emperor. Two soldiers at the top with him rushed toward him with their swords out. He casually caught one, and forced it out of his hand. The hapless man was then met with a knee in his stomach, and fell to the ground, breathless. The other one was hit in the side of the head with the hilt of his sword, and knocked out immediately.

Xayn Shu ran forward immediately, and roughly grabbed the old man around the shoulders. He held his blade to his throat, and blasted into the air again. The Emperor remained silent.

He settled onto the wall directly over the gate, still holding his blade at the old man's throat. He laughed wildly, drawing everyone's attention, even the fighters below. The Heartless stopped attacking, and sank into the ground.

The feeling of triumph, it was intoxicating.

He didn't realize that in just a few moments, his carefully laid plans would all fall apart.

*****************************************************

The second the Heartless disappeared, Sora's head shot up, as did everyone's. Xayn Shu was laughing like a madman, holding the Emperor's life in his hands. The first signs of despair began to show on his face.

"You had the opportunity to prevent this!" The Nobody announced, smirking down at Sora and Mulan (who were coincidentally standing next to each other). "This world is mine! I'll trade this old one, for the girl and the Keybearers!"

Sora traded glances with Mickey, Riku, Kairi, and Mulan, one at a time. They all looked equally grim. His grip on his Keyblade tightened; he had no idea what to do.

But the decision was taken out of his hands when Roxas exclaimed in his mind, "He's HERE!"

Sora's head shot up. Xayn Shu let out a cry of surprise. For his sword had just flown out of his hand, without causing the Emperor any pain. It soared through the air to two rapidly approaching flying figures. It landed in the left hand of one flying below.

"That's not very nice." Nehrut streaked toward the unarmed Xayn Shu and hit him with a mental blast, gently scooping the Emperor out of his grasp, and setting him down near some soldiers on the wall. Bariss took the sword and tossed it at Xayn Shu while he was still airborne, and it struck him in the side as he fell to the other side of the wall.

Nehrut and Bariss landed easily on the ground back outside the gates, and everyone ran towards them as fast as possible.

"We leave you alone for a few hours and look what happens." Nehrut said with a grin, right before Yuffie crushed him with a sisterly hug.

"You're absolutely hopeless without us, you know that?" Bariss continued, then Kairi was crushing her in her embrace. Sora was so relieved to see the two alive that he wasn't even shocked that she had cracked a joke. He also noticed that she wore a shield on her back, so he assumed that Vexen was no longer a problem.

"We thought you were dead!" Kairi exclaimed, hovering all around them. "I can't believe you're alive!"

"Aw, c'mon Princess," Nehrut said with his usual lopsided smile, "You thought a few thousand piles of rock, snow and ice would be enough to kill _me_? You'll need a lot more than that. Believe me, people have tried."

They had a brief laugh before the Heartless appeared again. There was a cry of fury, and Xayn Shu appeared above the gates again, wings beating.

"You think this is over!?" He shouted. Immediately, the Heartless sprang into action, attacking the reunited group.

Xayn Shu charged down at them, his sword back in hand. He brought it down hard on the one who had attacked him with it: Bariss.

Her brand new shield was in her left hand in a heartbeat. It intercepted the blade with a loud _clang_. He pushed down harder (while hovering in the air), but was thrown off when Nehrut struck at the blade, nearly knocking it from his hand. He and Kairi together took to the air, striking at him from either side as the Heartless closed in on the others below.

Kairi slashed at his stomach, and he deflected it, when he tried to strike back, Nehrut's blade was in the way. He lunged at his neck, and he lost altitude to keep away from it. The girl blasted down at him with Light, and it caught him full in the chest. He landed hard on the ground on top of an Assault Rider. He picked himself off of its back.

Before he could take flight again, he found King Mickey all over him. The King's Keyblade was a blur of gold, he leapt at his head, and struck at his face. He was just barely able to bring his blade up in time to block the strike. The King pushed off the blade with his own, and went through an arc over his head and to his other side. He destroyed a Shadow, before twisting around to strike at his back.

The Nobody twisted around to block the attack, and aimed a strike of his own at the diminutive king. He blocked it, and leapt straight into the air, striking at his face. He was successful in leaving a mark across his forehead. He snarled, and struck vertically down at him.

Mickey held his blade horizontally over his head, and caught the strike. Xayn Shu pressed down as hard as he could, trying to break past his guard. Suddenly Mushu was standing on top of the King's head, smoke pouring from his flaring nostrils. He took a deep breath, and flames burst from his gaping mouth.

The Nobody released the King's blade and staggered back, he beat his wings once and he was back in the air. But he wasn't alone.

Riku was just feet away, Way to Dawn in one hand. His Guardian floated dutifully behind him. Riku stretched out his hand, and blasted Dawn energy at the Nobody. He shot farther into the air, evading the blasts. Riku followed him.

The Guardian streaked ahead of him, leaving a glowing trail of orange in the air. It was soon right in front of Xayn Shu. The Nobody swung his sword, but the Guardian brought up one of its muscled arms, and blocked the strike easily.

Before he could do anything else, it grabbed him firmly by both shoulders, and started to squeeze. He dropped his blade somewhere into the fray below them. Riku floated up and occupied the space in between its arms.

Xayn Shu stared at him for a moment, and brought up his knee into Riku's stomach. He managed to break his concentration long enough for the Guardian to loosen its grip. He fell for a moment, before taking flight again.

He cruised above the battlefield for a moment before he found his weapon. Yuffie had it in her hand, and was using it to fend off a few Heartless, admiring it in the moonlight when she had a chance.

This aroused a bit of false anger within him. He shot toward her, and snatched it from her hands in midair. He landed again, and swung hard at her waist. She jumped backwards, and drew a dagger from her belt. He swung again. She displayed a surprising amount of strength for a girl her size and build, and blocked his much larger blade with her own.

She dodged way from his follow-up strike, and tossed the knife at him. It clipped his shoulder, and flew into a Rapid Thruster. Xayn Shu struck at her again, but she was no longer there, only a greyish cloud of smoke.

Then he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around and received a face full of boot. He stumbled backwards just a bit, and struck at her head. She brought up her shuriken and blocked it. She disappeared in another cloud of smoke, and in her place were Donald and Goofy.

Goofy smashed his shield into his chest, and he gave ground. He swung at his head, but it was blocked by the shield. Bolts of electricity rushed from the head of Donald's staff, and impacted with his chest. He flew backwards, and beat his wings a few frantic times, and he was airborn again.

But Nehrut was right there, and he was blasted right back onto his back. Sora was above him now, striking at his head. He rolled away from it, and lept back onto his feet. Both of their blades met with a flash of light. Xayn Shu swiped at his head, but Sora ducked under it easily. He stabbed at his stomach, but for a man of such bulk, he moved surprisingly quickly away from it.

He counter-attacked, and only succeeded in removing a single hair from the Keybearer's spiky head. He followed up with a strike at his legs, which he blocked. Sora lept into the air and swung at his head. Xayn Shu parried it, and was about to strike back, when Bariss's whip struck him in the chest (a very sore spot by now).

He switched track, and ran toward her. She now held her shield in her left hand, and used it to block his downward strike. She put her whip on her belt and pulled out Rose Blade. She reached past the shield, and stabbed it into his stomach.

He let out a grunt of pain, and leapt away from the blade. He took to the air just in time to avoid Sora's blade.

And, of course, Kairi was there with her own Keyblade glowing with Light. She swung at the Nobody, nearly knocking his blade from his hand yet again. She kicked him in the chest, sending him reeling backwards, and then followed up with a strike at his midsection.

He blocked the strike, and backed away from her. She came on hard, her blade coming from all directions. He was so preoccupied with the girl that he didn't notice the flaming chakrams coming up from the ground. They struck both of his wings, scorching feathers, and sending him back to the ground.

He landed on his back for the fourth time in the past few minutes. His own sword landed on the ground next to him, nearly beheading him. He picked it up from the ground, and stood. Mulan was cutting a path through the Heartless on her way to him.

He snarled, and charged at her. He brought his blade down on hers. They pressed against the other's blade with all their strength. Xayn Shu seemed to be winning, until Mulan angled her blade toward the ground. His own sword slid down its length. She slid to the side, freeing his blade from hers.

She drove her blade into his side, further opening the wound Bariss had given him with his own sword.

He let out an animal-like cry of pain; it ripped through the air like a blade. It echoed through the night air, loud in everyone's ears despite the noise of the battle.

Everything seemed to move in slow motion for the next few moments. The combatants below stopped what they were doing, and turned to look at the dying Nobody. Leaderless, the Heartless sank into the ground, or opened up different Corridors of Darkness in retreat. Less than two-hundred were left to escape. The soldiers at the top of the walls stared, mouths agape.

Mulan's sword ripped free of the Nobody's flesh, and clouds of darkness shot from the wound.

When time started to act normally again, the grounds outside the city gates were nearly empty, apart from the thirteen warriors, and the Nobody, who was now on the ground, fading away into darkness.

They all converged on the spot from their separate corners of the battleground. They stood over the dying Nobody. Lying on his back, he glared up at them with dull hatred in his feral eyes, which were beginning to go foggy.

"You'll regret this." He said. "My death won't slow him down. You will _all_ regret what you have done."

He faded away totally as he finished his last sentence, becoming black clouds that floated into the air, and into the sky.

They watched the clouds rise into the sky, silent for several seconds, before they heard extremely loud cheering coming from the city. They looked at the top of the wall, and could pick out Yao, Ling, and Chein Po. They were leaping up and down in joy, and were probably cheering the loudest. Chein Po slapped the Emperor on the back, nearly knocking him over the edge.

Then they broke out into relieved laughter.

"Hey!" Mickey exclaimed, pointing at the gates to the city. The world's Keyhole had just appeared on the left door in a flash of golden light. In now stuck out, black and gaping, against the deep red of the door.

"My turn!" The King said, summoning his blade. He pointed it at the door, and a beam of gold light shot from the tip, shooting into the Keyhole. It let out a great light, brighter than the first, and it was gone.

Immediately after, the doors were pushed open, and they walked toward them. On the way, Mushu leapt from Mulan's shoulder, to the top of Shang's head, and down onto Nehrut's. "Soooo... Tell us what happened with you two while you were alone..."

Everyone looked at the two in interest.

"C'mon, tell Uncle Mushu every little, private, intimate, potentially embarrassing detail..."

Bariss reached out and flicked him off his head with her forefinger and thumb.

The second they walked into the courtyard, the soldiers' cheering got louder, and they soon found themselves hoisted onto the shoulders of a few dozen of them. It wasn't something that they were entirely comfortable with. They were praised as the saviors of China, and slowly brought over to the steps. The Emperor was waiting up there for them.

When the soldiers set them down, they bowed respectfully to him. The cheering slowly died away as the man spoke.

"Once again, you have saved us all." He said. "And we are forever in your debt. Know that whatever may happen to you on your travels, you will always find friends here. If there is anything we may do for you..."

Mickey spoke. "If you find anything worthwhile about the Brotherhood of the Dark, then just let us know."

"Uh, actually we could do with some-"

"We will keep an eye out for trouble." The Emperor said, not hearing the rest. Somebody hit Mickey in the back of the head. "But we do have this..." He reached in the inside pocket of his robes, and pulled out a small, silver charm. He handed it to Sora.

It had an unfamiliar emblem on it. It looked something like a rocket ship in front of a sphere with two wings on either side of it. Sora pocketed it.

"My men found it days before this 'Xayn Shu' arrived here. I thought that you could put it to better use than I could."

"Thank you, Your Excellency."

The Emperor seemed to have finished talking, so the crowd broke into loud cheers once more.

Eventually, the group was separated in the sea of soldiers, brimming with endless questions about other worlds, the Keyblades, the Heartless. In other words; questions that took a long time to answer.

Some time later, Nehrut made it away from the mass of soldiers. He sat on the wall, and looked over the landscape that had once been a battlefield. He lifted his eyes to the moon now and then.

"Sooooo? Did anything really happen?"

Mushu had found him. He was sitting on his shoulder now.

"No Mushu, nothing happened."

"Seriously man!"

"Why is it that every time I'm alone with a woman you assume that we _did_ something? It's Port Royal all over again!"

"Hey! Hey! Hey! Anamaria was diggin' _all_ over you, man."

"She's like ten years older than me!"

"So!?"

"And you wonder why I sent that rock of yours to Hollow Bastion... Of course it was supposed to be Traverse Town."

"Look, man." Mushu pointed one clawed finger in his face. "You've got looks, charms, talent. Women should be all over you boy! And I'm talkin' a dozen at a time, boy! I'm just trying to speed up the process a little."

"I appreciate the effort Mushu, but if some good, decent woman ever gave me the time of day, I'd only stay with her."

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_Yeah, Xayn Shu went down quickly. I know. And Mushu used to be Nehrut's partner. I know._

_You liked it. I know... Maybe. ^^;_

_Please review!_


	57. Chapter 56: Bariss's Story

_Next chapter up! I know everyboody has already guessed at Bariss's origins, but here's the specifics! Enjoy!_

_Bariss: "Goody. My painful, personal, back-story is now on display for the entire world to see."_

_Tell you what... I'll have Nehrut give you a kiss back-stage if you go along with it._

_Bariss: "DEAL! DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else he wants to use!"_

_----------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Chapter 56: Bariss's Story

"The heroes of China couldn't have gotten something else after saving the whole, stupid world!?" Axel was ranting in the crew lounge a few hours later.

"What are you talking about?" Roxas said, appearing from Sora's head. "You guys had a huge banquet! And the entire army was all over you!"

"Some of us more than others." Yuffie muttered, grinning. She had really enjoyed slapping Ling when he had tried to kiss her, and then watching Riku give him a black eye that would have made Yao proud.

Catching up on her train of thought, Riku wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her a bit closer to him. She leaned her head against his chest.

The crowd in the lounge thinned out a few minutes later, leaving Nehrut, Roxas, and later Namine, alone.

Nehrut had been unusually quiet throughout the previous conversation. He was laying down on one of the couches with his feet propped up on one of the arm rests. He stared into the air, looking thoughtful.

"Something up?" Roxas asked.

"Tell me..." Nehrut asked, not losing the glazed look in his eyes, "Did Bariss seem a bit different to you earlier?"

"You mean when she cracked a joke just before the fight broke out?"

"Afterwards."

"She did seem a little more distant than usual." Namine observed. "She seemed a bit sad."

"Hmmm..." Nehrut tried to think of what might have happened to upset her. Then, the words of Sora's replica came back to him.

"_Your father is dead, and your mother-"_

"_And what good are you to us anyway? You've got a toy whip, and a pretty antique knife. You don't even know any magic!"_

"The replica said some... disturbing things." He said to his companions.

"Like what?" Roxas asked.

"_Your father is dead, and your mother- oh, boo-freaking-hoo!_

"I probably shouldn't say."

Roxas seemed to understand. They chatted for a while longer about their next destination. Nehrut remembered it well, and Roxas had a few vague memories from being joined with Sora.

Then there was an interruption. Nehrut shot up from the couch, eyes clear.

"Bariss..." He muttered.

"Is she alright?" Namine asked, worried.

"Physically." He stood up, and began to walk to the door. "Sorry, but I have to check on her."

"Yeah, cheer her up like only you can, Nehrut." Roxas said with a smirk.

"What?"

"Well, you two have an _interesting_ relationship." Namine smiled cheekily.

"Look, if you think that we're romantically involved..."

"I never said 'romantically'." She countered, eyes twinkling.

Nehrut tried to hide the color rising in his cheeks, and left them room silently. He could sense Bariss's mind somewhere near the front of the ship, in the vicinity of the bridge. She was sad, and in incredible pain.

He found her just as she walked into the bridge. She walked in, and he could hear barely restrained sobbing. He walked in behind her quietly.

She sat in Donald's usual seat at the RADAR station. She was looking out the windows at the passing starscape, crying silently to herself. He walked over silently, hoping to comfort her. He placed a hand on her shoulder. She started, but didn't push him away. She placed one of her small hands on his.

They stayed like that for a few minutes while her sobs died away. He gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. "What is it?"

She was quiet for a moment, and then said simply, "I had a nightmare."

"The one from before?"

She looked at him curiously. He hung his head, and elaborated. "Sorry, but I took a look into your dreams that night to try and wake you up from it."

"I felt you there..." Bariss's voice was quiet.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked softly, leaning his back against the console.

Bariss replied in a whisper, "Okay..." She gripped his hand tight, as if it were a lifeline. She told her tale in a quiet voice.

"I was born in Radiant Garden. My parents were members of Ansem the Wise's royal knights. We lived a good life there. I think I might have met Kairi once or twice, it's hard to remember."

_There was gleaming, gold-colored castle, high, high up on a hill overlooking a tranquil village. This castle was bordered by lush, green trees on all sides._

_Standing in front of this castle were several people. A family of three was approaching another group in front of the castle gates composed of seven people._

_The mother of the family had long blonde hair, and was wearing long robes of royal green with an elegant golden trim. On her belt was a silver and green sai. Her red-headed husband wore robes of the same style, though the trim on his were a deep maroon. He had a green and black whip._

_The little girl standing between them holding each of her parents' hands was looking up at the castle in awe. No matter how often she came here, it was a wonderful sight._

_At the front of the group already at the gates was a man that could have been in his fifties. He had long, pale blonde hair and a goatee. He had warm, wise brown eyes, and was garbed in a long white coat, wearing a dark suit underneath it. He had a thick, dark, blood red scarf wrapped around his neck and shoulders._

_Ansem the Wise stepped up to the family with a smile and open arms. He embraced the father warmly like the old friend that he was. Then he turned to the mother and took her hand, placing a kiss upon it. He bent down to the young Bariss, and scooped her into his arms, hoisting her into the air over his head, causing her to laugh._

"My family was happy. Ansem and my dad were great friends. He treated us to dinner all the time. I met some of Ansem's apprentices, I remember I used to have a crush on Ienzo."(1)

Nehrut had to cover up a snort of laughter at that point. She rolled her eyes and went on.

_After Ansem set the still smiling Bariss on the ground, he said to the parents, "It's good to see you again, my friends! Come inside, please."_

_The six men behind Ansem were all wearing the same white coats, but without the scarf. They were Ansem's six apprentices. The two knights nodded respectfully to them as they passed, and were returned with short bows._

_The first was a man with dark brown hair and eyes, which were mostly concealed by a pair of sunglasses. His hair was tied back into a short pony-tail. The second had coal black hair, but it was tied into several dreadlocks around his head. He had brown eyes. The third was shorter and paler, and had dull red hair going down his back, and green eyes. The fourth was large, and muscular. He had black hair, and a square chin. His eyes were dull blue. The fifth was younger than the others, perhaps only nineteen. He had jet black hair which nearly covered his eyes, which were green._

"Things were great, until I was about six years old." She wiped a tear from her eye. "Then the Heartless came. I didn't learn most of the details until later, but apparently Xehanort wanted to test out their powers."

_The sixth apprentice was taller than any of them, and pretty well built. He had silver hair, which was spiked back on both sides of his face and at the top of his head, almost looking like horns. His dark brown eyes flashed toward Ansem's departing back, and then over to the mother's._

_Xehanort looked at the other apprentaces: Braig, Dilan, Even, Eleaus, and Ienzo. He allowed his lips to curl into a wicked smile._

"So... he let them run loose in town."

"What?" The pure, insane, barbaric, cruelty behind this act spoke volumes on who and what Xehanort was. "That..." He searched his vocabulary for an appropriate word. "Madman!"

"The Heartless seemed eager to please. They leveled buildings, and attacked everybody they could find. It didn't make a difference who they attacked, men, women, children..." Her head sank, and her eyes filled up with tears. "Just over eight-hundred escaped."

Radiant Garden had had a population of nearly nine-million before the attack. Several times that number.(2)

"My parents were down in the middle of the action where they could be of the most help to people. They told me to hide in our house, but of course, I was too stubborn to listen. I ran out there right after them."

"So, I'm guessing you were a problem child..."

She let out a short laugh, and wiped away a tear that slipped out because of it. "They saw me, and moved around me to try and protect me. And, for a while, it seemed like we might have been able to get away."

"But, then this guy showed up. I guess it was Xehanort's Heartless." Her voice got even softer, if that was even possible. "My dad ran toward him."

It was too much. She broke down into hysteric sobs. Nehrut shot to her side, and embraced her. She clung to him, wrapping her arms tight around his waist. He stood there, and let her cry into his shoulder. She didn't need to finish the sentence, he knew already.

He knew that pain all too well. He held her tighter, and tried to ease the pain in her mind. It was one of his little tricks; reducing certain emotions, or magnifying others. Now he tried to reduce the sadness and magnify serenity. It helped her a bit, she was quieter, but the tears kept flowing.

So he let her continue, rubbing her back comfortingly. Gradually, she stopped. And she looked him in the face, drying her tears. He took a brief leap of faith and wiped one away with the pad of his thumb. "I'm sorry." She said. "I shouldn't get this way over-"

"Don't worry." He interrupted. "I'm sorry for bringing it up at all."

"No, I think it's about time I got this off my chest." She took a deep breath. "My father, well you get it. But my mother was kidnapped by that 'madman'."

And just like that, Nehrut understood what it was that Bariss fought for.

"It's your mother you're trying to find."

Bariss nodded silently, and fingered the necklace around her neck. "Serndask said he would help me find her after I did a few 'jobs' for him. He used me for stealth missions, capturing people on other worlds and bringing them back to his base. I lived on the streets my whole life after Radiant Garden, stealing what I needed to get by, so I knew how to go unnoticed."

Nehrut found it hard to believe that nobody had noticed a pretty girl in a crowd, but he didn't press the matter. Now he understood how she had gotten into Disney Castle so easily.

"I thought he was my only chance of finding her again." She continued, still clinging to him. "But I must have been deluding myself. He probably wouldn't have helped me whatever I did. And all I've been doing is hurting people."

She buried her face in his shoulder, sniffling away the last of her tears.

"You don't have to worry about that anymore, Bariss." Nehrut said, holding her close. "I promise, I'm going to help you find your mom. Whatever it takes."

She sniffed one last time, then lifted her head. She smiled wearily at him. "I know. Thank you."

She leaned up toward his face, and kissed him softly on the cheek. She pulled away after a full five seconds, and by that time that cheek was impossibly red.

"Thank you so much."

"Anytime you need me," He said, unconsciously running one hand through her long, soft hair, "I'll be there."

"Then, would you mind staying with me?" She asked, feeling a little awkward. "Just, for tonight?"

He gulped, and then said, "Sure."

They walked back down the hallways to the lounge. Roxas and Namine had left (for which Nehrut was very grateful, they'd tell the whole ship about this). He situated himself on one of the couches, and felt the bees from Christmas Town return to his stomach when Bariss leaned her entire body against him. Hesitating for a second, he wrapped his arms back around her waist.

She sighed softly.

"What's your mother's name?"

She snuggled a little deeper into his chest, and just before she fell asleep, she said one word, "Kanshi."(3)

Nehrut stayed awake for a little while longer, simply staring at her beautiful, sleeping face. After a while, he slowly leaned his head down, and pressed his lips gently to her forehead.

He fell asleep minutes later, content, with his usual lopsided smile on his face.

***************************************************

Roxas and Namine came in seconds later, grinning widely at the sight before them.

"Should we tell them we heard everything?" Roxas asked her.

She shook her head, entwining her hand with his, and placing a kiss on his cheek. "That story was for his ears only. Just as well they think it stayed that way."

"Then we probably shouldn't tell anyone else, huh?"

"No, Roxas."

"Could we at least tell them that they fell asleep on the same couch?"

Namine smiled widely. "Oh, I think we can do that..."

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_Ta-da! Tell me what you think, please. And to all my fellow Americans out there: Happy Independence Day!_

_(1) You and about every other fangirl in the world._

_(2) I just made up this number, I really have no idea. I just used this because it's a bit more than New York City. (shrugs)_

_(3) Kanshisha: Japanese for 'Guardian'_

_Please leave a review!_


	58. Chapter 57: The Brethren Court

_Alright, let me say a few things first: I skipped directly to World's End because I was too lazy to make an alternate ending to Dead Man's Chest, and didn't want to leave the ending up in the air with Jack's death. So, hopefully, this works out well enough._

_Kairi: "DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else he decides to use."_

_---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Chapter 57: The Brethren Court

Salty air and the sound of crashing waves greeted Sora as his feet touched down on the wooden deck. The boards creaked below his feet as he walked around the deck of the familiar ship. The _Black Pearl_ hadn't changed much since it had returned to Jack Sparrow's ownership.

"Woah..." Riku said, looking around. "This place is..."

"Kinda different?" Sora finished with a grin.

When Nehrut touched down seconds later with Bariss and Axel, he inhaled deeply and cringed. "Yeah, this place reeks of Jack Sparrow. Sweat, rum, and general lawlessness... pretty distinctive."

By the time the rest of the crew landed, Sora realized that this particular place was totally unfamiliar to him.

They were at a small island with an impressive mountain range on it. They were dotted with green trees. The Black Pearl sat docked in a cove of this island, facing what looked like a smaller island in the center of the cove. But it was comprised with the remains of hundreds of wrecked ships.

Lights were glowing all over the 'town', occasionally allowing a glimpse of its occupants. Even from a distance, the way they carried themselves, and their motley appearances, revealed that they were pirates.

All around the _Pearl_, either docked or floating freely, were huge numbers of ships. Most of them were dark, and quiet. The pirates were no longer on their vessels, and instead were likely on the island.

"Uh, where are we?" Goofy asked.

"I think I've heard of this place..." Nehrut said, staring intently at the town. "Jack mentioned it to me. I think this is Shipwreck Cove, in the heart of Shipwreck Island. And that's the town of Shipwreck."

"Pirates are pretty unimaginative when it comes to naming things aren't they?" Yuffie observed.

"I met a guy who'd lost both of his arms and part of his eye last time I was here." Nehrut said. "Know what Jack called him? 'Larry.'"

"Seriously?" Yuffie asked.

"What's significant about Shipwreck Cove?" Mickey asked.

"It's the meeting place of the Brethren Court." He explained. "There are nine Pirate Lords that control a certain portion of the oceans, you see. Jack is one of them (don't ask me how), and they make up the leaders of the Court. They only meet when the entire pirate population is in extreme danger."

"We're in the right place, then." Sora said.

"All these ships can only mean that a meeting is taking place now." Riku said, gazing across the water at them. "We should check out the town."

So, the ten of them walked across the gangplank at the stem of the ship to the dock. They walked silently around a winding series of staircases, to the place where they could hear plenty of noise. Most of the pirates they passed were walking in the same direction. They received some strange looks from those men that passed.

After several minutes of searching, they found exactly what they were looking for.

There was a long meeting room. The wooden walls slanted toward each other to where they met in a point at the ceiling. A long, sturdy, wooden table was in the center, stretching across the room. There were only nine chairs sitting at it.

The room was filled to bursting with pirates. Sitting at six of the nine tables were pirates that Sora was unfamiliar with:

An Arab pirate with a dark red and green turban and long, dark brown hair and a mustache. A Frenchman with pale face makeup and a dirty powdered wig. An older Asian woman with white face makeup and glazed over eyes. A tall, well-built black man with a braided beard. An old Hindu man with a green turban and a beard Yen Sid would have envied. And a short Spanish man with a graying beard and mustache.

Nearest them were three people that Sora recognized instantly. Along with a handful he had met briefly during his last visit.

Jack Sparrow (now wearing his grubby trenchcoat. His beloved tricorne hat was sitting on the table), stood near the head of the table. His saber and pistol were at his belt. He was flanked by two very different individuals.

The first was a young woman with long, dirty blonde hair and brown eyes. Elizabeth Swan looked a lot different from when Sora had last seen her. She had traded in her golden dress for an oriental, dark green and gold outfit that looked like it could be a set of light armor. A long sword was sheathed at her belt.

The other one was supposed to be dead.

Hector Barbossa looked much as Sora had seen him before his death: Scraggly brownish beard and hair. He wore his wide-brimmed hat with the ostrich feather. There was a little Capuchin monkey with a tiny outfit standing on his left shoulder. His dark eyes scanned the room.

The ones behind them were members of Jack's new crew. Joshamee Gibbs, Cotton (and his parrot), Marty, Pintel, and Ragetti.

The pirates had been in the middle of a heated discussion when they appeared in the doorway. All conversation abruptly stopped when they noticed the newcomers. They looked at them for a moment in silence, and then there was the tell-tale clicking of firearms being readied.

Sure enough, several varieties of guns were pointing at them. Pistols, shotguns, and military-style rifles.

"Hold your fire!" Three voices exclaimed. Jack, Elizabeth, and Barbossa.

"They're with us mates!" Jack called to the room at large. Not many people seemed reassured (since this was after all, Jack Sparrow), but the guns were put away, at least. Jack gestured at them to come fully into the room. "Perfect timing lads, lasses. Might you be willing to provide us a bit of aid, here?"

"The great Captain Sparrow needs our help?" Nehrut asked, one eyebrow raised.

"We _all_ could use help, lad." Barbossa's eyes shifted from him to Sora. "Pleasure to see you again, boy." Though by the sound of his voice, it wasn't.

"Sorry to interrupt, but does someone care to explain the situation here?"

"Barbossa was brought back to life, by our acquaintance, Tia Dalma." Elizabeth explained. "I know that's what you're probably most confused about. He's here because he's one of the nine Pirate Lords."

"And we're here because the pirate way of life is in danger." Barbossa continued. "Our enemies have united, and vow to destroy us."

"Which enemies are those, exactly?" Riku asked.

"Lord Cutler Beckett, of the East India Trading Company." Jack said. "Right nasty piece of work that man. Hates we pirates enough to seek out the heart of Davy Jones."

"Davy Jones?" Sora didn't know anyone who had actually gone by the name. Though he, like anyone had heard the phrase 'Davy Jones' Locker.'

"Heart of Davy Jones?" Kairi asked.

"Many years ago." Gibbs said, stepping forward. He nodded at Nehrut as if he knew him (and he did). "Davy Jones was a sailor, until he ran afoul of that which vexes all men."

At their silence, Jack rolled his eyes. "A woman. He fell in love."

"Aye. And that woman was the sea goddess, Calypso."

_Not more gods._

"She gave him the task of ferrying the souls of those who died at sea to the next life, with his ship, the _Flying Dutchman_. But he would have to stay at sea, and not step foot on land for ten years."

"But after those ten years were up," Barbossa took over, "Calypso wasn't there."

"In a rage," Gibbs continued, "He cut out his heart, and locked it away in a chest, and hid it far away. Then, he told the first Brethren Court, how they could bind Calypso into a human form. Giving them control of the seas."

"But then opened the door to people like Beckett." Barbossa said. "He recently acquired the heart."

"And he's been using it as leverage against Jones." Jack said. "They've been sinking every pirate ship they've come across."

"And he's been passing strict laws regarding piracy." Elizabeth said. "Even looking at a pirate earns you a trip to the gallows."

"So this is why you're all here?" Sora concluded. "To do something about it?"

"Aye." One of the other pirates said. "And if we could get on with this..."

Sora and the others went silent, and Barbossa stepped toward the table. "Aye, time be of the essence. I hereby convene this, the fourth Brethren Court. To confirm your Lordship and right to be heard, present now your pieces of eight, me fellow captains.

Ragetti picked up a wooden tray from the table, and walked around the table to the first captain (the Hindu man). He dropped a snuff box fashioned out of a calf's horn into the tray.

As the Frenchman dropped a queen of spades playing card into the tray, Pintel and Kairi leaned toward Gibbs, confused.

"Those aren't pieces of eight..." Kairi said in a whisper.

"They're just pieces of junk!" Pintel finished.

Gibbs nodded, and explained. "Aye, the original plan was to use nine pieces of eight to bind Calypso, but when the first Court met, the Brethren were worth one; skint broke."

Pintel still looked a little confused. "So change the name."

"To what? To 'Nine Pieces of Whatever-We-Happen-to-Have-in-Our-Pockets-at-the-Time?'" He rolled his eyes. "Oh yes, that sounds very piratey."

The Spanish man added a broken bottle-neck with a cork. Then the black man added a pair of tobacco cutters. The Asian woman added a pair of spectacles. And the Arab added a small, pewter brandy goblet.

When Ragetti came back around to their end of the table, Barbossa held out his hand, palm up. "Master Ragetti, if you will."

"I kept it safe for you, just like you said when you gave it to me." He said.

"Aye, you did. Now I need it back." He wacked him in the back of the head. His right wooden eye easily popped out of it's socket and into his hand. Kairi wretched. Barbossa dropped the eye into the tray.

Jack reluctantly put in one of the coins hanging from his bandanna, woven into Moroccan beads. And Sora was surprised when Elizabeth added something as well: a Jade Captain's knot.

"Now then," Barbossa addressed everyone in the room, "Our location has been betrayed. Jones and Beckett are on their way here."

"Who is this betrayer!?" The black Pirate Lord asked. Looking around the room with anger etched on his face.

"Not likely anybody among us." Barbossa said.

"Where's Will?" Sora looked around.

"Not among us." Jack replied.

Will_ betrayed them?_ Somehow Sora couldn't imagine it.

"It matters not how they found us." Barbossa said. "The question is: What will we do, now that they have?"

"We fight!" Elizabeth said.

Instantly, half the room burst into laughter. "Shipwreck Cove is a fortress!" The Asian woman said. "A well supplied fortress! There is no need to fight if they cannot get to us!"

"You'd stay hidden safe and sound inside your fortress while others died, Ching?" Nehrut said, glaring at her (though she couldn't see it). "I thought you liked to take risks."

Sora thought he might have been pushing his luck a bit. Then, the two men on either side of Ching pulled out their weapons; a broadsword and a pistol. They looked more than ready to kill him where he stood. The first had aimed his pistol, when Ching raised her hand. They put their weapons away.

"Do not press your luck, telepath." She said coldly, "The service you performed for me in Tortuga was not _that_ great."

Barbossa held out his hands and brought silence back to the room. "There be a third choice." He walked around the room as he spoke.

"In another age, at this very spot, the first Brethren Court captured the sea goddess, and bound her in her bones." There was some general mumbling of assent, and a few nodding heads. "That was a mistake." They looked at him in surprise.

"Oh, we tamed the sea for ourselves, aye. But opened the door to Beckett! And his ilk! Better were the days when mastery of seas came not from bargains struck with hellish creatures, but from the sweat of his brow and the strength of his back alone! You all know this to be true!"

He had circled the room, and was now back at his original spot. "Gentlemen... Ladies." He paused for dramatic effect. "We must free Calypso."

This statement was greeted by total, absolute silence. Even the waves outside seemed to have gone quiet. Even the monkey and the bird were silent.

"Anyone got a pin?" Roxas asked, though he knew only Sora would hear him. "I bet I can hear it hit the ground."

_That's not funny._

"Yeah, I'm running out of material."

The room was silent for exactly five seconds after Barbossa's proposal. Then a nightmare was unleashed.

Loud shouting filled the room, the Pirate Lords leapt from their seats, and threats and accusations flew toward Barbossa.

"Shoot him!"

"Cut out his tongue!"

"Shoot him _and_ cut out his tongue! Then shoot his tongue!" Jack threw in excitedly. "Maybe trim that scraggly beard."

Soon after, a full-out brawl broke out between the two halves of the pirates. One half agreed with Barbossa, the other didn't. Jack, Barbossa, Elizabeth, and Sora's groups stayed by the door, and watched.

"This is madness!" Bariss exclaimed.

"This is politics." Jack corrected.

Barbossa rolled his eyes and stood up on the table. He took his pistol from his belt and fired a single shot into the air through the roof. At the sound of the gunshot, the fighting came to a complete halt.

"It was the first court that released Calypso, we should be the ones to set her free! And in her gratitude, she will see fit to grant us boons!"

"Whose boons? Your boons?" Jack asked. "Utterly deceptive twaddlespit, says I."

"If ya have a better alternative, please share." Barbossa stepped off the table.

"This oughta be good." Nehrut said to Axel.

"Cuttlefish." Was all Jack said.

"See?"

Jack walked around the room like Barbossa had. "Let us not, dear friends, forget our... dear friends the cuttlefish. Pen 'em up together and they will devour each other without a second thought. Human nature, ain't it? Or... fish nature."

He stopped behind Ching, and spoke directly to her. "So, yes. We _could_ hole up here, well provisioned and well armed, and half of us would be dead within the month! Which seems quite grim to me any way you slice it. Or..." He kept walking.

"As my luni- _colleague_ so naively suggests, we could release Calypso. And we can pray that she will be merciful... I rather doubt it. Can we pretend that she is anything other than a woman scorned, whose fury like which Hell hath no? We cannot."

He had reached the other side of the room. "Therefore, we are left with one option. I agree with –and I cannot believe that the words are coming out of me mouth- Captain Swan. We must fight." Elizabeth looked extremely satisfied.

"You've always run away from a fight!" Barbossa accused.

"Oooh, now watch this." Nehrut said.

"Have not!"

"You have so!"

"Have not!"

"You have so!"

"Have not!"

"You have so!"

"Have _not_!"

"You have so and you know it!"

All throughout that increasingly childish exchange, the other occupants of the room had followed the two back and forth as if watching a tennis game.

"Have not. I have only ever embraced that oldest and noblest of pirate traditions. I submit that here, now, that is what we all decide. We must fight... to run away!"

"Noble?" Kairi asked into Sora's ear. He shrugged.

Suddenly, the room was filled with exclamations of 'Aye!'

But Barbossa wasn't moved. "As per the code, an act of war (and this be exactly that) can only be declared by the Pirate King."

"You made that up!"

"Did I now?" He smirked. "I call out Captain Teague; Keeper of the Code!"

There was a collective gasp. Jack looked slightly put off, and the corner of his mouth began to twitch.

Sora was about to ask what the big deal was about this Captain Teague when the Hindu man nudged one of his aids, who spoke for him. "Sri Sumbhajee declares this all to be folly!" The aid exclaimed.

"Oh boy..." Nehrut closed his eyes.

"Hang the code! Who gives a-"

A single gunshot rang out. And then there was a single, clean, bloodless hole directly through the middle of the man's chest. He was completely still and silent, before he fell over backwards, and landed with a dull _thud_.

The room was totally silent again for the next time in the past few minutes. All eyes turned toward the doorway the shot had come from.

A man stood silhouetted against the pale gold light from a single lantern. He held up his smoking pistol and blew away a few wisps of it from the barrel. "The code is the law."

He walked down into the light, and Sora was astonished to see an exact replica of Jack Sparrow with about thirty years added on.

"Is that...?"

"Yep." Nehrut replied, already knowing the question.

"And he...?"

"Uh-huh."

Teague walked slowly toward the table. He turned his head slightly, and nodded toward Nehrut as he did. "Safety and Peace." He muttered. He stopped at Jack's back. "You're in my way boy." He stepped to the side.

Teague gestured to someone in the direction he had come. Out came two extremely old men, carrying a huge book between them. When they set it on the table, he opened it up slowly, almost reverently. He seemed to know exactly what page he wanted. He scanned the page for a moment, and then tapped a certain spot with his finger. "Ahhh... Barbossa is right."

"There's not been a king since the first Court!" The Frenchman said. "And that's not likely to change." The Pirate King was elected by popular vote. Each Lord would only vote for themselves.

"I call for a vote!" Jack said.

"Okay, what's he doing?" Sora wondered out loud. There were a few annoyed sounds from the pirates. Teague, his job done, walked to a corner of the room, picked up a guitar, and began to play a quiet tune.

"I vote for Ammand, the Corsair!"

"Capitain Chevalle, the Penniless Frenchman."

"Sri Sumbhajee votes for Sri Sumbhajee."

"Mistress Ching!"

"Gentleman Jocard."

"Elizabeth Swan."

"Barbossa."

"Villanueva!"

The guitar stopped playing when they reached the final Pirate Lord. Jack half-smiled.

"Elizabeth Swan."

"...What?"

"I know. Curious, isn't it?"

Instantly, the Pirate Lords broke out into loud protests, trying to convince them to change his vote, or at least vote for himself and be done with it.

"Am I to understand that you lot will _not_ be keeping to the code, then?" Jack asked calmly, knowing what would happen.

A guitar string suddenly snapped, and everyone noticed. Teague sent a strange look at the others, murder in his eyes. The Pirate Lords fell silent immediately, and slowly sank back into their chairs.

"Very well." Ching said, after sending a –hopefully- calming gesture toward Teague. "What say you, Captain Swan, King of the Brethren Court?"

Sora knew he would remember her look of pure determination for the rest of his life. "Prepare every vessel that floats. At dawn, we're at war."

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_Yay... Anyway, hope you liked reading what was basically a retelling of the scene from the third movie. --;_

_I'll be going out of town for a few weeks soon, so I'll try to update before I leave._

_Please review!_


	59. Chapter 58: Bargains with the EITC

_I'm back! Anybody miss me?_

_(A few people raise their hands slowly)_

_Ah... Okay. Thanks! You guys are all my new best friends. Anywho, this is a sort of short chapter, so I'll update another one fairly soon._

_Davy Jones: "DarthKingdom doesn't own Disney, Kingdom Hearts, Square Enix, or anything. Who wants to join my crew? We'll sail up to the Square Enix office, and take the game for ourse-"_

_Hush._

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Chapter 58: Bargains with the EITC

In the captain's quarters of the East India Trading Company flagship _HMS Endeavour_, a bargain was being made. There were five very different people in the room.

The first was a young man with dark brown hair and a thin beard and mustache wearing a thin black jacket. He was standing by the window at the back of the ship, watching the sea churning behind them.

The second was a slightly older man in a dark violet coat. He wore a powdered wig, and had an arrogant air, as if he was used to seeing things done only his way, or else bad things happened.

The third was a terrifying sight. He was over six feet tall and wore a dark blue trench coat crusted with barnacles and all other manner of small sea creatures. Same with his tricorn. His head looked like an octopus replacing a human head, with the many tentacles hanging down his face like a moving beard. His left arm was a huge crab-like claw crusted with algae. His right index finger was a long tentacle. His right leg was that of a crab's, and resembled a peg leg.

The fourth was the exact opposite. She had long, waist-length fiery red hair and brown eyes. She wore a brown, sleeveless top, and had stylistically wound red bandages around her forearms, only exposing her fingers. Her feet were propped up on the table as she leaned back in her chair facing the second man.

The fifth stood near her. He was garbed in a black cloak. He had long black hair, streaked with grey, that was tied back in a long pony tail. He had a jagged scar on his left cheek, and an eyepatch over his right eye (the other one being bright yellow).

William Turner II. Lord Cutler Beckett. Davy Jones. Liasa. Xigbar.

"I admit that your offer intrigues me." Beckett said, pouring a glass of hot, steaming tea into two china glasses. He took one for himself and offered one to Liasa. "Though I must admit, I don't believe that your aid will be entirely necessary."

"Don't be so sure." She replied, pushing the cup of tea away. "The Keybearers are on this world now, and your little soldiers aren't good enough to stand against them."

"I'd say that _my_ crew would be enough to deal with them." Jones said, walking up and down the length of the room, his leg making a clunking noise whenever it touched the ground. "Nigh impossible to kill."

"So was Barbossa's crew." Will said, smirking. Jones glared at him from across the room.

"Do not _test_ me, _Master_ Turner." He said the first word grudgingly, apparently disappointed that he wasn't allowed to kill him. But Will looked totally unafraid.

"The cutie has a point." Liasa said, smiling slyly. "You need my Heartless. And all I want in exchange for our services is the Keybearers. You can kill the rest."

"And why do you want them?"

"That's our business, little man." Xigbar said. "Not yours."

Beckett's lip curled in distaste. He took a sip from his cup and said, "You make a valid point. Three of these off-world urchins defeated those undead pirates before. But they've also defeated vast numbers of Heartless as well. So how do I know that this arrangement will be worth it?"

"Because you have quantity, and I have quality. Our forces together will easily destroy the pirates, you'll have Jack Sparrow's head on your desk, and I get some Keybearers for my friends." She turned her head to Jones. "And when this is over, _you_ my scaly friend may have a spot in the Brotherhood of the Dark if you want it."

A thoughtful look came to Jones's face. "I'll... _consider_ your offer."

"But Jones will stay here on this world until our task with the Brethren Court is finished." Beckett said, glancing meaningfully at Jones.

Liasa smirked. "So, we have an accord?" She held out one slender hand. He chuckled low in his throat and shook it.

"Now on to more pressing business." Beckett said. "Jones, I believe that you're familiar with a person named 'Calypso.'"

Jones's head snapped toward him, an expression of shock and unease on his green face. He quickly tried to disguise it by acting casual. He walked toward the window. "Not a person. A heathen god who delights in tempting men with their wildest dreams and then revealing them as not but ash!" His even tone had turned into a snarl and he was talking faster. "The worlds are well rid of her."

"Not quite so rid of, actually." Will said, more casually than Jones. "The Brethren Court intends to release her."

Shock once again showed on Jones's face. "No! They cannot! The first Brethren Court promised to imprison her forever. That was our agreement!"

"Your agreement?" Xigbar asked.

It seemed that Jones had said more than he had intended to. "I... showed them how to bind her. She could not be trusted." He turned away from them all. "She... She gave me no choice! We must find her..."

"You loved her..." Will looked genuinely interested for the first time since Liasa and Xigbar had come aboard the ship. Jones snapped around to face the man. "She was the one... And you betrayed her."

Jones took a few menacing steps toward Will, a look of pure rage on his face. "She _pretended_ to love me. She betrayed _me_!" He was directly in his face now.

Will calmly replied. "And after which betrayal did you cut out your heart, I wonder?"

Jones had murder in his eyes, but he only continued to glare at Will.

"You will free my father." He said to Jones. He walked around him and addressed Beckett. "And _you_ will guarantee Elizabeth's safety. Along with my own. Or I won't be taking you any farther to Shipwreck Cove." He held out a compass that was very familiar to anyone who knew Jack Sparrow.

"Done." Beckett said, calmly taking another sip of tea.

"Xigbar," Liasa said, standing up. "Make sure our Heartless are hyped up for a big battle, they're about to get a lot more hearts." He grinned, nodded, and disappeared through a corridor of Darkness.

Jones walked out to the deck in silence, and she followed him. The two walked across a wide gangplank to a ship that looked as if it had come from the bottom of the ocean. Indeed, it had spent a lot of time down there before the East India Trading Company had moved some of its soldiers in.

"So, tall, dark, and scaly." She said, passing up a crewman that looked like a humanoid hammerhead shark. "What exactly _are_ you?"

"What _am_ I?" He asked, not turning around, just walking toward his own cabin. He didn't sound like he was particularly pleased to have her company, regardless of the fact that she was pretty easy on the eyes. "Speak sense woman, or not at all."

"Your heart is intact, and separate from your body, yet there's no Heartless." She elaborated. They walked into Davy Jones's quarters. It was rather like the rest of the ship. The walls were covered with algae, barnacles, and other crustaceans, giving them a lumpy, greenish appearance. At the far end of the room was a large pipe organ with a similar appearance.

Liasa continued. "Your body lacks a heart, and yet you still seem to feel certain emotions. So what does that make you?"

"How should I know?" He said, turning around. "But the souls I've brought into my service aren't the only members of my crew."

He snapped his fingers in his semi-normal hand. Corridors of Darkness appeared, and two Nobodies quickly stepped through them. They were silvery, of course, and humanoid in shape. Their heads were oddly shaped, as if they were wearing tricorn hats like Jones's. They held large rifle-like weapons across their broad chests.

"The Sky Pirates have long answered my call." Jones said.

Liasa smiled. "Oh, there is _definitely_ a spot for you in our Brotherhood, my crusty, scaly friend."

*********************************************************

Several minutes later, Liasa entered the _Flying Dutchman's_ brig. Her nose immediately wrinkled at the smell that greeted her, but apart from that, she could ignore it.

She walked through a few inches of salt water that was sloshing around over the floor, and walked to the nearest cell. If it was even possible, the brig was more slimy than Jones's quarters, and the cell bars were all covered by algae.

The cell Liasa had chosen had one occupant. A single man was inside, if he could even be called a man any more. He looked a little more human than the rest of the _Dutchman's_ crew, with greenish grey skin. The right side of his face was partially covered by a starfish that had made its home there.

This man seemed to be stuck to the wall of his cell. His body was partially covered by coral that was clinging to the wall he was leaning against. He didn't seem to particularly care, and merely gazed up at his visitor with dull blue eyes.

Liasa opened up the cell. "Out you go, pops. Your sentence is over, and the captain wants to see you."

With a sickening crunching noise, the man detached himself from the wall, taking a large chunk of coral with him. He walked heavily, and with slumped shoulders, from the cell, sloshing through the brig, and up the stairs that led to the deck.

Liasa watched him go, wondering why he had looked so dead inside. She pushed the issue aside as much as she could, and got to work preparing the cell for some very special prisoners that they would hopefully have by the end of the next day.

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_Yeah, really short. And I am seriously disappointed with you if you don't know who that last crewman was._

_Moving on, I have a poll on my profile. If you've played Prototype or inFamous, please check it out, would you? It'd make me very happy! :D_

_Anyway, please leave a review!_


	60. Chapter 59: A Parley and a Goddess

_Viola! Next up, another slightly copied scene... Yeah._

_Jack: "And now, lads and lasses, for the disclaimer. DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, or Square Enix. He does, however, own some overpriced college textbooks for some extra classes in his senior year."_

_Sigh... Real life, here I come._

_----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Chapter 59: A Parley and a Goddess

It was morning. Around two-hundred ships sat floating in front of Shipwreck Island, facing the west, waiting.

On the deck of the _Black Pearl_ were a few dozen pirates, along with Sora's 'crew'. Sora himself leaned against the railing. Kairi and Nehrut were with him. Something puzzled him.

"Why did Jack vote for Elizabeth?" He asked them.

"He wanted to go to war." Nehrut guessed. "But something doesn't seem quite right here. I know Jack; he'd probably have jumped ship by now."

Gibbs walked toward them and leaned against the railing on Nehrut's right. "There's something you lot should know. About the heart of Davy Jones."

"Enlighten us."

"You see now, Davy Jones has lived well over a century with his heart out of his body." He explained. "Without that wicked thing beatin' in his chest, he cannot die. That's why Beckett wanted to acquire it. You can only kill the beast by stabbing the heart."

"So he's invincible without it?" Sora replied.

"Aye, and vulnerable with it. The only way we're going to take Jones and the _Dutchman_ out 'a the fight is to stab the heart. But there be a high price to pay for doin' so."

"He who stabs the heart in the chest, and kills the captain of the _Flying Dutchman_, must take his place. Sail the seas forever as its captain, ferrying lost souls to the other side. Or else they end up just like Jones." He made an odd gesture like he was stroking his invisible beard.

"Sail the seas forever..." Nehrut thought. "Oh, Jack wants to stab the heart. He's still searching for eternal life, it seems."

"Why would anyone want eternal life?" Kairi asked. "Never seeing your loved ones again, there would never be an end to anything. Who wants that?"

"Especially if you're doing a job like that. It's insane." Sora agreed.

"Aye." Gibbs conceded. "But no one ever accused Jack Sparrow of being entirely sane, now did they?"

"One other question, Gibbs." Sora asked. "What happened to Will?"

"I'm afraid lad, that he's on the _Dutchman_ with Jones right now. He tried to strike a bargain with him and Beckett to free his father."

"'Bootstrap Bill?' I thought he was dead?"

"Aye. He was found by Jones all them years ago. Shanghaied into service by the hope of living long enough to see his son again." He explained. "Well, he did see him again, but he's still bound to the _Dutchman_. Now Will's become obsessed with killing Jones to free him. Even to the point where he'd bargain with Beckett.

Sora was spared having to respond by Goofy, who was sitting in the _Pearl's_ crow's nest with the diminutive Marty. "Ahoy! EITC ships incoming!"

The heads of every last pirate shot to the east. There was a thick layer of fog on the horizon, but it was easy to make out the silhouette of the _HMS Endeavour_ sailing directly toward the island. Goofy slid clumsily down the mast, and was caught by Axel when he fell from halfway up.

The off-world crew rushed up to the stem of the ship. Elizabeth and Jack were standing there already. Jack was looking through a small telescope at the ship in the distance. Gibbs and Cotton walked up after them.

"The enemy is here!" Marty cried out in a surprisingly loud voice. "Let's kick 'em!"

Every last pirate in every last ship let out a loud battle cry, with a few notable exceptions. One was Hector Barbossa, who was still steaming that his plan to release Calypso had been rejected. Another was King Mickey, who had seen too many battles to feel particularly excited about one. Teague stared grimly at the _Endeavour_, knowing that there had to be more to the attack than this. Sora and Kairi didn't cheer, neither did Bariss. Elizabeth still held on to a small amount of her lady-like composure, and stared ahead at the ship.

Nehrut groaned in annoyance, sensing what was coming seconds before anyone else.

From out of the massive fog bank came hundreds of EITC ships, following behind the _Endeavour_. One of them (much different than the rest) sailed to the front, to where it was even with the flagship. The _Flying Dutchman_ looked like a nightmare from the bottom of the sea, covered in sea weed and all other manner of aquatic life.

The shouting of the pirates died away almost immediately at this unnerving sight. Lord Beckett meant business. He really intended to destroy every last pirate at Shipwreck Cove down to the last man.

There were also small, airborne things darting around the ships. Taking a closer look from the telescope on Cotton's belt, Sora's heart sank. The Brotherhood was here.

Those flying specks were Heartless and Nobodies. There were Air Pirate and Battleship Heartless soaring alongside the ships. There was a newer breed below them in the water. There were large, sleek, jet-black shark-like Heartless in the water, moving in the wakes of the ships, or escorting them toward the soon-to-be battleground. The Heartless emblem was on either side of their dorsal fin. They occasionally left the water altogether, gliding above it.

There was a new breed of Nobody in the sky. The Sky Pirates (1) were soaring faster and higher than their Heartless counterparts, and didn't seem to have any wings or other means of flight. Their rifles were fully armed and ready to fire at a moment's notice.

It was a humbling sight.

Cotton's parrot took flight back toward the island, squawking, "Abandon ship! Abandon ship!" This did nothing to reassure anyone.

A great deal of the assembled crew glared at Jack Sparrow, the man who had gotten them into this war by electing Elizabeth as King.

He smiled weakly, and started to sweat. "Parley?"

Minutes later, it was agreed that Jack, Elizabeth, Barbossa (plus Jack the monkey), and Sora would sail via longboat to a nearby sandbar between the two fleets to negotiate with Beckett's men.

"Be _extremely_ careful Sora." Kairi said, her worry glaringly obvious on her face.

He smiled reassuringly and pulled her into a soft kiss. After parting, he put his forehead against hers and said, "Don't worry, Kairi. I've been through worse, haven't I?"

She smiled, though she wasn't entirely reassured.

*******************************************************

Ten minutes of rowing got the four of them to the sandbar. It was long and roughly the shape of the state of Oklahoma (which existed on less than ten worlds), and served as an effectively dramatic location for the parley. They stood up, and exited the boat.

There were another four people waiting for them at the very end. Left-to-right, it was Will, Beckett, Davy Jones, and a woman Sora could only assume was Liasa (from Bariss's description). There were a few airborne Nobodies circling the sandbar from midair as added insurance for those four. Xigbar floated among them, smirking toward Sora.

As they strode calmly toward them, Liasa winked at Sora, Jones smirked at Sparrow, Elizabeth glared daggers at Beckett, and Will and Barbossa traded looks of the upmost contempt.

They came to a stop two meters apart. Barbossa spoke first (to Will). "And you be the cur that led these wolves to our dorm?"

Then Sora spoke to Liasa. "And I guess you're the one who's supplying Heartless and Nobodies to this murderer?"

Will was silent, and looked calmly at the pirate without a word. But Liasa smiled at him.

Then Beckett spoke, and his voice had that same quality that Larxene's did: You just wanted to knock him flat. "Miss Liasa is my new partner, young man. I would appreciate it if you showed more respect. And as for the Nobodies, they were provided by my good _friend_ Jones here."

Sora's eyes flicked toward Jones. He was standing in a wooden tub filled with water. Apparently this wasn't the day he was allowed on land. Somehow, Sora thought him comical at the moment, rather than intimidating.

"And as to the first accusation, do not blame Turner." Beckett continued. "He was merely the tool of your betrayal. If you wish to see it's grand architect, look to your left.

Barbossa looked to the left. So did the monkey, Elizabeth, and Sora. Captain Jack was standing to their left.

After looking to the left himself, Jack turned back to them, and jumped at the glares that were being sent his way. "My hands are clean in this." He looked at his very dirty hands. "Figuratively."

Will spoke up. "My actions were my own, and to my own purpose. Jack had nothing to do with it."

"Well spoken! Listen to the tool!" Jack exclaimed.

"Will, I've been on board the _Dutchman_," Elizabeth said, "I understand the burden you bare, but I fear that cause is lost."

_What?_

But Will shook his head slightly. "No cause is lost, so long as there is one fool left to fight for it."

"And we have that one fool right here." Liasa cut in.

"If Turner was not acting on your behalf, then how did he come to give me this?" Beckett asked. He held up a familiar compass by a string. Jack's compass. Sora glared at the man in question.

"You made a deal with me Jack, to deliver the pirates. And here they are!" He tossed the compass to Jack, who caught it. He looked extremely uncomfortable. "Well, don't be bashful! Step up! Claim your reward!"

_What?_

Jones had been totally silent throughout the entire exchange, looking at Jack as if he were a valuable prize he hoped to win. He spoke for the first time since the meeting, and Sora was surprised to hear a Scottish accent. "Your debt to me is still to be satisfied. One-hundred years in servitude aboard the _Dutchman_, as a start!"

_What?_

"I propose an exchange." Elizabeth said suddenly. Beckett and Liasa looked particularly interested. "Will leaves with us. And you can take Jack and Sora."

"What!?" Sora and Jack exclaimed as one.

"Done." Will said.

"Undone!" Jack.

"Done." Beckett.

"Undone!" Sora.

"Done." Liasa.

"Jack is one of the nine Pirate Lords!" Barbossa exclaimed. "You have no right!"

"_King_." Elizabeth reminded with a tiny smirk. She looked at Jack and Sora. No one else noticed, but she sent at Sora a tiny, almost invisible wink.

"As you command, Your Highness." Jack took off his hat and bowed to her. Sora followed suit. The two of them walked slowly toward the 'other side' just as Will walked forward too. He didn't look at either of them, he was extremely hard to read.

Beckett adjusted his position slightly to where Jack was forced to stand next to Davy Jones. He put his hat back on, and tried not to make eye contact. Jones leaned down. "Do you fear death?"

"You have no idea."

Sora had to stand by Liasa, who thought it would be fun to entertain herself by flicking one of the spikes on his head back and forth over and over. He grimaced when she asked, "You ever heard of this handy invention called, 'the comb?'"

_I get it already. My hair is funny._

"But she's right, you know." Roxas interrupted.

Beckett stepped forward a few paces. "Advise your brethren, and that pack of off-worlders on the _Pearl_. You can fight, and all of you will die, or you cannot fight, in which case, only _most_ of you will die."

Elizabeth put herself right in front of him, and stood at eye level, glaring at him. "You murdered my father."

_What?_

"He chose his own fate."

"Then you have chosen yours. We _will_ fight. And you _will_ die." And with that, the parley was over. Elizabeth turned on her heel and walked back toward her boat. Will and Barbossa flanked her without another word.

Beckett smiled wickedly. "So be it."

*******************************************************

A few minutes later, Sora and Jack were sitting in a dirty, water-filled cell in the _Flying Dutchman's_ brig. Jones had done his homework. There wasn't a single lock in the cage, and Liasa had erected magical shields between the many bars. A few of Jones's motley crew stomped past every now and then.

"Well! We have successfully arrived aboard the _Flying Dutchman_ as per the overall scheme." Jack said, peering through the bars.

"Thanks to you and your scheme, we're locked in the brig!" Sora exclaimed, his dislike for the pirate starting to bubble up to the surface anew.

"But we _are_ aboard!" Jack replied. "Meaning that I'm in a perfect position to stab the heart of Davy Jones."

"How do you know it's on the ship?"

"A little birdie in a powdered wig told me."

"Why do you want to stab the heart anyway?" He was puzzled. "Is eternal life really worth having to cut out your own heart and bind yourself to this ship? Forever?"

"Mate, I'm _free_ forever! Free to sail the edges of the map, free from death itself."

"But you need to do the job Jack." Sora got up from his sitting position and walked up to him. "Ferry souls to the other side, or wind up like Jones."

Jack gulped. "True, I'd rather not have a face with tentacles... But immortal has to count for something, eh?"

Sora sighed in exasperation. He sat down on a long, rotting piece of wood and put his hands in his hair.

Roxas spoke. "We have missed a _lot_ here haven't we?"

Sora didn't respond. He remembered the look on Kairi's face when she had told him to be careful. He had assured her that he would be. Now would he be? He sighed again, and desperately hoped that somehow, Kairi would know he was alright for now. And that she would be safe during the incoming fight.

*******************************************************

Kairi did know. But that didn't stop her from worrying about the one she loved. Especially when some of the Tortugan pirates (supposedly under Elizabeth's command) snuck up from behind their group and held swords at their throats.

She knew enough about these pirates by now. They wouldn't hesitate to kill her if she made a wrong move. So, she held completely still, but still craned her neck to glare daggers at her captor. He looked down at her apologetically.

_Why didn't Nehrut sense them?_

"Because he's not here." Namine answered.

_He's not?_

She looked around as well as she could. Axel had murder in his eyes and was muttering a constant stream of abuse at the one who had his sword at his throat. Yuffie was in the same boat, only she was repeatedly stomping on her guy's foot. He flinched every time, but didn't act. Donald was steaming. But Goofy, Mickey, Riku, and Bariss looked oddly calm.

Namine was right, Nehrut wasn't there.

That was when she noticed a shape in the water. It was barely noticeable, and even Kairi only saw it for a split second. A section of the bright blue water was slightly darker. It was moving very, very fast toward the EITC armada. But she lost sight of it when the man holding Gibbs moved slightly, blocking it from view.

Kairi smiled briefly, and mentally wished Nehrut good luck. Surprisingly, it was followed up by a wave of assurance in her mind. He must have been listening in.

"He's pretty sharp, isn't he?" Namine said.

She craned her neck and caught Riku's eye. He winked.

Barbossa stepped onto the deck. He looked over his new prisoners, and looked as if he was mentally counting them. He seemed perplexed by the absence of one of them, but not very troubled.

"We were going to use the _Black Pearl_ as a flagship to lead the attack." Elizabeth explained to Will as they stepped onto the deck.

"Oh were we now?"

The two looked up, at his statement. Then they saw Kairi and the others being restrained by Barbossa's men. Will, of course, only knew Donald and Goofy, but that was enough to tell him that something was very wrong. Two seconds after they realized this, they were similarly restrained.

From below deck, a great deal of pirates were 'escorting' a woman up. She was bound tight with extremely thick ropes. The woman was black, with very dirty, braided black hair. She had black marks on her face and around her eyes.

Kairi understood immediately that this was the goddess Calypso, bound in her bones.

"Barbossa!" Will said. "You can't release her!"

"We have to give Sora and Jack a chance." Elizabeth said.

Barbossa swung around to face her. "Apologies, Your Majesty. Too long, my fate has not been in me own hands. No longer!"

Kairi watched nervously as the pirates tied Calypso to the _Pearl's_ center mast. She was silent throughout the whole ordeal. Ragetti (now wearing an eyepatch where his wooden eye had been before) pulled out the tray from the previous night's meeting, all nine pieces of eight were inside.

"Be there some manner of right, or incantation?" Despite the circumstances, Gibbs was still curious.

"Aye. These nine items must be burned." He held out his hand, and Pintel handed him a torch. "And someone must speak the words, 'Calypso, I release you from your human bonds.' As if to a lover."

Kairi doubted that any pirate here had the capacity to be a lover. And just the term was enough to get her worried about Sora again. But somehow, she still sensed that he was alright.

Barbossa stood as straight as possible. "Calypso! I release you from your human bonds!" He sounded nothing like a lover. She struggled to hold back laughter, and she saw Yuffie and Bariss trying to do the same. It wasn't that surprising that the contents of the tray didn't ignite when Barbossa attempted to light them.

"Y-you didn't say it right." Ragetti said. "You've got to say it right."

"Oh no..." Namine moaned in annoyance.

Ragetti leaned toward Calypso, and gently brushed a strand of hair away from her ear. "Calypso..." He said softly. He leaned his head against the side of hers. "I release you from your human bonds."

"Woah." Namine ate her own words. (2)

The effect was astonishing. The torch (which was still in the tray) burst into flames. The contents in the tray ignited, burning very quickly. The thin grey smoke rose from it, and then shot into Calypso's nostrils in a stream. She shivered, and her eyes slowly closed.

The guards began to let their guard down, and Will took advantage of this. He broke free of his captor and rushed to Calypso's side. He knew that if her powers returned, the first thing she would do was to destroy them all. "Tia Dalma!"

She didn't respond, so he tried a new direction. "Calypso."

Her head snapped toward him, and her eyes shot open. The tray fell out of Pintel's hands and rolled across the deck to stop at Kairi's feet. Its contents were now no more than ash.

"When the Brethren Court imprisoned you, who was it who told them how?" Will asked. "Who was it that betrayed you?"

"Name him!" Her voice was harsh, and trembling.

"Davy Jones."

Her face was the picture of shock, and then sadness. Her eyes closed, and she looked about to cry. Her head slowly went up. Then, she began to grow, both in height, and in width. As she grew, the pirates became so disturbed, that they backed away from her quickly. The men holding Kairi, Elizabeth, and the others dropped their weapons and left them. Yuffie stomped on her guy's foot one last time, and Kairi could hear something go _crunch_.

The ropes binding Calypso started to creak, snap, and break. She grew ever taller, and all the ropes were soon at a heap at her giant feet. She stood over thirty feet tall, and the floorboards were creaking ominously under her feet.

The crew gazed up at her in silent awe for what felt like a very long time. Then Barbossa stepped forward, and knelt down on one knee, discarding the torch. He gestured for everyone else to do the same. Kairi and the others did it only reluctantly.

"Calypso!" He said, and she gazed down at him. "I come before you as but a servant, humble and contrite. I have fulfilled me vow, and now ask your favor. Spare meself, me ship, me crew. But unleash your fury on those who dare to call themselves your masters... and mine."

She was silent for a moment, and just smiled down at them all. Then, she got very angry. Her face split into an expression of pure rage. Her voice was not her own when she screamed curses at them in her native tongue. "Malfaituer an Tombeau! Crochir I'Esplande! Dans I'Fond d'leau!"

The pirates backed farther away from her, drawing weapons just in case. As she shouted, Calypso began to lose her shape. Her skin appeared to be cracking in places. But then Kairi realized that she was transforming. She became thousands of stone-like crabs that fell to the deck.

They slid toward the pirates, tiny pinchers snapping. They washed over the terrified men and women like a flood, filling the deck before falling over the sides into the water.

When they had all fallen over the side, the crew staggered to its feet. Pintel had gotten one crab stuck on his nose, and threw it into the water. Ragetti had one in a place that no man wants to be hit. Donald was trying to shake two off of his webbed feet, and kicked them into the water.

Everyone gazed over the railing. "Is that it?" Axel asked, incredulous. "She was no help at all!"

Riku glared dully at Barbossa, who was just gazing out at the armada now. "What now, _Captain_?"

Barbossa looked away from him and answered bitterly, "Nothin'. Our final hope has failed us."

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_As if we didn't know what was going to happen. ^^; Anywho, I hope you enjoyed._

_I start school Monday... Life sucks._

_(1) Not to be mistaken for the aforementioned 'Air Pirate' Heartless._

_(2) Did this scene weird anybody else out when they saw it?_

_Please review!_


	61. Chapter 60: Maelstrom

_Here you go! Enjoy._

_Yuffie: "DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else at all."_

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Chapter 60: Maelstrom

Nehrut shot through the waters of the Caribbean. He was propelling himself through the waters with his psychic powers, also holding a pocket of air around his head with those same abilities.

The second he sensed Jack and Sora being turned over to Jones, he knew he'd need to help. Beckett was a smart man; they'd need help to escape. He had told King Mickey (who was nearest him) what he would do, and leapt over the side into the water. He hadn't made a sound.

Now he streaked through the water like a torpedo, blade unsheathed in case any Great Black Heartless noticed him. Sharks had always kind of creeped him out. The Heartless versions would probably be a lot worse.

Half-way between the two fleets, one of the Heartless saw him. It shot at him (thankfully alone) and its jaws started snapping. Nehrut increased his speed, charging right at it. An instant before collision, his blade flashed upward.

The Heartless was cleaved vertically in two, and he shot right through it as it faded into Darkness.

He was almost to the _Endeavour_. He wasn't totally sure where they had brought Sora and Jack, so he tried _Mens Quero_ briefly. It was easy to find Sora's mind; after a few weeks of travelling with the guy, his thoughts were easy to pick out, even among the thousands of minds on the EITC ships. And Jack's mind was unmistakable.

They were in the _Dutchman's_ brig. He changed course.

*******************************************************

Back on the _Pearl_, people were in low spirits. Kairi watched as the mostly clear sky turned dark with thick, black storm clouds. The wind suddenly started to pick up. The sails weren't down, so the ship wasn't really affected. The crew felt it though. Donald's hat was blown easily off his head, and Cotton caught it on the other side of the ship.

Elizabeth stared out across the water. "It's not over."

"There's still a fight to be had." Will agreed.

"We have an armada against us." Gibbs argued. "And with the _Dutchman_ there's no chance."

"Only a fool's chance." Elizabeth still remembered Will's words from earlier.

Kairi and Riku walked up to her. "Whatever you need to do," She said, "We're here to help."

"It's our fight now as much as yours." Riku added.

She nodded appreciatively to them. She turned away, and walked to the side of the ship. For one mad second Kairi thought she would jump over the side, but instead she said, "You will listen to me. Listen!"

She leapt onto the railing and balanced herself by holding onto one of the lines. "The Brethren will still be looking here to us! To the _Black Pearl_ to lead. And what will they see? Frightened bilge rats aboard a derelict ship? No. No they will see free men, and freedom! And what the enemy will see is the flash of our cannons! They will hear the ring of our swords and they will know what we can do! By the sweat of our brows, and the strength of our backs! And the courage of our hearts!"

"Gentlemen." It was a miracle that she hadn't shouted herself hoarse yet. "Hoist the colors."

The crew stood in silence for a moment, until finally, Will said, "Hoist the colors."

"Hoist the colors." Kairi repeated, a little louder.

"Hoist the colors!" Riku shouted.

"Hoist the colors!" Mickey.

"Hoist the colors!" Pintel.

"Aye!" Gibbs exclaimed. "The wind's on our side boys! That's all we need!"

Absolutely every pirate guarding Shipwreck Cove let out loud shouts of pride and courage that echoed across the water, chilling the bones of even the crew of the _Dutchman_. All along the line of ships, flags were hoisted into the air to the top of the masts. They flapped in the wind, proudly displaying their colors.

Elizabeth, Will, Barbossa, Riku, and Kairi stood proudly at the bridge of the _Pearl_. They looked fearlessly ahead at the armada, determined to bring it down.

******************************************************

Cabin fever was already starting to get to Jack and Sora. They were pacing up and down their dank, smelly, humid cell, occasionally bumping into each other.

"Could you please stop that? You guys are starting to get to me!" Roxas said, sounding very annoyed. "I'm pacing up and down inside here now! Granted, there's plenty of room..."

_How about instead of mocking my intelligence you think of a way to get us out of here?_

"Okay, okay. Wait..."

_What?_

He could feel Roxas smiling. "Oh, you are _good_!"

Before Sora could ask what he meant, the transparent form of Roxas appeared in front of him, startling Jack. He had a wide grin on his face. "You'll be out in a few minutes. Watch this."

He ran through the bars, out of the cell, and into the hallway. He turned his head, and grinned. He shouted to some people who were out of Sora's field of vision. "Hello assorted meatheads! Anyone up for some exercise?" (1)

"Grab him!" Someone shouted.

Roxas ran past the cell, laughing his head off. After him ran three EITC soldiers, and a member of Jones's crew who looked like he was half blowfish. The soldiers were taking a few shots at the transparent teenager, but they passed right through him with no effect.

"That tickles! C'mon! Come and get me!"

The four 'meatheads' chased him deeper into the bowels of the ship, well away from Sora and Jack's cell.

"He's lost his mind hasn't he?"

"You would know, Jack."

******************************************************

Nehrut floated slowly out of the water, hoping that Roxas would be able to distract the guards in the brig long enough for him to get in there. He floated as close to the side of the ship as he could, and so far, it seemed that nothing had noticed him.

The sky was growing ever darker, threatening rain. Lots of rain. The wind was picking up, there were more than a few missing hats floating around in the water. He was horribly reminded of Xaynew.

Cautiously, he peered his head over the side of the ship to get a look at the deck. People and fish-people were rushing back and forth across the deck. There were also a few Pirate Heartless carrying out menial tasks. On the bridge stood a sallow-faced man Nehrut recognized from his last visit to this world. It was Mercer, Beckett's personal assistant/assassin. From the way he was acting, it seemed that he was in charge here.

Apparently Beckett didn't trust Davy Jones well enough to keep him in command of the _Dutchman_.

Mercer was looking toward the _Endeavour_, where a man was using flags to send a message. He nodded in affirmation, and addressed the crew. "To arms! We give no quarter!"

"Not good." He whispered to himself.

The deck suddenly went alive with activity. The cannons were rolled out and loaded, the sails were unfurled. Liasa was standing not far from him looking down at the activity with a smile. Nehrut saw Davy Jones at the stem of the ship, looking up into the sky. He thought he could hear him whisper something into the sky. It sounded like, "Calypso."

Then the rain came down. During some storms, there is a slow start, where the rain comes slowly and softly at first. Then it builds up into a rushing torrent of water. This was not the case just before the Battle of the Maelstrom. The water came rushing down, pelting against the timbers and the sails.

When the rain struck against his face, Davy Jones let out a loud cry of anger, sadness, and heartache.

Nehrut took all of this in quickly. He focused on the minds of Sora and Jack, and was able to determine which door to take. He took a door near the stern of the ship, and walked in as fast as possible. No one noticed him.

He rushed down a flight of wooden stairs, and out into a hallway lit with just a few oil lanterns. At the other end he could see cages. He smiled to himself, and ran to the end, splashing through three inches of salt water. He found what he was looking for almost instantly.

Sora and Jack seemed surprised to see him. He sent them one of his usual lop-sided grins, and unsheathed his sword. "Remind me to thank Roxas for the diversion when this is all over." He said as he cut a large square out of the cage. The bars clattered to the ground, and they stepped right through. "Let's get going. The battle is on and the sea witch is angry with us."

******************************************************

The _Black Pearl_ began to sail alone toward the armada the instant the rain began. Terms of engagement were that two flagships would begin the battle, and fight alone before the rest of the ships became involved. So the _Flying Dutchman_ sailed toward it soon after. That ship was accompanied by several dozen Heartless.

Kairi thought that the weather couldn't possibly get worse. She'd lived on Destiny Islands for years, and there had never been weather so horrible. She was partially named for the sea, it was a little unsettling to see her namesake so violent. It got worse.

In the expanse of sea between the two ships, the water began to churn, and swirl rapidly. White foam was spewed into the air. And soon, a massive maelstrom opened up, large enough to fit at least fifty capital ships, or two _Unity's_.

"Maelstrom!" Gibbs exclaimed.

Elizabeth and Kairi stood on the bridge, and gaped in awe at the giant whirlpool. Riku ran to the bow with Axel and Yuffie. Things weren't looking good.

Elizabeth and Will turned to Barbossa, who was still brooding over the failure of his plan. He was simply standing on the bridge looking at the churning waves. "Barbossa!" He turned around. "We need you at the helm!"

He looked at her for a moment, expressionless. Then his face split into a smile that was more than a bit unsettling. "Aye, that be true!"

He walked toward the helm, and shoved Cotton away from it roughly. He placed both hands firmly on it. "Brace up yards, ya pack of cursed deck-apes! Dying is a day worth livin' for!"

The Pearl picked up speed with his skilled hands. Kairi got a bit worried when he got so close to the whirlpool that the salty water was hitting her face.

*****************************************************

The _Dutchman_ was alive with activity. The deck was soaked with rain water, and the EITC soldiers were struggling not to fall off the deck because of it. The Heartless and Jones's crew were having much more success.

Mercer cried out in distress when the ship began to be sucked down into the whirlpool. One of his four personal guards was trying with all his might to steer the ship away from it, to no avail.

Jones stomped up to the bridge, and shoved him away like Barbossa had Cotton (nearly knocking him off the ship). He grabbed the wheel and turned the ship in a much different direction. "Hard to port into the abyss!"

Mercer was shocked. He grabbed Jones's crusty shoulder. "Are you _mad_!?"

Jones looked him in the face, tentacles twitching. "HA! Ye afraid to get wet?" Mercer backed away, but not before casting a worried glance back toward the maelstrom. The _Dutchman_ went partially into the abyss, using it to increase its speed toward the _Pearl_, on the other side.

"Bow cannons!" Liasa ordered, joining Jones on the bridge.

On the front of the ship, two panels opened up, and out slid two triple-barreled cannons.

*****************************************************

"She's on our stern and gaining!" Mickey shouted.

Barbossa nodded and shouted orders to his crew. "More speed!" He turned sharp to port, and plunged the ship into the maelstrom, riding it. Speed picked up and the ship streaked ahead of the _Dutchman_.

Unfortunately, the bow cannons began to open fire on the ship from behind. A few of them flew over the ship, and missed entirely. But then one of them struck the rear deck, sending splinters flying into the air, and nearly knocking the King off the ship. One of them shaved the port side of the central mast.

Another one nearly struck Riku head on. But he was able to call up his Guardian, which took the shot for him. It exploded against it's chest, barely hurting it at all. Another exploded at the bow of the ship, dislodging one of the crew and sending him flying into the maelstrom.

Axel ran up the deck. "Get us out of here old man! Or they're gonna overbear us!"

"Nay! Further in! We'll cut across to faster waters!"

Kairi and Elizabeth shouted as one, "Prepare to broadside!"

The _Pearl_ dove deeper into the whirlpool, cutting over to the opposite side of it ahead of the _Dutchman_, evading its cannon fire as best it could.

"Batten down the guns and hatches!" Gibbs ordered.

"At the ready!" Will shouted.

All around, cannon balls were loaded into the iron weapons, and gun powder was added. Along the sides of the ship, the gun ports opened up, and the muzzles of the cannons were pushed out. The same thing was happening on the _Dutchman_.

The gun crews were ready to fire. "Hold it!" Riku said. "Wait until we're port-to-port!" And though he had no official command, nobody questioned him.

Thunder boomed and lightning crackled when Barbossa shouted, "FIRE!" Elizabeth, Will, Gibbs, Kairi, Riku, and Mickey repeated it for good measure. And on the cursed ship across from them, Davy Jones shouted the same command louder than any of them.

"FIRE!" (2)

The fuses were lit simultaneously. The cannons belched flames and iron. Cannon balls shot at incredible speeds at the opposite ship, blowing holes in the hulls, the equipment, and people. On both sides, men died. Pirates, soldiers, fish people alike. Some Heartless were also caught in the initial fire.

But it seemed to only truly begin when Barbosa exclaimed, "It be too late to want to change course now mateys!" Then he laughed crazily, pulling them farther into the maelstrom toward the _Flying Dutchman_.

To make things more interesting, the flying Heartless and Nobodies abruptly left the dark ship and flew toward the _Pearl_.

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_Barbossa is extremely hard to understand sometimes, huh? The thick accent and frequent 'pirate words' and all that..._

_That wasn't at all relevant, was it?._

_(1) Anybody who catches the video game reference gets a cookie!_

_(2) What is it about one line being shouted at the same time by several people that gets my blood going?_

_Please review._


	62. Chapter 61: Battle of Shipwreck Cove

_So, I just heard yesterday that a fourth Pirates of the Caribbean film is going to come out in 2011! 'On Stranger Tides.' Now, this could be either totally awesome, or a huge disappointment._

_Sorry to make you wait for this chapter. I've been through a lot of school crap these last few days._

_Roxas: "Excuses, excuses."_

_(Glares at Roxas) Would _you _feel like doing anything after finishing a three-page essay for an incompetent teacher?_

_Roxas: "Fair enough. DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else."_

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Chapter 61: Battle of Shipwreck Cove

Sora, Nehrut, and Jack found it very easy to get out of the brig and back on the main deck. Roxas had long since returned to Sora's body, leaving his four very confused pursuers down somewhere in the depths of the ship.

They could tell that the battle had started, the ship was shaking, there were shouts and screams from above deck, and once Sora had been nearly beheaded by a cannon ball that shoot through the side of the ship.

"So, what?" Sora asked on the way up. "We just do as much damage as possible?"

"Do what you will, mate." Jack said from his place behind him. "But me, I'm going after the heart of Davy Jones."

"Unfortunately Sora," Nehrut said, "I think we'll have to go along with him. Maybe Jones will stand down if we get it."

"It's all about leverage, lads." They stepped out onto the deck into the storm. Their clothing was drenched immediately. The nearest soldiers noticed them almost immediately. But they were clearly not used to fighting off-worlders, and were struck down before they even had time to fire a single shot.

It didn't feel quite right to Sora. He had killed plenty of Heartless, and lots of Nobodies, too. He had destroyed cursed pirates, and those possessed by Darkness. But these were just normal people.

Nehrut obviously felt what he was thinking. "I know what you're feeling, Sora. But you shouldn't feel too horrible about it. The East India Trading Company is hopelessly corrupt; a lot of these soldiers are nothing but thugs." Sora felt a bit reassured, by this, but not entirely.

They moved quickly to a door that Jack pointed out as Davy Jones's quarters. Surprisingly, it was unlocked (not that this would have made a difference), and they walked right through to find an unpleasant surprise.

"And here I thought I'd have nothing to do all day." Xigbar had both of his bizarre guns in hand. One was aimed at Sora, and the other at Nehrut. Under one of his feet was the Dead Man's chest. He had that annoying cocky smirk on his face. "So, how are we going to do this?"

"You've two options, mate." Jack said, holding his saber in one hand and his pistol in the other. "Option one is that we take the chest and you crawl back into whatever hole you came from."

"Option two is that we _kick_ you into that hole and bury you there." Nehrut added, pointing Presul at the Nobody.

"Think I'll take option three." He responded. "That's the one where I kill you two and take Spiky here back to base."

******************************************************

Kairi and Riku had taken flight into the stormy sky. Their Keyblades and the Guardian were ready to fight. They met the Heartless and Nobodies half way between the _Pearl_ and the _Dutchman_, directly over the center of the whirlpool.

Kairi's blade descended, cutting an Air Pirate cleanly in two. She twisted in the air and blocked a strike from one of its fellows. She struck her blade into its side, destroying it. She flew under the 'hull' of a Battleship and blasted its underside with a blast of Light. It fell to pieces, and down into the whirlpool as it faded.

Riku's blade was enveloped in Dawn, and moving so fast it was an orange blur. He took the heads off of two Air Pirates, and then drove it into the head of a Great Black. Two Sky Pirate Nobodies flew toward him, shooting green-tinted energy bursts at him as they came.

The Guardian flew toward them, catching the blasts as it went. As it approached, they tried to back away, but it just kept coming. It grabbed their heads in each of its massive fists, and squeezed hard.

Kairi buzzed over its head toward a Great Black. Its gaping mouth was spewing ice particles at her. She put up a Light shield, catching the ice, and then shot the shield forward, smashing it into its face. Two Air Pirates took its place. One aimed a punch at her face, while the other struck at her stomach.

She quickly destroyed the higher one, and was spared having to finish the other one by Riku. He had come from behind and stabbed it through the back. The two turned in the direction of the _Flying Dutchman_. There were still plenty of flying enemies in their way. The bright explosions from the ships of both cannons stood out easily against the dark water.

They shot toward the _Dutchman_, cutting through their foes fairly easily. The whole time, the swirling whirlpool was pulling the two very different ships closer and closer together. Within minutes, they were rotating near its center, trading fire from a much shorter distance.

******************************************************

Mercer understood this. He held his hat on his head tighter, and rushed to the railing overlooking the main deck. "Prepare to board!"

"Cover!" Davy Jones shouted, still at the helm. He grabbed Mercer by the shoulders, and shoved him to the starboard side of the deck. No sooner than he did, a cannonball from the _Black Pearl_ struck the side near the helm.

Chunks and splinters of wood exploded from the deck nearby. They reduced the four soldiers with Mercer into piles of shredded meat, and threw what was left to the angry ocean. Jones and Mercer were unharmed.

Jones noticed this as he and Mercer got to their feet. A manic light came to his eyes. He grabbed both of Mercer's arms tightly, nearly breaking the one he held with his claw. Understanding what Jones intended, Mercer glared at him as if saying, 'You can't do this to me!'

Jones's reply was a smirk that said, 'Who's going to stop me?'

Mercer's death was an agonizing one. The tentacles on Jones's face slithered up his face into his nostrils and mouth. The stronger ones wrapped around his scrawny neck. Jones smiled horribly as his tentacles began to suffocate him. Then, his constant gurgling noises started to get on his nerves. With barely a move, the tentacles clenched, and Mercer's neck snapped.

As the man's body fell to the ground, one of the tentacles grabbed something that had been hanging around his neck. A long, iron key. The key to the Dead Man's chest.

Jones let out a noise that sounded like a snort, satisfied. He left the helm to one of his crew, and walked down to the deck. He tucked the key safely away into an inside pocket of his trenchcoat.

The door to his quarters suddenly exploded in a shower of splinters and scraps of metal. He thought for a moment that a cannon blast had struck the door, but saw something quite different.

Jack Sparrow was backing out of the doorway, in one hand was the Dead Man's chest, the other held a pistol, and he was shooting into the doorway. Sora was next, Keyblade held at the ready. Nehrut was last, and he had both his hands stretched out to block oncoming laser bullets with his powers. They burned out and fell to the floor before disappearing.

Xigbar followed them out, both guns blazing. They all stopped when they realized they were no longer alone.

Jones laughed. "Lookie here boys!" He said, advancing toward the three. But he was looking directly at Jack, who held his chest. The fish-people crew that wasn't manning the guns gathered around them. "A lost bird! A lost bird that never learned to fly!" From his belt he drew a rusty broad sword.

Jack backed away from him toward the railing of the ship. "To my great regret... But!"

He hopped onto the railing and grabbed onto of the ropes to stabilize himself. "Never too late to learn, eh?"

Using the chest to knock the rope loose, he was yanked high into the air. They gazed after him in total shock. The line went taut, and Jack was somehow pushed to land on the long plank holding the sail in place below the crow's nest. He balanced precariously on it.

"Like he could ever do that again." (1) Nehrut rolled his eyes. Jones snarled, and walked toward the mast Jack was on top of. To Sora's amazement, he sank into the wood and ended up on top of the mast in front of Jack.

"The chest!" he said, advancing toward him. "Hand it over!"

"I can set you free, mate!" Jack holstered his pistol and pulled out his saber. He didn't let go of the chest.

"My freedom was forfeit long ago!" Jones let out a battle cry, and charged at the pirate.

"We have to help him, don't we?" Sora asked rhetorically.

"You've got enough to worry about, kid." Said a female voice. The men parted to let Liasa through. She was smiling, and had a slightly manic gleam in her eyes that reminded Sora a little bit of Axel. "Leave this one to me, boys. Just get back to your jobs."

She held her hands at her sides, palms facing out. Her hands were suddenly enveloped in golden flames. Then two long beams of fire shot out, and she was holding two meter-long bars of flame, like swords.

"C'mon Keyboy, let's see what you've got." She took up a fighting stance, holding one blade cocked high behind her head, and the other held defensively in front of her chest. She rushed at Sora, and brought her first one flying at his face.

Oblivion went up immediately to catch it, and pushed it away. The other one descended toward his head. His fine-tuned instincts allowed him to move the blade to intercept it. He struck out with the Keyblade, and she back flipped agilely away from it. "Come on!" She goaded, and he rushed after her.

"Guess that leaves you and me, dude." Xigbar smirked, and aimed both guns at Nehrut.

"Hey, careful with those things!" He responded, faking concern. "You could shoot your eye ou- Oh! I'm sorry!"

"Funny. You want to make a lame pirate joke while you're at it?"

"So two pirates, a Moogle, and a Nobody walk into a bar..."

He opened fire. "I hate that one."

******************************************************

The second Liasa struck Sora's Keyblade with her fiery weapons, the crews of the _Pearl_ and the _Dutchman_ began the dangerous process of boarding a hostile vessel. From long ropes strung around the masts, the crews swung toward the opposite ships like Tarzan on a vine. Some were shot down by the opposite crew, or their ropes were cut by the other ones swinging by.

Among the Dutchman's boarding party were Koleniko (who had chased Roxas), Clanker (a man covered entirely by mussels and barnacles), Jimmy Legs (the sadistic bosun), and Finnegan (a hideous man even by _Dutchman_ standards who looked part rockfish), plus over a dozen EITC soldiers and fish-people crewmen.

On the other end were Axel and Bariss and several pirates. Yuffie was close enough to where she could skip the hassle and teleport over to the _Dutchman_ in a puff of smoke.

The second they landed, chaos broke loose. Swords were pulled from their sheathes. Guns were cocked. The pirates soon discovered that long term exposure to the _Flying Dutchman_ made her crew nearly impossible to kill. And the Heartless were no picnic either.

Riku and Kairi, meanwhile, were battling the airborne Heartless and Nobodies high above the dueling ships.

Riku fired a blast of Dawn at an ascending group of Air Pirates. It exploded against the face of the first, and took out the rest. Kairi floated directly over him, and blasted the Battleship approaching from above.

"These things are really getting on my nerves." Kairi said, deflecting fire from a Sky Pirate with a Light shield. She then charged at it and ran it through with her Keyblade. She yanked it out, and then fired a blast of light energy down the throat of a Great Black.

"It's either flying guys or super-tough fish people, your choice." Riku took the head off an Air Pirate and then sunk it into the face of a Battleship.

"Or you could help me with the trigger-happy Nobody!" Came a voice. They looked down just as Nehrut shot past them, followed by a stream of glowing red bullets. He came to a stop several feet above them, and deflected the fire. Below them, Xigbar was pulling the triggers on his weapons so fast he never seemed to let go of them.

Riku's Guardian went into action, and shot down toward him, shoulder first. Xigbar smirked at it, and teleported away at the last second. The Guardian passed through thin air.

Xigbar reappeared right behind Kairi. He dismissed one of his weapons, and used his free arm to get a firm grip around her neck. He pointed his remaining weapon at her temple. She and the other two held totally still.

"You're coming with me, Princess."

"Am I?" She had an odd smile on her face. Her entire body shone silver. "Purifying Pulse!" There was a huge flash of Light energy. Xigbar was thrown backwards down toward the churning sea far below. Kairi looked very satisfied with herself. "I've been working on that move for days!"

"Where's Sora?" Riku asked Nehrut. The Heartless and Nobodies had come back, and were attacking them from all side.

"At the moment?" Nehrut blasted a Great Black into the side of a Battleship targeting Kairi. "Last I saw him, he was fighting that Liasa chick Bariss told us about."

"What about Davy Jones?" Kairi blasted a Sky Pirate, and then stabbed backwards to catch another in the stomach.

"Jack has his heart in the chest, and right now they're fighting for it." He plunged his sword into the jaw of a Great Black. Then he threw another Heartless into one of its fellows.

Xigbar reappeared, sending a hail of bullets at them as he shot up toward them. Riku fired blasts of Dawn from behind his protective Guardian, who took the bullets with hardly a move.

The Nobody vanished as the blasts approached.

"Not this time." Kairi said. The microsecond she heard the _phimp_ sound of a teleporting body behind her, she shot high into the air. Bullets followed her up. Nehrut leapt into the way, and intercepted the bullets with his blade, he reflected some of them back toward their source.

Xigbar was struck twice in the left shoulder. He let out a barely noticeable grunt of pain, and kept on firing. The whole length of Destiny's Light began to glow. Kairi swept it through the air, and a disk of Light energy shot from the blade. Xigbar shot over it, but his jaw met the heel of Riku's foot.

He lost altitude, and nearly lost a lot more when Riku fired blasts of Dawn at him. He teleported high above them, and fired from above. Nehrut shot up toward him, deflecting his fire easily. Kairi followed him up, spraying Xigbar with Light blasts from below him. Xigbar teleported around them, and never ceased fire. When Nehrut reached him, he stabbed forward, but, of course, he was gone.

This whole process where he teleported away from them was getting very annoying. It happened three more times before Nehrut got an idea. He reached out with his mind. Xigbar was below them now, firing at Riku, who had called up a shield to protect himself.

He grabbed Xigbar with his powers as if with a giant fist. He held Xigbar in place. He struggled in the invisible grip, trying to get loose. Riku and Kairi took advantage of his immobility, and fired rapid bursts of Light and Dawn at him. They struck him all over, and he thrashed around in his invisible prison, howling.

Both of his guns dropped from his hands, and Nehrut caught them. He pulled them towards him, and took one in his hand. He fired both of them at Xigbar, adding to the punishment.

It went on for minutes. Minutes where Sora battled Liasa, Jack fenced with Davy Jones, and pirates and soldiers fought to the death. Finally, after a very large blast from Kairi, a smoky hole appeared in Xigbar's chest. The fire abruptly stopped, and Xigbar's appropriated weapons vanished into thin air.

Xigbar stayed in the air for a moment longer, fading into black clouds. Nehrut released his grip on the Nobody, and he fell two hundred feet down into the violent ocean, still fading.

******************************************************

Sora quickly discovered that Liasa was one of the deadliest people he had ever faced. She was fast, agile, and very skilled. Her flaming weapons flashed through the air, striking from every angle.

The two of them were fighting at the bow of the ship, and Sora was being forced toward the edge. The raging waters below were waiting to swallow him up. Sora ducked under a strike from the left blade, and then blocked a follow-up strike from the right. Then she brought both crashing down toward his head.

His blade shot up to stop them. Unfortunately, she had space to kick him in the chest. He staggered backwards, and fell off the ship.

Axel and Bariss saw this as they landed on the ship's deck. Their mouths fell open in horror and outrage. Axel snarled and ran toward Liasa, summoning his chakrams. "You little b-"

She twisted around and kicked him in the jaw. She struck at his chest, but one of his chakrams intercepted it. She pulled back, and observed him for a moment. Her eyes lingered over his face and chest. Axel was too angry to notice.

"Hello handsome..." She said quietly.

Axel snarled. His hands shot out. Blazing plumes of fire burst from them at Liasa. She crossed her blades in front of her. They seemed to absorb the fire into them without any real effort on Liasa's part. He called off his attack and leapt toward her, chakrams returning to his hands.

While he was still in midair she released the excess fire she had gathered, all in one massive burst. His eyes widened. He held out both weapons in front of him, just as the blast was about to hit him. He shot through the flames with his weapons held out in front of him. He landed directly in front of Liasa, and struck at her head. She ducked under it, and stabbed at his stomach.

He jumped back. He threw one of his chakrams at her, and she ducked away from it. She pointed her right sword at him, and small blasts of flame shot from the tip at him. He moved his chakrams everywhere, deflecting the flames. He approached her as he did this.

When he was within striking range, he struck at her with the left weapon, and she blocked with hers. He brought the right one down, and she blocked it, as well. He pressed down with all his weight against her weapons, glaring at her.

She was expressionless for a few moments. Then she did something really unexpected. She reached up and kissed him right on the lips.

His eyes bugged out, and he was totally still for a moment.

Unfortunately, that was all the time she needed. She brought her knee up into his stomach, hard. He got the breath knocked out from him. Their lips parted abruptly, and Liasa swept his legs out from under him. He landed hard on his back on the wet wooden deck. He dropped his weapons, and hers was instantly at his throat.

He glared up at her. She smiled slyly down at him, completely disregarding the brutal fighting all around them. She licked her lips once. "Thanks for that kiss hot-shot. Not the worst I've ever gotten."

"Thanks for the memories, you-" Axel replied, growling.

Half a second later there was a Keyblade being held at her throat. More specifically: Oblivion.

Liasa seemed extremely surprised. Her eyes shifted, and she saw a very wet Sora to her right. He was completely unharmed. He just looked annoyed. It was interesting to note that his hair was _still_ spiky.

"Oh, come _on_."

Before anyone could make a move, the deck near them was struck by a cannonball. The deck to Liasa's left exploded, and she leapt away reflexively. Axel sprung to his feet, picking up his fallen weapons. Sora aimed a cut at her leg, leaving a gash across it. She stumbled backwards and fell off the front of the ship much like Sora had. The two ran over and looked down.

Liasa hadn't hit the water. She was struggling to keep her balance on the seaweed covered nose of the ship. Neither she nor Sora had actually been in that much danger, it seemed. She looked up at them. She gathered fire underneath her feet, and sprung up toward them, pulling out her weapons again.

She leapt high enough to make it back to the deck. She struck at them as she came up, but both of her strikes were blocked. She landed on their other side, weapons held out. She brought both her blades flashing toward them, and each of them blocked one blade.

They stayed like that for a moment before something highly unusual happened.

Liasa was struck in the side of the head by some sort of furry, slightly singed projectile. She cried out in surprise, when she realized that it was Jack the monkey. Someone on the _Pearl_ had actually fired him from a cannon.

Jack crawled up her head and started yanking at her hair. He started jumping up and down on top, and bit her once or twice. Finally, she got a firm hold on him and tossed him to the deck. He landed unharmed between Sora and Axel.

Liasa backed away from them and looked around. She could see Xigbar falling into the whirlpool below, she saw the soldiers being overwhelmed by pirates. She saw Heartless being decimated in the sky. She shook her head in annoyance.

"Time for me to abandon ship." She summoned up a corridor of Darkness. She winked at Axel. "I'll see you next time, handsome." She backed into the portal quickly, and vanished. But as she did, she added, "Got it memorized?"

Sora looked down at the monkey, and he hopped onto his shoulder. "Thank you, Jack." He smirked at Axel. "By the way, I saw that kiss."

"Shut up and fight." He ran toward one of Jones's crew and struck him in the back with his flaming weapons.

*****************************************************

The fighting was thick on the deck of the _Black Pearl_. Up in the crow's nest, Marty was taking pot shots at Jones's crew and the soldiers. Cotton held a saber and was doing an admirable job fighting the enemy off on the bridge. Occasionally, he pulled out a shotgun and fired toward those farther off. Barbossa was a monster, fighting off attackers on the bridge with cutlass and pistol.

Mickey was engaged in a duel with one of Jones's officers, Koleniko (the puffer-fish like man who had chased Roxas). The larger man's cutlass descended toward the mouse. He slid out of the way and struck at his legs. He blocked it, and stabbed down toward him. Mickey leapt into the air. He smacked him in the head with the blunt side of the blade, and leapt away.

He pointed the tip at him, and a small ball of light shot from the tip and hit him in the stomach. He flew backwards, and hit his head on the mast. He stumbled around awkwardly for a moment before falling unconscious on the ground.

Will was fighting not too far away. He fought quickly, and fiercely with the ease of a practiced fencer. He was fighting three soldiers at once, and soon had disarmed and killed them all.

"Elizabeth!" He ran toward her, and stabbed the man she had been fighting in the chest at the same time she did. He staggered away from them, still not totally defeated. During the pause in the fighting he looked into her eyes. "Will you marry me?"

Her jaw dropped, and she looked at him even while Finnegan got back up and came charging back toward them with a shout. She caught his blade with hers and said, "I don't think now's the best time!"

She threw his blade off of hers, and ducked under his swipe at her head. She stabbed at his stomach, and it hit home, but didn't do much good. He backed away, and was hit by one rogue lightning spell Donald had cast.

"Now may be the only time!" Will replied, kicking a soldier in the jaw, and then running his blade through his chest. He twisted around and left a cut across the face of one of the fish-people. "I've made my choice. What's yours?"

They came back together again, a cannonball striking the ground behind them.

Elizabeth looked at him for a few frozen seconds before shouting, "Barbossa!"

Will looked at her for a moment, totally lost, until she looked up toward the bridge (where Hector was fighting) and added, "Marry us!"

He was fencing with an eel-like henchman (Morey), and a handful of soldiers with Cotton's aid. He kicked the henchman away, and used the moment of opportunity to shout back at her (sounding incredulous). "I'm a little busy at the moment!"

Will smiled, and the two went back into the battle for a moment, Will drove his sword into the hilt into one Jones's crew. Elizabeth's blade met that of a soldier, and then dove past it and slashed across his chest. Then she turned around and punched one of his fellows in the jaw, knocking him flat to the ground.

"Barbossa, now!"

Barbossa leapt away from two of his opponents, who accidentally stabbed each other because of his maneuver. "Fine then!" Barbossa kicked his opponents out of the way, and stood precariously balanced on the railing directly in front of the helm. He stabbed one of them in the face, as he got up, and then knocked the blade out of the hands of another. He put his hand over his heart.

"Dearly beloved, we be gathered here today to- Take your gizzards to the mast ya clumsy cur!" He had, of course, said this last part to Koleniko, who had regained consciousness after his fight with Mickey and had turned his sights on Barbossa. The captain kicked him in the face, breaking off a few of the spines stuck there.

Will and Elizabeth fought on the deck again. Will faced off with a soldier, and pressed him back so far that he fell off the side of the ship into the ocean. Elizabeth slashed her sword across the face of one of the _Dutchman's_ crew. They met again in the center of the ship.

"Elizabeth Swan," Will began, "Do you take me to be your husband?"

"I do!" She responded immediately, and excitedly.

"Great!"

They jumped apart just as Finnegan's blade crashed down between them. He chased after Will, sword flying everywhere. He backed away from him, parrying any blows rained down on him. Eventually, he saw a window of opportunity, and struck him in the stomach, knocking him away long enough to get back to Elizabeth,. She had just finished off another of Jones's crew.

"Will Turner, do you take me-" She blocked a blow from Jelly (a crewman covered in a jellyfish-like membrane), and pushed him away for a moment. "To be your wife?" They kept fighting, killing one soldier, and removing a finger from one of the fish-people. "In sickness and in health-" They came back together, and stabbed Jelly together. "With 'health' being the less likely?"

"I do."

Barbossa was dueling two opponents at once, easily, while still balancing on the railing. "As captain, I now pronounce you-" He smashed a soldier's face into the railing with one hand, and deflected the blow of a fish-person with relative ease. "You may kiss-" He pulled out his pistol and shot a hapless soldier in between the eyes.

He leapt down from the railing and kicked another soldier painfully in the groin. "You may kiss-" He turned around and blocked a strike from Koleniko. He knocked his blade from his grasp and stabbed him in the stomach. "Just kiss!"

And kiss they did. Right in the middle of a battle, Will took Elizabeth in his free arm and pressed his lips to hers. They passionately kissed, and the world around them seemed to slow down. Explosions occurred all around them, crewmen were dying, though neither of them cared at that moment.

Donald and Goofy, who were watching from not too far away, smiled.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Ta-da! I had fun writing this chapter. Probably since the guys are finally fighting something other than Heartless and Nobody fodder._

_(1) This is exactly what I was thinking when I saw the movie, even as I was grinning._

_Please review!_


	63. Chapter 62: Dead Man's Chest

_Here we go, we're almost done with Port Royal. Almost there now..._

_Axel: "I'm about ready to get off of this freaking world already. Would you hurry it up!?"_

_You're just hoping that nobody noticed Liasa kiss you. Now read the disclaimer."_

_Axel: "Okay. This punk doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else. And he'd better not tell anybody about Lia-"_

_Riku: "Hey Axel, I heard you kissed Liasa."_

_Roxas: "Nice! HAHA!"_

_-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Chapter 62: The Dead Man's Chest

Jack Sparrow and Davy Jones were still dueling fiercely on the mast of the _Flying Dutchman_. Both were skilled fencers, and equally determined to walk away with the heart beating in that black chest in Jack's hand.

For a long while, they seemed to be of totally equal skill. Jones was possibly the stronger one, a useful trait from his large size, and unnatural body. Not to mention that he had a large crab claw for a left hand.

But Jack was faster, and perhaps a shade more seasoned. For every blow Jones rained down on him, he had a parry to answer it. His saber also had a slightly greater reach than Jones's broadsword. As far as technique went, they were opposites.

Jones struck at his legs, but he caught his blade with his own. They were locked together for a moment, trying to get the edge over the other.

"You can do nothing without the key!" Jones shouted over the rain.

"I already have the key!"

Jones looked a bit confused, and then reached into his coat pocket with one of his tentacles. He pulled out the rusty key. "Ah... No you don't. Ha ha."

"Oh _that_ key."

Jack pulled his blade free of Jones's. He struck at his leg, but Jones blocked it. Then he aimed higher, and successfully sliced off one of Jones's longer tentacles. It was the one that had been holding onto the key to the chest.

Jones screamed in pain and shock as the dismembered tentacle fell to the deck below, still clutching the key. He aimed a rather clumsy stab at Jack, who stepped back to avoid it, and knocked the weapon to the deck, as well. Now that he was unarmed, Jack smacked Jones across the face with the chest, but he still didn't fall off. He brought his blade down toward his head, but it was caught by Jones's crab claw.

He looked about ready to kill the pirate, when fate intervened. With Barbossa being occupied back aboard the _Black Pearl_, the two fighting ships became stuck together by the masts.

The collision caused Jack to drop the chest, and fall off the mast.

He screamed as he fell. And he was one inch away from the ground, before something caught him. He opened his eyes, and realized that Kairi was flying around, holding him up by his coat collar.

They landed easily on the deck near Sora and Bariss. Axel was near the helm, setting fire to the crew. Kairi was extremely relieved to find Sora in good health, and ran into his arms immediately.

"Told you I'd be fine." He said into her wet hair.

"Uh, mates?" Jack said, tapping Sora on the shoulder. He looked up and realized that lots of the enemy crew was closing in around them.

Sora traded a significant look with Sparrow. "Captain!"

They ran forward, and Jack pulled out his compass. He cracked it open, and tossed it onto the ground. A blazing white light shot from the opening up into the air. It stopped about six feet above the ground, and turned into a swirling ball of energy.

All the immediate enemies were sucked up toward the light, looking very confused and helpless. They were revolving around it, thrashing against the hold that had them stuck there. Then Jack was floating there with them, but it was clear that he had control over his movements. His saber was in hand.

He struck at them in the air, with such force that he spun around with every strike. The soldiers and crewmen were helpless to defend themselves, and therefore couldn't stop him from taking chunks out of them with his attacks.

Sora, meanwhile, was striking from below, aiming powerful strikes at the trapped enemies that were almost as strong as Jack's.

In less than a minute, what had been eight fish people and four soldiers had become only three battered fish people. And it was time to finish their Limit.

"Okay! Finish it!" Sora scooped the compass up from the ground, but didn't close it yet.

"Right you are!" Jack pulled a small explosive from his inside jacket pocket, and lit it. He dropped it onto the ground at Sora's feet.

Sora snapped the compass closed, and the light emitting from it vanished. Jack and the three remaining crewmen fell to the ground; some more gracefully than others. Sora handed the pirate captain the compass, and the two shot in different directions to avoid the explosion.

The explosive activated, tearing apart a small section of the deck, and taking out the other crewmen with it. (1)

Looking around, Sora realized that despite the success of the Limit move, the deck of the _Flying Dutchman_ was still thick with fighting. Pirates vs. soldiers vs. fish people vs. Heartless. Then, on the other side of the deck, just feet behind the helm, three-hundred pounds of tentacled captain landed with a thud. He picked up his fallen sword from the ground, and stomped down the stairs leading to the deck.

At the same moment, a more familiar figure landed not far from Sora. Will had swung over from the _Black Pearl_ when he saw Jack on the mast, holding the chest. He ran toward the bow of the ship, and picked up something that Sora hadn't noticed.

The Dead Man's chest.

Unfortunately, Jones noticed him. He waded through the dozens of combatants, shoving aside anyone in his way, ally or not. His face was a mask of rage, and his eyes were focused on Will, filled with murder. Someone else, however, beat him to the man... A mostly human crewmember with greenish-grey skin, and a starfish covering one side of his face. He had a large assortment of coral stuck on his back, shoulders, and forehead.

He smashed his fist under Will's jaw, knocking him backwards. He dropped the chest to the deck.

The crewmember pulled a cutlass from his moldy belt and rushed at Will with it. Will unsheathed his saber, and blocked the strike as he got back to his feet.

Sora and Kairi moved to give him help, but surprisingly, he stopped them with a wave of his hand. He pointed frantically toward the stern of the ship, where Jones was. The _Dutchman's_ captain was still storming toward them.

Bariss ran toward him, and pulled out her sai. She stabbed at his stomach, but he parried the blow with his significantly larger blade. She tried one more strike, but it, too failed. He pushed her backwards with his blade. He advanced, ready to deliver the killing blow.

Bariss quickly took her new shield off her back. The previous night, she had painted it green, and it now matched the rest of her equipment. It was on her left arm immediately, and caught the blade as it fell. Her knees nearly buckled under the force of the attack, but she was unharmed.

Axel came up from behind Jones and struck him across the back with a chakram. Jones cried in pain, but it turned into a roar of anger as he twisted around and struck horizontally at his head. He blocked it with one of his weapons.

Green energy blasts struck the deck at his feet, and he leapt backwards. Two Sky Pirates descended toward him, firing rapidly. Axel backed away, blocking their fire as Jones turned his attention back to Bariss.

Only, she was now occupied by his first mate Maccus (a humanoid man with a hammerhead shark's head, wielding a hatchet). He was pressing her back towards the port railing. Water was splashing over the side frequently, soaking them both. Bariss's hair was sticking to her scalp. Her bangs were obscuring her vision.

Sora came up behind Maccus to add a Keyblade into the mix of axe, shield, whip, and sai.

Maccus turned around, and struck at Sora's head. He leapt away from it, then stabbed forward. He would have stabbed the Keyblade right through his stomach if Maccus hadn't sidestepped at the last second. Bariss bashed her shield into the fish person's face, knocking him totally over the side into the maelstrom.

"Thanks." Bariss said.

Sora nodded and turned around. He grunted in annoyance. Jack was dueling with Jones again, and they were gradually moving back toward the bridge. By this time, that section of the ship was a mess. It had been holed by cannons in several places.

Will was still dueling that one particular crewman. But Sora knew good and well that he wasn't trying as hard as he could. His strikes were slower than usual, and only half-hearted. And the only time he really seemed serious was when he was trying to disable the man. Sora was wondering what was up when he heard. "It's me! It's Will! Your son!"

He was shocked. So that was Bootstrap Bill. He didn't appear to recognize Will at all, every time that Will tried to say something to him, he would respond with an inarticulate shout, or sometimes spout off phrases like, "Captain's orders!"

Sora was divided on where he should go. To Jack, or to Will? And where were the chest and the key?

His decision was made much simpler when he looked back toward the helm. He started to run.

Jack was on the ground, and appeared only half-conscious. He expected Jones to try and finish him, but what he saw next scared him. Kairi was standing between Jack and Jones, Keyblade in hand.

"Harridan!" Jones shouted at her. "You'll see no mercy from me!"

"That's why I brought this!" She stabbed at Jones's chest, and he was barely able to deflect it. He slashed at her head, and she ducked under it, slashing vertically toward his head. She shaved a tentacle off his face, and he actually gave ground.

It was funny, a giant, monstrous, octopus-faced monster giving ground to a young, skinny, girl.

She struck at his legs. He was a bit too bulky to move away totally, and took a hit to his right crab-like leg. He did a funny little hop, and then stabbed at her face. She parried the strike, and jumped back. Her hand stretched out, and Light burst from it toward Jones's chest. He was blasted backwards into the railing, which began to splinter under his weight.

Kairi seemed to be close to actually beating him, but it was amazing really, how quickly the tide could turn.

She rushed at Jones, intent on finishing him. He brought his crab leg up, and lashed out with it, hard. He nailed Kairi in her stomach, knocking the breath from her lungs instantly. She was knocked back across the deck, and hit her back and head against the railing. She collapsed to the ground near Jack.

And as far as Sora was concerned, Jones had just signed his death warrant. He rushed the rest of the way up to the bridge, tearing through some Heartless that got in his way. He charged up the steps, and slashed Jones in the side. He howled in agony, and swiped at Sora with his blade.

He blocked it easily enough, and stabbed at him. It was parried, and Jones brought his sword down toward him. Sora's blade stopped it cold. They stood there for a moment, glaring at each other from either side of their blades, until Jones disengaged and let out a loud cry. He spun around to face the person who had hit him from behind.

Elizabeth stood there, sword out, and hair dripping. She struck toward his face, but he parried the blow, and leapt away from a strike from Sora. The two attacked together, Elizabeth striking high, and Sora low. They were both very skilled, but it seemed that they couldn't get past Jones's guard.

Sora pointed his blade at the captain, and in became enveloped in flames. He released it all in one massive burst. Flames roared toward him, but amazingly, it contacted harmlessly against his claw. The claw shot out before Sora could react to it. Jones grabbed his waist in the massive claw, and tossed him hard enough to land him near the middle of the ship.

"That's going to leave a scar." A voice said.

When Sora got up, he realized that it was Jack. He had a red lump on his forehead, but appeared otherwise unharmed. He had a very dazed looking Kairi slung over his shoulder. "You forgot your girl, mate."

"I didn't forget her, but thanks for getting her away from Jones." He summoned his Keyblade back to his hand, and blocked a strike from an inexperienced soldier who had noticed them. Jack shot him in the chest almost casually.

Suddenly, Will Turner was running past them fast as lightning toward the bridge. Apparently, he had noticed Elizabeth dueling Jones on her own. He struck at a crewman as he passed, and then stabbed his blade into a Heartless just before he reached the steps.

At the exact same moment Will's foot touched the bottom step, Elizabeth took a hit to the head from Jones's huge crab claw. She fell, half-conscious to the deck, her sword slipping from her grasp.

Sora took one panicked step forward, and felt his foot come down on something small and squishy. He lifted his foot, and realized with widening eyes, that he had stepped on one of Jones's severed tentacles. Clutched to one end was a long, iron key. He bent down, and took the key, dripping with a sick, dark fluid.

Jack took it from his grasp, and held it up to observe it.

"Guys!" The two spun around, and saw Axel and Bariss running toward them. And it was only then that Sora realized that (aside from the dozens of bodies strewn across the ground) the deck was almost empty. Bootstrap Bill was at the other end of the ship, staring at a black-handled dagger stuck into the railing as if he was trying hard to remember something, but didn't know what it was.

The next thing he noticed was that Axel was holding a chakram in his right hand, and the Dead Man's chest in his left. A gleam came into Jack's eyes.

And back at the helm, Jones had a much different gleam in his eye. He advanced, slowly, manacingly, toward Elizabeth, who was seeing three of him at the moment, and was too stunned to move much. He lifted his blade.

Then shouted in pain when Will's sword went all the way through the left side of his chest, where his heart should have been. The scream died away very quickly, to Will's horror.

There wasn't a sign of pain when Jones said calmly, "Missed! Did you forget? I'm a heartless wretch!" He used his claw to bend the tip of the sword protruding from his chest.

When Will tried to tug his sword back out, it didn't budge an inch. Jones chuckled briefly, before he spun around and kicked Will in the side of the head with his crab leg. He lost his sword and tumbled down the stairs.

Jones walked down after him, ready for the kill.

Will cast his eyes fearfully to a space behind Jones, where Elizabeth was staggering back to her feet. His look was repeated on her face. Jones noticed him look. He appeared just a bit confused, but when he turned his head and saw the girl, his face split into something resembling a grin.

"Ahhhh..." He said, comprehension dawning on his face. "Love. A dreadful bond." He turned to face Will again holding his blade to his throat as he lay, helpless on the ground. "And yet, so easily severed. Tell me, William Turner... Do you fear death?"

"Do you?" Jack's voice rang out.

Jones turned around, and met the one sight he was hoping to never see in his lifetime. Jack Sparrow held a beating heart in one hand –_his_ heart. The other hand held a dagger. The Dead Man's chest was open at his feet, the key lying next to it. Sora, Axel, and Bariss stood confidently around him. Kairi was still a bit punch-drunk, and was leaning on Sora's shoulder.

"Heavy tonic, holding life and death in the palm of one's hand." Jack smiled.

Jones had never looked more angry. "You're a cruel man, Jack Sparrow!" He spat out the name.

Jack had the same expression on his face as when he had killed Barbossa on the Isle de Muerta. "Cruel is a matter of perspective."

"Is it?"

Perhaps believing that he had nothing else to lose at this point, Jones did something that everyone could see, but few could believe. It never felt like it could happen. With a snarl, he spun around, and drove his blade into Will's chest, less than an inch away from the man's heart.

Will hardly made a noise.

Elizabeth's breath caught in her throat, and came out in a tiny, squealing gasp. Sora and Axel's jaws dropped, and they stared in disbelief. Bariss gasped, hands shooting to her mouth. Even Kairi, who was finally starting to recuperate, reacted.

Jack stood stock-still, staring in horror and shock. For the first time in living memory, his hand trembled. He had never liked to tell anyone, and would never admit to it if asked, but Will had been a friend. Never mind the fact that they had tried to kill each other on more than one occasion, there was always some kind of unspoken brotherhood between them.

Jones twisted the blade around a little, out of pure spite and twisted, sadistic pleasure. He took his hand off the blade, leaving it stuck in his body. He looked calmly at Jack and the others. One look at their horrified expressions of mingled shock and fury was enough to make him start laughing wickedly.

Jack looked back and forth from Will, and the heart in his hand, unsure of what to do for the first time in his life.

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_And there it is. Hope you enjoyed!_

_(1) So, I changed it a bit. Did the whole 'box appearing out of nowhere' thing irritated anybody else?_

_Please review!_


	64. Chapter 63: Part of the Ship

_Here's to the release of the English version of 358/2 Days! Here to do this disclaimer is our newest friend..._

_Xion: "Hello! Since it's too late for a certain lazy author to add me to the story..."_

_Sorry._

_Xion: "He's invited me to do this. DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else he wants to use. Enjoy!_

_Man, I wish I had a Nintendo DS._

_----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Chapter 63: Part of the Ship

Slowly, Elizabeth inched across the deck, practically crawling, staring at her dying love. He was gasping in shallow breaths, trying to collect what little air in his lungs that he could. When she reached him, he gazed at her, his eyes starting to glaze over. She cupped his face in her hands.

"Will... Will, stay with me! Don't go please!"

Jones turned toward them. He gazed down at her in contempt.

Suddenly, there was a very loud shout. One of anger, pain, betrayal, grief, and pure adrenalin. Sora's head snapped down to the other end of the ship, and he saw Bootstrap Bill Turner running at Jones as fast as a blur. He was surprisingly quick for a big guy.

Jones heard the shout, but didn't have enough time to turn around before Bootstrap charged into his back. He smashed him against the railing of the ship, screaming, "Get away from my son!"

The others watched in awed respect, as Bootstrap bashed Jones with only his fists, beating him to the other side of the ship. He grabbed his head in one of his wide hands, and smashed it into the railing. Jones pushed him off, and spun around to punch him in the jaw. He barely reacted to it, and continued punching him.

Meanwhile, Jack was looking at the heart in his hand. Live eternal life on the seas, or save the life of a good man? He looked back up at Elizabeth, who was desperately demanding Will to stay with her. His face was set.

Bootstrap was slammed into the railing. Jones reached around his own back and yanked out the sword that was still sticking through him. The bent end broke off, but for the purpose he had in mind, it would do.

"You will not stall my judgment!" His blade began to descend, and then he jerked to a halt, the sword falling from slackening fingers over the side. His tentacles began to twitch, as if on their own accord. His arms jerked. He started making low, gurgling noises in his throat. He turned around, slowly.

The heart had been stabbed. Jack's dagger was sticking through it, and it was being held by Will. Jack had put it there. Because no matter how much he denied it, he really was a good man.

As Jones pulled in his last breaths, he gaped at them in disbelief. With his absolute last breath, he uttered a single word into the stormy sky: A name that meant everything to him.

"Calypso..." His entire being went slack, and he slumped over the railing. His body fell into the heart of the maelstrom. The gale blew his tricorn off, and carried it far away, to eventually be reclaimed by the ocean.

*******************************************************

"She's takin' us down!" Barbossa shouted.

The _Black Pearl_ was devoid of enemies. On the deck, there were only pirates, plus Riku, Yuffie, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Nehrut. The EITC's forces had just been driven off.

The _Flying Dutchman_, now captain-less, was being carried easily into the whirlpool between the two ships. Its mast was still locked with the _Pearl's_, as if determined to carry it into the depths with it.

"Can't let that happen." Nehrut said to himself. He lifted his hand into the sky, working his powers on the enemy's mast. He pushed against it, splintering wood. Eventually, the section of the mast broke free completely. It fell into the space between the two ships, tumbling into the whirlpool.

Barbossa steered the newly freed ship hard to starboard, out of the maelstrom to relative safety. Salt water splashed against their faces and sloshed over the sides.

"What about the guys?" Yuffie shouted over the noise.

It was at that moment that Nehrut's head shot over to where the _Dutchman_ was sinking into the maelstrom. "No..." A strong life had just flickered out of existence.

*******************************************************

Will gazed into Elizabeth's eyes, as they glazed over, and closed: His last sight in this life. Elizabeth let out a pained little sob, and gave him one last kiss. And with his last movement, he returned it.

For the first time since Sora had known him, Jack looked sad. He wasn't alone. Kairi was clutching his arm as if in a death grip. Tears were leaking from her eyes. Axel was pale, and looked as if he would be sick. Bariss was trying to put on a strong face, but she was just barely hanging on. And Sora let a few tears slip, too.

As Will slipped away, something strange happened. The small amount of fighting that was still going on in the ship totally stopped. All around them, the _Dutchman's_ crew was walking slowly toward them, as if in a trance. Some were emerging from out of the woodwork, as Jones had earlier.

Their weapons weren't drawn, and they were chanting, "Part of the ship, part of the crew. Part of the ship, part of the crew." One of them (Jimmy Legs) picked up the Dead Man's chest, and opened it. None of them were really paying them any attention, and only one held a weapon. Bootstrap held the black handled knife Sora had seen before –Will's knife, he surmised.

They grabbed their weapons, nervously, but Jack motioned for them to put them away. "We have to abandon ship, mates." He tried to pull Elizabeth away from Will's prone form.

She was practically screaming at him to wake up, and not to leave her, as if she thought she could bring life back into his body with pure volume. She was clutching the front of his jacket, desperately. It was a sad sight. "I won't leave you!"

"How do we get out of here?" Axel said, running toward the port side of the ship, where he could see the _Pearl_ climbing out of the maelstrom. Fortunately, there were two specks coming toward them in the direction of the _Pearl_. Riku and Nehrut.

They landed on the deck, and drew their weapons instantly when they noticed the dozens of crewmen. "Leave them!" Jack exclaimed. "Just get us out of here!"

Nehrut scooped up Bariss from around her waist. Then he grabbed Jack with his mind. "How many times do I have to save your life, Sparrow?" Riku picked Axel up from under his shoulders, while the Guardian gently picked up Elizabeth, all but kicking and screaming. Sora summoned his Keyboard, and Kairi wrapped her arms around his shoulders as he got on. Apparently, she wasn't entirely up to flying herself just yet.

They took to the air, and at the last second, Jack the monkey leapt onto her shoulder and crawled into Sora's hair. They streaked toward the _Black Pearl_ just as Bootstrap bent over his son's lifeless body.

"The _Dutchman_ must have a captain." He raised his knife and began to work.

Moments later the entire ship was claimed by the maelstrom.

*******************************************************

Jack was the first one who touched down on the deck of the _Pearl_. The monstrous storm was clearing up unbelievably quickly. It seemed that Calypso was satisfied with the death of Davy Jones, and was calling her storm away. Already there were patches of bright blue sky.

Gibbs walked up to Jack as the rest of them touched down, looking worried. "Jack! Oh, thank goodness. The armada's still out there, the _Endeavour's_ coming upon us starboard, and I think it's time we embraced that oldest and noblest of pirate traditions."

_Running away._

"I can't believe," Roxas said, "that you went through all that, and only one ship has been destroyed."

Jack stared out at the armada for a second before responding to Gibbs, "Never actually been one for tradition."

"Orders!" He shouted, "Lock the sails and lay 'em in irons!"

Sora didn't know much about nautical terms, but this didn't sound like great advice. Apparently, Barbossa shared his opinion.

"Belay that! Or we'll be a sittin' duck!"

"Belay that 'belay that!'" Jack countered.

"But captain-" Gibbs said.

"Belay!"

"The arma-"

"Belay!"

"The _End_-"

"No!"

"But-"

"Shut it!" He walked up to stand by the helm.

*******************************************************

Lieutenant Groves watched the Black Pearl come to a complete stop through a small telescope. He stood on the bridge of the _HMS Endeavour_, as Lord Beckett walked up to join him.

"What are they waiting for?" Groves wondered aloud, puzzled.

"He expects us to honor our agreement." Beckett answered simply. "Ready the guns." He smiled to himself. Despite the loss of Jones, and the Heartless and Nobodies' support, he would have victory here today. He'd eliminate every last trace of piracy in the Caribbean for good. And he'd start with the _Black Pearl_.

His smile widened further as he heard the familiar sound of cannons being prepared for battle. "Nothing personal Jack. It's just good business."

*******************************************************

As the _Endeavour_ advanced toward the _Pearl_ at top speed, Sora began to worry. He, Riku, and Nehrut walked up on the bridge where Jack and Barbossa were standing.

"Shouldn't we do something?" Sora asked.

"Jack, I know you have something planned here." Nehrut said. "It would make us feel a whole lot better if you would just be out with it already."

Jack didn't respond, he just scanned the ocean, as if looking for something. Suddenly there was a disturbance to the port side of the _Pearl_. Something huge was breaking the surface.

The _Flying Dutchman_ had survived. Water was pouring from its portholes, streaming from the sails and off the deck. It turned, and sailed directly toward the _Pearl_. But Sora noticed something odd. Its features seemed a bit less frightening than before. Its timbers didn't look as if they were covered in algae, and it had lost its green appearance.

On the deck of said ship, something similar was happening. The surviving crew was changing. Bits of green or grey skin were peeling off. Mollusks and bits of coral were slipping from their skin, and hitting the ground with sickening _clomp_ sounding noises. They were becoming human again.

One particular man looked to be in his early fifties. He had long black hair slightly reminiscent of a certain younger man's. He peeled a dying starfish off his face and dropped it into the calm water below.

They all looked up at a young man in a black coat standing on the bridge. He was covering up his chest, where there was now a fresh, long red scar over the place his heart used to be. He turned around with a strange smile on his face.

"Ready on the guns!" Will ordered, smiling. (1)

Back on the _Pearl_, Elizabeth beamed.

"Full canvas!" Jack exclaimed, a genuine smile plastered on his face once again.

Laughing ecstatically, Sora rushed down the deck and climbed up one of the masts himself, unfurling one of the massive, black sails with Nehrut floating on the other end. Barbossa spun the wheel hard to starboard, as Will spun his new ship hard to port.

Sora realized at the same time as Beckett: the two ships were lining up on either side of the _Endeavour_. They were going to pass on either side of it and blast it to shreds as they went by.

Jack looked at the approaching vessel, a smirk on his face. When the _Pearl_ was even with it, he said calmly to Gibbs, "Fire."

Gibbs spun around and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Fire!"

Will heard it. "Fire!"

Barbossa and Elizabeth repeated it. "Fire!"

Sora, Riku, Axel, and Nehrut echoed them, "Fire!"

Every gun on the two newly allied ships opened fire on the _Endeavour_ at once. Cannon balls blasted from the guns in a shower of flames, impacting with the sides of the ship and spewing chunks of metal and slivers of wood everywhere.

*******************************************************

During the last few moments of Beckett's life, he was approaching a form of quiet madness. He was paralyzed with a mixture of fear, doubt, incredulity, and indecision. That is why he found himself totally unable to give his men a single order.

In the chaos of the double-broadside, his lieutenants Groves, Greitzer, and others rushed toward him, asking desperately for orders. He didn't answer, he couldn't.

"Orders sir!?"

"Sir!"

"Sir, what is your command!?"

Staring straight ahead, white faced, and terrified, he said only four words. They were so quiet that the men barely heard them over the explosions. "It's just... good business."

Apparently, Groves took this to mean 'abandon ship', because that's what he shouted to the men, and it's what he himself did three seconds later.

As his men died around him, and his ship was blown to splinters, Beckett stood almost completely still, wondering how it had all gone wrong. Holes opened up in the deck, soldiers were tossed about like rag dolls, slivers of wood came down like the rain that had only just abated.

The center mast of the ship was knocked down soon, crushing a handful of men before falling into the ocean.

Beckett slowly began to walk down the stairs to the bridge as the rear mast was felled by a cannon ball from the _Dutchman_. He walked down calmly, and without a sound (not that anyone would have heard a sound). He ran his hand along the railing as he did, as it was destroyed behind him.

No sooner had he reached the deck, the bridge was annihilated by the _Pearl_. Strangely, not one piece of wood hit him. He stopped near the middle of the deck, and simply stood there, staring into the sky with empty eyes. That was the moment when one of the cannon balls struck the hundreds of barrels of gun powder stored in the bowels of the ship.

The _HMS Endeavour_ exploded in a huge ball of flame. What was left of it sank quickly into the ocean to join Davy Jones, and Beckett's body was thrown onto the tattered remains of a floating East India Trading Company flag.

The _Black Pearl_ and the _Flying Dutchman_ sailed back to Shipwreck Cove, as the armada turned tail and retreated.

*******************************************************************************************

"They're running away!" Donald exclaimed from the crow's nest.

There was a split second of silence before every man, woman, animal, and otherwise cheered at the top of their lungs. They threw their hats in the air, flourished their weapons, discharged bullets into the sky.

Cotton's parrot abrubtly flew back to the _Pearl_ and landed on his master's shoulder. "Ready to sail! Ready to sail!"

All across the bay, it was the same. Some of the Pirate Lords were dancing around in joy. Captain Teague casually tossed his hat into the air, and grinned.

On the bridge of the _Pearl_, captain Jack smiled in satisfaction. "Mr. Gibbs."

"Captain?"

He handed his precious tricorn to him. "You may throw my hat, if you like."

"Aye-aye Captain!" He tossed it far toward the other end of the ship, smiling.

"Now go and get it."

Sora was leaping up and down in ecstasy, making a total fool of himself, but no one seemed to care. Kairi ran up to him and hugged him tight, and he gladly returned it. Nehrut was zipping around the sails, feeling pretty excited. Yuffie was the picture of enthusiasm, running up and down the length of the ship, pumping her fists into the air. It was rather funny, until a grubby pirate tried to grope her, and then Riku slugged him.

Everyone was celebrating, even Barbossa cried out in joy once, little Jack hopping up and down on his shoulder.

They had won.

*******************************************************

It was a slightly different scene of the bridge of the _Flying Dutchman_. Its new captain, William Turner was leaning against the railing, gazing out at the _Pearl_, where his new wife was.

His father walked up from behind him. With his curse lifted, the resemblance to his son was more noticeable. Will had inherited his hair.

"Orders sir?"

Will turned to face him. "You're no longer bound to the _Dutchman_, you're free."

"Aye." He admitted, looking him right in the face. "That's a fine thing, but from my reckoning, I still have a debt that must be paid... if you'll have me."

A small smile appeared on the face of Will II. "On the wheel then, Mr. Turner."

"Aye, Captain Turner."

Will went back to staring at the _Pearl_, his eyes betrayed a bit of the sorrow that he was feeling. Will I saw him staring, and followed his gaze to a blonde-haired woman standing on the other ship. He gazed at his son with understanding.

"This ship has a purpose again." He said. "And where we are bound, she cannot come. One day ashore, ten years at sea. It's a steep price, but it must be done."

Will looked at his father, and smiled. "Depends on the one day."

Bootstrap smiled approvingly at him. Suddenly, there was a light flashing above him. He, Will, and the rest of the now human crew looked up in the direction of the third sail above them. In it was the dark shape of a Keyhole. Will knew enough about such things to know what needed to be done.

He stood up on the railing and waved his arms. "Sora!" He shouted across the water. Presently, Sora noticed him. He pointed toward the sail, and his eyes followed his pointing finger.

"Be right back." Sora kissed Kairi's forehead, and leapt over the side of the ship, to the astonishment of a few pirates. Halfway down the side, he summoned the Keyboard beneath his feet. He pulled up at the last second and cruised above the water toward the _Dutchman_.

He shot up the side of the ship, and over the bridge. He transformed the board back into a blade and landed lightly next to Will.

"Hey captain." He said lightly. He looked up at the sail, and pointed Oblivion into the center of the Keyhole. Blue light gathered around it, and then burst forward in a beam of light toward the sail. It pierced the Keyhole, which emitted a huge flash of light.

Sora dismissed Oblivion as the Keyhole vanished, and put his hands behind his head. He turned to Will. "So what's new with you?"

Will leaned against the railing. "Well, I've gotten married, I've died, I've blown up an EITC flagship, and I've become captain of a magic galleon. It's been an interesting day."

"I've had some of those."

"Care to introduce me, son?" Bootstrap asked.

"This is Sora. The boy I mentioned to you before." He patted a hand on the Keybearer's shoulder. "Sora, this is my father."

"Hiya. Glad to see you're not all fishy anymore."

"You're too kind, lad."

"So, Sora..." Will smiled a little. "I take it that the young red-haired woman I saw earlier was this 'Kairi' you've been looking for?"

Sora smiled widely. "I'm happy to say that she is. And we've been dating for a few weeks now."

"Congratulations." Will looked over at the _Pearl_, and saw Kairi talking to Elizabeth. "Take good care of her, Sora. Don't take her for granted, or you may lose her."

"I won't." Sora said. He was silent for a moment, and then said, "Are you sure you can go through with this, Will? It'll be ten years before you can see Elizabeth again, you know that, right?"

"I know, Sora." He admitted. "But it has to be done. And in ten years, who knows? Maybe one day will become a lifetime."

"I'll be back in ten years, then." Sora smiled.

"I look forward to it."

They shook hands. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I think your bride wants some time alone with you." He saw a single rowboat coming from the _Pearl_. Elizabeth was in the back, and Pintel and Ragetti were at the oars.

"Until we meet again, Captain." Sending a smile at Will, he leapt from the ship and summoned the Keyboard as he went. He cruised just above the water, gave a high-five to Elizabeth as he passed, and landed back on the deck of Jack's ship.

Captain Sparrow sat on the bridge. When he saw Sora trade a kiss with Kairi, he said, "Mr. Gibbs!"

"Aye, Captain?"

"I've just been struck by inspiration. Plot a course for Tortuga!" As Gibbs walked away to speak with Mr. Cotton, he leaned against the railing of the ship. "From here on out, it's smooth sailing for me."

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_We're finally off of Port Royal! The next chapter is a special one, and after that comes a brand new world with a more original plot. I hope you enjoyed it._

_Xion: "Watch out for 358/2 Days! If you don't know what happens yet, you'll be completely shocked."_

_(1) Single most awesome moment of the series, right there. I am not kidding, the entire movie theater burst into cheers when this happened._

_Please review!_


	65. Chapter 64: A Sad Story

_Sorry about the wait, guys! You wouldn't believe the kind of craziness that's been going on lately. There was band stuff involved, and college courses, yada, yada, yada._

_Anywho, this is a very special chapter that revolves around my favorite telepath._

_Nehrut: "Jean Grey?"_

_Very funny._

_Nehrut: "I know, right? DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or the characters from the two other games included in this chapter. He also doesn't own two of the OCs that appear here. They belong to Shinku Ryuuga."_

_I know you've been waiting for this chapter for a long time, man! Here it goes..._

_------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Chapter 64: A Sad Story

"I can't believe Barbossa mutinied on him again." Sora said several hours later.

"At least they didn't leave him for dead on an island this time." Nehrut said, idly spinning a small pillow around in the air. "Not that a dive like Tortuga is much of an improvement, but still."

"But the laugh's on Barbossa this time." Riku chuckled. "He was probably out in the middle of the ocean before he realized Captain Jack stole his charts."

"I guess he realized Barbossa would betray him eventually." Kairi said.

Their conversation was interrupted by a loud 'Wak!' coming from the hallway. Donald ran in, holding an empty munny pouch. "Jack stole my munny!"

The others traded amused glances. "Do you think he plans it all out, or just makes it up as he goes along?"

Minutes later, everyone had left the lounge but Nehrut. He had planned on calling it an early night, but something wouldn't allow it. He was lying wide awake on one of the more comfortable couches in the room, which he had pretty much claimed as his own.

He was wracking his brain. What was it that wouldn't allow him to sleep?

_Oh, the storm._

That must have been it. He was momentarily satisfied to realize what had been eating at him (subconsciously) before he realized why a storm was troubling to him. And the memories that came flooding back to him were some that he wasn't in the mood to think of. Ever.

The first memory that came to him was the storm raging in the skies of Pax Pacis. The lightning striking the elegant buildings, reducing them to cinders. Thunder loud enough to deafen the average man.

Then a blur of red light flashing toward him in the throne room...

He had tried to avoid those memories ever since he had joined this crew of misfits, but it wasn't working. So he did what he always did when faced with pain; he meditated.

He did what he could to center himself, sitting cross-legged on the couch. He tried to gather peace into his mind, to calm the storm of painful memories swirling around in his head. But it was surprisingly hard this time.

Now more recent memories. A young man in red armor. Lightning bolts snuffing out the lives of good people he had known.

"Are you alright?"

Nehrut's eyes snapped open. He hadn't actually realized he had closed them in the first place. Bariss was sitting on the couch next to him, looking at him in concern. She had a hand on his shoulder. He probably didn't look that good, then.

He was right. He was panting, and there was a thin layer of sweat on his brow. He took a moment to catch his breath before he placed his hand over Bariss's, grateful for something to hold on to.

"What's wrong?" She asked softly. He somehow couldn't resist answering to that soft, wonderful voice of hers.

"Memories." He answered. "That storm earlier brought a few things back."

"Xaynew?" She ventured.

"Yeah..."

"I've told you about my past." She offered. "You can talk to me about yours, you know."

Nehrut was silent for a few moments, before cracking a half-smile. "I guess I'll have to let someone know eventually. It may as well be to someone I know I can trust. But are you sure you want to know? My story isn't a very happy one."

"I'm sure." She squeezed his hand encouragingly.

"Alright." He leaned back into the couch. "I come from the world of Pax Pacis. Long before the Brotherhood of the Dark moved in, it was a peaceful world...

********************************************************

_It was a beautiful world, covered in lush, green forests and mountain ranges. The forests were broken only occasionally by large, prosperous cities, and small villages only miles outside of them._

_The cities were composed of elegant buildings; Tall, well constructed, beautiful towers, small, well-kept stores, well-sized, warm homes. People walked up and down the streets with smiles on their faces. One particular palace-like building overlooked this particular city._

_It was a massive building over three hundred feet wide, and a few hundred feet high. The smooth, shining, dark grey outer walls were roughly pentagonal in shape, with the widest end facing the capital city of Salusis from the top of a large hill that was nearly a mountain in itself. A huge arched doorway was set at the front gate. Situated high above it, and slightly behind, a pair of large, blue-green stained-glass windows looked out across the city from the throne room. Inside the outer walls, the castle was built out of many different buildings all linked together. Some stretched upward to form its eight towers, with one high, central one near the center._

"The people were happy. We lived in peace. We were a prosperous world, and were among the first to make contact with other worlds."

_A man in a white hooded cloak and a red sash walked up to the palace gates. He wore two metal plates on his forearms, had an amputated left ring finger, and was clearly well-armed. He did not draw these weapons, however. Next to him was a small blue-grey-skinned being of half the height. His head was large, and his pupil-less eyes turned from black to violet to dark red depending on the lighting. His was in a white and dark blue jumpsuit. (1)_

"We formed an immediate alliance with the world nearest us. A place called 'The Holy Land.'"

_They walked up the steps of the palace and met a welcoming party consisting of seven people. Two of them were boys only about thirteen years-old and another of about ten or eleven. The older ones were two men and two women in middle age. All of them were dressed well. One of the young boys had a glowing blue saber on his belt._

"The royal family looked out for the whole world, wisely and well. My family served for generations as the defenders of peace and justice on our world, and sometimes the immediate worlds around us. My great great great grandfather was the first in our line to do so, to stop an invasion from our other neighboring world Furon. They're a war-like people, but they couldn't conquer us. Since then, we'd become tentative allies."

_The two beings from off-world greeted the royal family and their guardians. The tall human appeared fascinated by the blue blade that one of the young men offered to them. This was a ritual on Pax Pacis. The blade would be presented briefly to the visitors as a sign of trust._

_The tall human held it up to the light to examine it, marveling at how the sun's rays made it shine even brighter. He ran his fingers along its length, and then handed it back to the boy, stating that it was a magnificent weapon. The boy then handed it to the short alien, who looked at it for a much shorter amount of time. He handed it back, saying that he preferred the kind of weapon that 'went boom' but that it was still 'pretty cool.'_

_The youngest of the boys looked very irritated, and was glaring daggers into the back of the other boy's head, casting envious eyes toward the blade._

"My great great great grandfather fashioned a blade from the huge variety of crystals on our world, which was said to have given him his telekinetic powers, which we've since inherited. He named it Presul, and it has been passed on to the oldest in every generation since then, all the way down the line to me."

_All of them walked inside save for the boys. The youngest three in the group stayed outside. The thirteen year-olds started talking like the old friends they were, and went off to find three of their other friends, leaving the diplomatic business to their parents from here on. The younger one went off to his own devices._

"My brother –still going by Yenaw- was something of the family black sheep. He had a very strong mind, and was just as skilled a telepath as I was, but he had a 'dissocial personality disorder'.(2) A sociopath, he was always violent and hostile. He wouldn't let anyone else in. He didn't even seem to care about anything else. But he was ridiculously jealous of me. Probably because I had the sword, and the responsibilities that came with it. He didn't."

"We fought frequently, but one day, things came to a head in the worst possible way."

"_I'm sick and tired of living in your shadow, brother!" Yenaw shouted._

"_What do you mean?"_

_The two brothers stood in one of the courtyards of the palace. The ambassadors from Furon and the Holy Land had gone inside over two hours ago, and Nehrut's friend was spending time with his girlfriend. The thirteen year-old Nehrut had walked into one of the garden/courtyards surrounding the palace and had nearly been hit by a flying plant pot. He was used to his brother's outbursts but today felt different somehow._

_Yenaw was particularly angry today. But why was that? Perhaps it had something to do with their visitors. That was likely it. Nehrut would be around them a lot more frequently, as he was the 'chosen wielder' of Presul._

"_You trot around with that blade, holding it like a trophy." Yenaw went on. "And I'm here, sitting on the side, watching you live it up. How mother and father allow someone like you to wield it is beyond my reckoning."_

"_Someone like me? Holding it like a trophy?" He repeated incredulously. "Do you realize how ridiculous you sound right now?"_

_In response, Yenaw shoved him into a wall with his mental prowess. He left a crack in it, and fell to the ground. Nehrut got to his feet, and plowed him into the ground with a similar effort._

_Yenaw snarled as he got to his feet, and rushed toward him. Instinctively, Nehrut drew Presul and pointed it at the face of his younger brother. He stopped dead in his tracks, and looked cross-eyed at the blade. Its tip was an inch in front of his nose._

"_Just stop, brother." Nehrut said calmly. "You're making a fool of yourself."_

_He glared daggers at him, and then walked away, seething._

_Nehrut sighed in sadness and exasperation, sheathing the sword. Why did his brother have to be cursed with that disorder?_

_Yenaw walked away from the castle, eyes filled with anger. People noticed him passing and steered clear, knowing a bit of his reputation._

_He stewed in his own anger all the way back to his home, not knowing just how far this anger would take him._

"My brother always had a hard time controlling his anger. But with his condition, what could you expect, really? Maybe if he hadn't been cursed with it though, my world would have been spared."

_Just minutes after Nehrut and Yenaw's confrontation, three people encountered the Nobody._

_The first was a young man. He was tall and had long, black-brown hair slicked down the back of his head. His left eye was red, and his right was green. He wore a black trench coat over a red muscle shirt with dark pants. He wore a pair of fingerless, metal-backed gloves on his hands. On his belt was a katana in a sheath with green dragons running down its length. His name was Takuya._

_The second was a girl of the same age, who was holding his hand. She stood a few inches shorter than him. She had pale skin, and long black hair with violet steaks through it. Both her eyes were a bizarre shade of pink. She wore a black jacket over a dark blue tank top. Strapped to her back was a metal longbow, and a quiver full of razor sharp arrows. Her name was Mina.(3)_

_The last was a shorter girl of only about five feet tall. She had short, wavy blonde hair, pale skin, and light blue eyes. She wore a violet jacket and long, loose skirt. She wore fingerless gloves of the same exact color of dark violet. Unlike the others, this girl was clearly not carrying any weapons. Her name was Liz, (an unusual name for someone on this world) and she was the happy fiancee of Prince Essej._

_They walked down the street in the opposite direction from the palace. They were talking companionably as any set of friends would. Finally, almost ten miles from the palace, Takuya asked, "Do you think the Furon's roasted anyone by now?"_

_Liz rolled her eyes. "Just because he's a Furon doesn't mean he's going to kill them, Takuya."_

"_Well, think about it for a second, Liz." Mina interrupted. "Those aliens have tried to wipe this place out for years, right?"_

"_That was _one_ time." Liz corrected, rolling her eyes again. "And it was over a hundred _years_ ago. They haven't tried anything since."_

"_Maybe they were biding their time?" Takuya suggested, still not totally convinced._

"_Do I have to spell it out for you?"_

"_You usually do." Mina said, grinning._

"_The Furons are starting to die out. They keep themselves immortal through cloning, and their batches are starting to degrade."_

"_How do you know that?" Takuya asked, clearly surprised._

"_Essej told me last night."_

"_What were you doing with him last night?" He asked, smirking devilishly._

_She was just able to hide her blush, but didn't respond to him. "The Furons need our help if they don't want to go extinct. Besides, if their ambassador really intended to kill the King, then Nehrut and his mom would have sensed it by now. _And_ the guardians are still in there with him."_

_Takuya sighed in resignation. "Okay, you're right."_

"_As always..." Mina added._

_Liz just smiled as they continued their walk._

_The streets were nearly empty, for one reason or the other. It was either because they were staff at the castle attending to the diplomats or the royal family, or because the sky threatened rain._

_Fairly far off to the south, there were dark storm clouds approaching. But there was something unusual about this._

"_Those weren't there earlier..." Takuya commented, gazing at the clouds. "The sky was totally clear."_

"_Weird." Mina agreed._

_It got much weirder when a huge bolt of lightning shot from the clouds, and struck the space not ten feet in front of them._

_They leapt back reflexively, shocked and confused. Lightning didn't travel at a nearly horizontal angle to strike a place miles away. It was unnatural, especially when a person appeared in the space._

_A figure was kneeling down in the scorched, black patch of pavement where the lightning had hit. He was wearing a red cloak and light armor plating with an unfamiliar crest on it. He had straw-colored hair, and they recognized him immediately._

'_Yenaw' rose to his full height, and looked himself over, admiring the new clothing. By now, the clouds had come rushing in at a ridiculous speed, and had nearly covered the city in a matter of seconds. He looked up into those clouds as if with curiosity._

_He then turned his gaze to his gloved hand. He wiggled a few of his fingers, which began to spark lightly. He looked back to the sky, and raised his hand high. He quickly closed his hand and made a fist. There was a flash of lightning and a boom of thunder._

_He smiled, and moved his hand in a wide circular pattern around the sky. The dark clouds above them began to swirl and churn in the sky like the eye of a hurricane. He clenched his fist again, and the hole closed up again immediately._

_His smirk widened, and a manic gleam came into his eyes. "Power... Finally. I have the greater power..." He chuckled low in his throat._

_It was all a little much for Takuya. Of course, it would be a lot for anybody if your friend's psychotic brother suddenly appeared in a lightning bolt, with an unknown emblem on his chest, started manipulating the weather, and then mumbled about power under his breath._

_He put one hand on the hilt of his katana. He and Yenaw had gotten violent before, and it always paid to be prepared._

_Yenaw noticed this, and held out his hand. There was an eerie red light, and a scarlet crystal blade appeared in his hand. He took up a fighting stance he had seen him take before. With his blade pointed directly at his opponent with both hands._

_Takuya pulled out his katana. The hilt was wrapped in green bandages and had a bronze guard. The blade itself was jet black, and shining. He took up a fighting stance himself, holding his blade back by his head, point facing forward, and his free hand held palm up, as if beckoning._

_Mina held up her longbow, already loading an arrow from the quiver, and taking careful aim, with her right eye closed. But Liz stepped forward, arms held out in a placating gesture._

"_Everyone put your weapons down!" She said firmly. She looked at 'Yenaw'. "What's going on here, exactly, Yenaw?"_

"_Not Yenaw." He corrected. The look on his face suggested that he was trying to remember some distant memory. "Xaynew. And what's going on here is that I just found three new practice dummies."_

_And without further explanation, he charged at them._

_Takuya brought his blade up to meet his. They met in a shower of sparks, and Takuya parried his next blow, and stabbed at the Nobody's chest (of course, he wouldn't know what a Nobody was)._

_Xaynew leapt away from the blow, and lost a lock of hair. The cause of this was a razor-sharp steel arrow coming within an inch of his head, and just barely missing it. Mina was already loading another one from the quiver on her back, which held more than two dozen of them. She fired, and this time Xaynew was forced to deflect it with his blade._

_As it landed on the ground with a clatter, Takuya struck at him again. Xaynew had to duck under a swipe that could have taken his head off. So he struck at his midsection, but the attack was parried fairly easily. He blocked the follow up attack aimed at his face._

_And then surprisingly, he was kicked hard in the stomach by Liz. He stumbled backwards, and got clipped in the shoulder by one of Mina's arrows._

_He grunted in pain, and gave ground, backing away from Takuya and Liz's attacks. Mina hung back to aim from a safer distance._

_Xaynew parried a strike from Takuya and slashed at Liz. She held up her arm, and the scarlet blade hit her wrist. It impacted with a concealed combat bracelet under her jacket, and stopped dead. Liz advanced forward, aiming a punch at the Nobody's face._

_Using his free hand, he grabbed her wrist, and threw her over his shoulder with all his might. She hit the ground several feet away._

_He parried another blow from Takuya, and then leapt over him entirely. He landed on his other side, and punched out his hand in Mina's direction. A large gust of wind knocked her off her feet and sent her flying backwards._

_He turned around just in time to block Takuya's next strike. Their blades became locked together for a matter of seconds, and they looked at each other from past them. "Is that all you've got?" Takuya taunted, smirking at him. "I thought you were supposed to be powerful now?"_

"_I'm just getting warmed up!" He disengaged from Takuya's blade just as Mina shot another arrow at his back. Had Takuya not brought up his weapon in time, she would have run her own boyfriend through._

"_Sorry!" She shouted, getting ready to fire again._

_Xaynew was ready for her. He twisted around to face her, and made a gesture as if inviting her over (palm up, and fingers beckoning). A gust of wind from the other side of her caused her to misfire into a nearby tree, and drop her weapon. She flew forward…_

_Right into Xaynew's outstretched sword._

_Her eyes widened, and she let out a strangled kind of gasping noise. She looked down, seeing the sword embedded into her body all the way up to its hilt. There was a small amount of blood seeping from the wound in her stomach._

_Xaynew smiled widely, with a manic gleam in his eyes. He turned both of them around, and shoved her off his blade. She fell to the ground, and clutched at the wound, groaning in agony._

_Takuya gaped, disbelieving._

That didn't just happen…

_He was still just standing there, with unshed tears in his eyes, when Liz ran past crying in rage._

_As she engaged Xaynew in one-on-one combat, Takuya dropped his sword and rushed over to the fallen Mina. He bent down over her, and examined the wound, hoping desperately that it hadn't hit her spine. It didn't seem to have, but she was clearly in a lot of pain, and she was losing blood._

_He held her in his arms, cradling her head in his hand, and supporting her by the small of her back. "Please, Mina…" He whispered to her. "Please don't leave me now."_

_A mute nod was her response. She drew in a harsh gasp of air, and trembled in his arms. He kissed her briefly for what might have been the last time, and set her back down on the ground as gently as was possible. He turned around at the sound of a pained exclamation._

_Liz was on the ground, clutching her side. There was blood on her hand. Xaynew looked down at her, still smirking._

_Takuya had had enough. He grabbed his weapon, and stood up slowly. He glared daggers at Xaynew, and a single tear fell from his eye to the ground. The second it struck the pavement, he held his blade to the sky, clutching it in both hands._

"_Spread your wings, Ryuumaru!" He shouted._

_The blade let off a flash of emrald green light, and then began to change. The blade lengthened, and widened, becoming nearly seven feet long. Its sharp edges took on a scarlet color, while the rest remained black. The guard changed, emerging from the metal on either side, stretching down the length of the hilt until they looked like two bronze wings on either side of the hilt. The hilt itself had also become longer, long enough to hold it with two hands._

_Takuya gripped it firmly, and pointed the tip of the blade at Xaynew. "Dragon Fire Barrage!"_

_The blade was enveloped in green flames, which quickly burst forth from it as giant fireballs at the Nobody._

_He lifted his hand, and lightning shot down from the sky into his palm. With his hand coursing with electricity, he punched it out at the flames, and lightning shot forward._

_The two elemental attacks collided in midair, and there was an explosion, kicking up dirt and chunks of earth in between the two warriors._

_When the smoke cleared, they were both still standing, holding their weapons in fighting positions. "Don't hold back you little punk!" Takuya shouted._

_They rushed toward each other._

"One day when we received two special visitors from Furon and the Holy Land, things went horribly wrong inside of my brother. That was the day our world changed for the worse."

_In the throne room of the palace, the royal family and the guardians were speaking with the off-worlders._

"_It's a pleasure to have you here." King Prudens said to the visitors, taking a seat in one of the two thrones in the room. Queen Forma sat by his side. "And we sincerely hope we can reach a favorable agreement with the Furon Empire."_

"_Yeah, yeah, so do I." The alien said. "But tell me, why is the assassin here?"_

"_I am here to ensure that your agreement doesn't interfere with the one they have with _my_ world." The assassin explained._

"_You need not worry, my friend." The King said. "We have been allies for far too long to betray you so suddenly. I have no desire to bring harm to your world."_

"_Very good. My master sends his regards."_

"_Now, down to business."_

_The large doors at the end of the room opened, and in rushed Nehrut, and Prince Essej. Essej was the same height as Nehrut. He had similar brown hair, but with a reddish tone to it. His eyes were bright blue, and had a sparkle to them. He wore the deep green robes that marked him as royalty._

_They stopped when they realized that the eyes of their parents and visitors were plastered on them immediately. They had been trying to be subtle._

"_Glad you could join us boys." Nehrut's father Durus was trying to restrain a laugh, but his mother Callidus looked disapproving._

"_Sorry dad."_

_They walked into the room, trying to look professional._

"_Boys, these are the delegates from Furon and the Holy Land." The King said. "I think you'll remember Altair Ibn La'Ahad." He had a bit of trouble pronouncing the last name of the assassin, as he always did. "And this is Cryptosporidium 137."_

"_Salus Pax Pacis." The teenagers said in unison._

"_Safety and Peace." Altair responded._

"_Uh... Yeah. Hey." Crypto responded, a little confused._

"_This is my son, Prince Essej." King Prudens continued with the introductions, disregarding Crypto's lack of understanding, and Essej's dislike of the title. "And the youngest of our guardians, Nehrut. Tardy as always, eh boys?"_

_They grimaced on the inside._

"_Okay, enough small talk Monkey-boy." Crypto said, also not liking titles. "Let's get down to the nitty-gritty before I have to start blowing stuff up."_

"_Should we be concerned?" Essej asked Nehrut quietly. He shrugged._

"Looking back, I wonder whatever happened to Altair and Crypto. What happened next was a bit confusing..."

_Suddenly, Callidus and Nehrut looked up into the air. Their senses were picking up something bad. Nehrut drew Presul, and Callidus drew a similar blade made of green crystal._

_Crypto freaked out and drew a blasting weapon from his sleeve. It looked more like it had materialized there. He pointed it at Callidus. She shook her head and pointed up at the ceiling. Altair and Durus drew their blades, as well. Altair held a more traditional saber made of steel, and Durus a blade of green crystal like his wife's._

"_What's wrong?" Queen Forma asked, rising from her seat slightly._

"_Something's coming." Nehrut explained, his eyes on the ceiling._

"_This is strange." His mother added. "I've never felt anything like it, but there's something familiar about it."_

_Some of them looked at Crypto, expecting a betrayal. "Don't look at me."_

_Suddenly, the roof cracked open with the sound of a thunder clap. Chunks of the roof fell down around their heads, and the telepaths worked together to toss them away. Crypto immediately started shooting through the new hole in the roof. Yellow balls of energy shot from the end of his blaster. The shots collided with something and bounced into the walls._

_When the dust cleared, they didn't like what they saw._

_Floating above them was what was left of Yenaw. He was wearing red armor, not yet marked with the Brotherhood's crest, but by the Nobody emblem. He had a red crystal blade in his hand. Beyond him, the sky was dark, filled with storm clouds and lightning bolts._

"_Yenaw!" His father shouted. "What do you think you're doing?"_

"_Taking what's mine, father." He raised his hand to the skies, and a bolt of lightning struck the center of the room, mere inches away from Essej. "I'm stronger than any of you now. And I'd like vengeance."_

"_For what!?"_

"_My years living in the shadow of my dear brother there!" He pointed his new blade at Nehrut like an accusing finger. "You've strutted about with that blade long enough. It's time it had a new owner."_

"_Do you hear yourself, son?" Durus exclaimed, quite as outraged as Nehrut had been earlier that day. "He hasn't strutted anywhere! And you know our traditions-"_

"_Forget your decrepit traditions!" He interrupted. "I am the future! With my new power, I will bring true glory to this world. And I can bring the others under my control!"_

"_I might have something to say about that." Altair said calmly, taking up a fighting stance._

"_You stay away from my planet monkey!" Crypto shouted, making a few adjustments to his weapon so that it changed into another one. "Now could we _please _get over this whole dysfunctional family crap and get to the part where I kill something already?"_

"_I'm sorry son," Durus said disregarding Crypto yet again, "But you won't have that blade."_

"_And you won't take this world, if that's what you've just implied." Prudens added, standing up from his throne._

"_Well, 'Your Highness', it's not really up to you."_

"_Son." Callidus asked calmly, "Please, stop this, and come down here."_

_Xaynew inhaled loudly, it wasn't a pleasant sound as the air came in through his teeth. It was like a snake hissing. "I will have this world one way or another." He smirked. "And if that means you all have to die..." Thunder boomed. "Then DIE!"_

_Two large lightning bolts shot down from the sky at the king and queen. They struck them both in the chests, electrocuting them painfully for a few seconds. Their bodies went limp, and fell into their chairs._

"_Mom! Dad!" Essej cried out in anguish. He ran toward them, but didn't even make it half-way there before a smaller bolt of lightning struck him in the back._

"_Son of a-!" Crypto ducked out of the way of a lightning bolt aimed at him, and fired up into the ceiling at the one who was now Xaynew. Arcs of blue lightning shot from his blaster toward him, but he successfully evaded the shots._

_Nehrut and Callidus shot up towards the newly created Nobody (though of course they didn't know what he was yet)._

_Callidus was there first, and she struck toward her former son's chest. Her blow was parried, and he struck back at her face. Nehrut blocked the strike and mentally threw him back into the far wall. He crashed and fell to the ground behind one of the thrones, and rose up with a blast of wind._

_He dropped back to the ground immediately to avoid a razor sharp throwing knife that Altair had sent at him. Durus ran towards him, blade held aloft. Xaynew stabbed at his stomach, and he lept away. But the Nobody kept coming, striking first at his head, and then at his legs. Durus wasn't psychic, but he was still an able swordsman._

_Altair ran to his side, and swept at Xaynew's legs with his own blade. The Nobody lept over the attack, and kicked the assassin in the chest, knocking him onto his back. Before he could finish the man, however, concentrated balls of yellow energy were coming toward him._

_He blocked the first strike and leapt over Altair toward Crypto, deflecting more shots. He ran toward the alien, and was about to cut him in half when a hidden jetpack in his back activated, sending high into the air. In his place was Callidus, her sword aimed at his chest._

_He frantically parried, and took to the air. His face met the bottom of Nehrut's boot, and he crashed to the ground in front of Prudens's throne. His former brother landed in front of him, his blade flashing toward his neck. He ducked under it, and blocked the follow up attack._

_They stood there for a few seconds, gazing hard at the other past the blades._

"_You're out of your mind!"_

"_You have no idea..."_

_Xaynew threw the blade off him and side-stepped to the right. Crypto emptied his disintegrator ray toward him, but he ran around the stream of fire._

_His blade met Durus's with a flash of sparks. Despite the older man's greater size, he was pushing him back. At the speed his blade was going all around them, it looked like a bright red swirling mass, nearly obscuring his form. It was a wonder that his opponent was able to keep blocking the strikes._

_But it didn't last._

_As he was backing up, but before Altair or Nehrut were able to reach him, he tripped over something. It was Prince Essej's prone form lying face down on the floor, clothes smoldering._

_Durus landed on his back, and his blade fell from his grasp._

_Snarling, Xaynew seized the opportunity, and stabbed._

_There was a strange noise as Durus's chest was holed by his former son's blade; some kind of combination between a gasp, and a gurgle. His eyes went wide, and for a single frozen second, he stared at Xaynew with something like sadness in his eyes. And just like that, he died._

_Xaynew withdrew his blade with a sneer on his face. He looked into the disbelieving, horrified, angry, grieving faces of his mother and brother and said, "One down."_

_Then he was slammed into the wall again by Nehrut and Callidus both. Their hands were outstretched and there were tears in their eyes. They continued to press the Nobody into the wall, which was starting to crack under the pressure. Crypto and Altair stood to either side of them, weapons at the ready._

"_What's happened to you?" Callidus asked, trying hard to hold back sobs._

"_I woke up." He responded without a hint of remorse. Then he shouted into the sky, a loud, bellowing, animal cry. The thunder echoed him, and a lightning bolt streaked down from the sky through the hole in the roof._

_At least her death was quick. The bolt struck her in the back. For a moment, she seemed surprised, as if she didn't quite believe that she had just been struck by lightning. Her hand slowly opened, and her blade fell from her slackening fingers to the floor, landing with a clatter._

_Then she closed her eyes, and looked almost serene as her knees buckled, and she fell forward. She didn't move again._

_Nehrut's hand fell to his side, and he stared at her lifeless form in disbelief. Xaynew landed on the ground again, and dodged Crypto's shooting. Something inside Nehrut finally snapped._

_With a cry of pain and anguish, he shot toward Xaynew with the speed of a bullet. The younger one was just barely able to catch the blow. The two hovered above the ground for just a moment, glaring at each other. Then they shot through the hole in the ceiling, their blades blurs of red and blue as they battled._

_Crypto and Altair looked after them just as the rain began to fall._

"_Man oh man, bro." Crypto said, watching the fight far above them. "Things are getting a little freaky-deeky around here. And I know a thing or two about freaky-deeky, let me tell you that! Whad'ya say we blow this rock and get a drink somewhere?"_

_Altair was silent for a moment, and then rushed toward one of the large pillars in the room that ran all the way from the floor to the ceiling. Using the intricate patterns engraved into it as handholds, he climbed up it to the ceiling with surprising speed._

"_Dude, what are you doing?"_

_Altair didn't answer until he reached the top and was standing on the ceiling. He unsheathed his sword. He spoke just loud enough so that the alien could hear._

"_Whatever that boy has become, it is a threat not only to this world, but to ours as well. Possibly others, as well." He turned his gaze from the battle to Crypto. "And as long as I breath, I will not make it easy for him. That boy may not be able to defeat him on his own, so I believe we should help him. Do what you will, but I will stay and fight."_

_He ran across the roof, following the fight._

_Crypto was still for a moment, thinking. Then he let out a huff of aggravation, and shrugged. He activated a small communications device on his wrist. "Pox, I'm gonna be running a bit late." He activated his jetpack and shot through the hole into the stormy sky._

_Unbeknownst to him, the second he left, the black form of the Telekinetic rose from the ground. The Keyhole of the world appeared in the wall behind the two thrones._

_*******************************************************_

_Nehrut stabbed at Xaynew's chest, but the blow was parried, and he was pushed away by a large gust of wind. His back crashed into one of the four large towers that jutted from the palace's roof._

_He pushed himself off the wall a split second before it was speared by Xaynew's sword. He landed squarely on the rain-slicked roof of the palace. Xaynew landed a few feet away. The storm was in full force now._

_Lightning forked the sky frequently, illuminating the false night with flashes of harsh light. Bolts were striking the surrounding buildings, taking chunks off of them and sending debris flying into the air. There were fires too intense to be extinguished by the downpour. The sounds of screaming filled the air._

_Nehrut looked at what had once been his brother. "You're a monster."_

_Xaynew's response to this was to lift his blade into the sky. Three narrow bolts of lightning struck it. They sizzled around the blade for a moment, before flowing through his body and into the palm of his free hand. The white-hot electricity coursed around his closed fist for a second, before he opened it, and thrust his hand in Nehrut's direction._

_He reacted instinctively, and brought his blade up to block the electricity. He jerked as the energy collided with Presul, but the attack was still blocked. Lightning kept pouring from Xaynew's hands and crackled around the blade. His own sword was still held high in the air, collecting the lightning from the sky._

_It didn't seem that it would ever end. Electricity kept shooting from his hand, and he didn't show any sign of tiring._

_Nehrut was calling upon his psychic energy to hold the lightning at bay. Beads of sweat were beginning to appear on his face, indistinguishable from the rain drops. He was exhausting too much energy just holding the attack back. Panting, he dropped to one knee, still holding his blade defensively in front of him._

_His life was suddenly passing before his eyes. He looked at his former brother, and saw a sadistic sort of satisfaction on his face. And to top it all off, the earth was shaking. But interestingly, buildings and such all around weren't falling, they were just disappearing._

_Not ceasing his attack, Xaynew said, "The door is open." These same words would be eerily repeated by a silver-haired kid just a few years later on a world called Destiny Islands. "If I can't have this world, no one can. It's been fun, brother."_

_The lightning intensified, and Nehrut was just barely hanging on. But then there was more lightning shooting from _behind_ him. The bluish lightning hit the Nobody square in the chest, knocking him backwards. His lightning attack finally stopped, and Nehrut let out a gasp of relief._

_Crypto ran past him, and fired another burst of lightning at Xaynew. While those two were occupied, Nehrut was hoisted up by one arm by a strong hand. Altair handed him his blade, which had slipped from his grasp without him realizing._

_By this time, half the city had vanished into thin air, and the screaming had ceased. The world was being destroyed, its heart being consumed by the Darkness that Xaynew had brought. A side effect of this was that corridors of Darkness were randomly popping up all over the place. One of them opened up not far away from them on the roof._

_Altair looked at it. Crypto looked at it. Nehrut looked at it._

_And without a word, Altair shoved the young telepath inside. It closed behind him immediately._

_That left the assassin and the alien alone with the Nobody, as everything vanished around them._

"_It's a good day to die." Altair said. He calmly drew his sword._

"_But let's still try to avoid that, shall we?" Crypto aimed his blaster._

_*******************************************************_

_Nehrut was falling through Darkness. All he could see was black everywhere, but he felt the sensation that he was flying quickly down a long tunnel. He looked around, clutching Presul tightly._

_Finally, a great distance away, he saw a tiny speck of light, which was growing larger by the second. Now he felt like he was being sucked with great force toward the light. His clothing billowed around him, and a ringing sound filled his ears._

_Then suddenly he was in a small, village-like place. He was falling from about ten feet in the air, and landed with a _thud_ in front of a brick building. The sign above it read, 'Accessory Shop.' Nehrut got to his feet, eyes flicking back and forth. What was this place? He saw a few people wandering about. A few of them glanced at him sympathetically. He heard a man whisper to his wife, "A star just went out."_

"_The poor boy. He can't be even fifteen."_

_As he wondered what in the worlds that was supposed to mean, he felt two people standing beside him. He turned around, and immediately decided that things couldn't get any weirder._

_Standing in front of him was an anthropomorphic mouse that came up to just about waist height. He had big, round ears and a kind face. He was wearing casual clothing, (for him, anyway) red pants with large, yellow buttons. Standing not far behind him was a tall man with long brown hair and a scar across his face._

"_A star just went out." The mouse said. "I'm sorry."_

_Nehrut stared at him in confusion for a moment, before asking, "What do you mean?"_

_The mouse looked at him with pity, and sighed. "I can explain everything, if you want. I'm Mickey Mouse. This is Leon." He extended his hand. "Welcome to Traverse Town."_

_*******************************************************_

"After about a month living with the King at Disney Castle, I needed to stretch my legs, I guess." Nehrut said. He was leaning heavily back on the couch, looking very weary. "I borrowed a Gummi ship and traveled to other worlds for a while. I'm not totally sure why. Maybe I wanted to run away from the past. Or maybe I wanted to meet my brother again, and give him some payback."

He sighed, and put his hand over his eyes. "I lost my family, my best friend, and my home in less than an hour. And all I had left of them was my sword and some memories."

Bariss was holding him, listening intently, though his story had brought tears to her eyes. She pulled him to her, and he leaned his head on her shoulder. He was grateful.

"We're a lot alike, huh?" She said. "Both orphans. Both forced to grow up too fast."

"There's truth to that." He answered. "Thanks for letting me talk. You're awesome, you know that?"

"You're not so bad yourself." She replied with a small grin.

As before, the one who had just finished their depressing origins felt better for having done so. As before, the two of them fell asleep together on the same couch.

As before, Roxas and Namine had heard everything.

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_Yay! I finally posted it! I hope you guys liked this chapter, and that it helped you understand Nehrut a little better._

_Nehrut: "Yeah! My life sucks."_

_You've got Bariss, quit whining._

_(1) Belonging to Assassin's Creed and Destroy All Humans!, respectively. I had just finished playing the latter game when I started writing this chapter and thought, 'Hey, why not!?' Might have been a mistake..._

_(2) An actual condition. Look it up._

_(3) Just to clarify, these two are Shinku's. I think he's including them in his own story. Check it out._

_(4) The adults' names mean 'Wise' 'Beauty' 'Toughness' and 'Clever' respectively, in Latin._

_Please review!_


	66. Chapter 65: Aloha!

_Now, it's time for the first new world I wanted to tackle in this story. I'd say it's pretty easy to guess the movie it's based on just by looking at the title, but I digress._

_Yuffie: "Yay!"_

_...It's not _that _big a deal..._

_Yuffie: "You've gottta make your own fun sometimes. Yay!"_

_...You're really strange. You know that, right?_

_Yuffie: "Of course! DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else. Enjoy the show!"_

* * *

Chapter 65: Aloha!

Sora was suffering from that peculiar feeling of déjà vu. The ten of them were now standing on a beach on a world that was best described as a tropical paradise. The only noticeable difference between this place and his home world was that he didn't see a paopu fruit tree anywhere. Plus, he could see the darker-skinned natives surfing out on impressive waves.

In fact, the places were so similar that he decided best to double-check with Donald. "What's the name of this world again?"

"Hawaii."

"You know, this place is a part of some other worlds out there." Nehrut said.

"Really?" Kairi asked, genuinely curious.

"Yeah. I forget where I heard that."

"If nobody knows anything about this world, things might be a bit difficult for us here." Mickey observed. "Let's take a quick look around. Darkness is close."

As they walked down the beach, Sora couldn't help but think that it didn't look at all dark. The locals were happily going about their business, and everything looked just fine. A few of them greeted them as they passed by, using the phrase, "Aloha!" They all returned the greetings whenever they came along.

It was one of the friendliest places he had ever been, Sora decided, and about as far from Port Royal as one could get. It was only after the fifth person greeted them that something clicked in the Keybearer's head. He stopped dead in his tracks.

The rest of them walked a few more steps before they realized that he was no longer among them. They turned around and Riku asked, "What's up?"

"They're saying 'Aloha.'"

Expressions of comprehension and surprise appeared on a few of their faces, but the others just looked confused. After a moment, Axel asked, "So?"

"And who else do we know who says that?"

Axel pondered this for just a few seconds before his memory flashed back to an irritating little ball of fur he had known from a few weeks back. "Oh not _him_..."

But suddenly there was a disturbance. And said 'him' was involved.

Further down the beach, people were screaming and running away. There were two beings stirring up trouble over there, but neither one of them were Heartless or Nobodies. He couldn't get a good look at them since sand was flying everywhere. They were perilously close to a small shack labeled, 'Surf Shack.'

"That's our cue." Nehrut said with a hint of exasperation in his voice. They ran.

As they got nearer, they could make out the features of the two combatants. Both were fairly short, around the same height as King Mickey or Donald. The first one looked like a twisted combination between a chihuahua and an insect. Its fur was pale yellow, and it's eyes were dark blue and pupil-less. It had a large nose, two long antennae and a few patches of light brown on its body.

It was shooting around the area with a misty 'tail' replacing its legs. Bolts of electricity were coursing around its body, and flowing between its antennae. It had a weird kind of high-pitched laugh.

His opponent was easily recognizable. He resembled a blue-furred hybrid between a dog and a koala bear.

Stitch (aka Experiment 626) had his extra set of arms out. His spines were sticking straight out of his back and his own set of antennae was twitching.

He kept trying and failing to get a firm hold on his flying opponent, and grunted and growled whenever he failed to do so. He wasn't deterred, however. He would leap right back at the other creature, claws slashing wildly.

Once, while Sora and the others were still a fair distance away, Stitch was able to wrap all four arms around it from behind, bringing it to the ground. He looked triumphant for a second, before it upped the voltage and shocked him into letting go.

When it was airborne again, it stuck its tongue out at him, and giggled. Stitch growled at him, and prepared to pounce again, when suddenly he was surrounded.

The Heartless had arrived in record time. This particular group was composed of mainly Shadows and Neoshadows. There was a new breed with them. The Torchbearers were humanoid with black skin and yellow eyes. There were red markings along their chests and they looked to be wearing purple grass skirts and headdresses. They held torches with flames already burning.

The other creature was just as surprised as Stitch at the appearance of the newcomers and apparently decided that Stitch was the lesser of two evils. He turned his attention from him to the Heartless. It tackled the nearest Shadow, engulfed in lightning, and reduced it to cinders.

Stitch growled at the familiar enemies, and jumped at a Neoshadow. He tore it apart with his four claws. If Heartless didn't fade into Darkness after their defeat, then this one would have been shreds of black flesh topped with yellow ping-pong balls.

One of the Torchbearers held the tip of his torch up to where its mouth would have been. A narrow stream of flame shot from the torch at Stitch, who leapt into the air to avoid it. He landed on all six near it, and chomped his mouth over its head, finishing it. Unnoticed to the small experiment, two more Torchbearers had snuck up behind him.

They were a millisecond away from attacking before they were taken out. The first by a sharp whip crack in the back of the head, and the other by Oblivion piercing through its chest. As they vanished, Stitch's ears perked up and he twisted around. He smiled a perky, toothy grin.

"Sora!" He leapt up toward Sora, who caught him and held him in one arm. Stitch licked him across the face, leaving a trail of green saliva.

"What's up Stitch?" He asked, wiping the saliva from his face.

"Eh." Stitch answered, with the alien equivilant of a shrug.

"Guys?" Kairi was cutting through a pair of Neoshadows. "Could we please catch up later?"

Sora threw Stitch at a Neoshadow. The experiment crashed into it and proceeded to shred it to pieces. Sora leapt at a second and destroyed it with a horizontal swipe of his Keyblade. He stabbed behind him and took out a Torchbearer. He leapt away from the attack of another one and shot ice shards at it.

Mickey ducked under a leaping Shadow and sliced into the air, taking it out as it passed overhead. He leapt toward a Neoshadow and sliced it in half before it even noticed his approach. The King spun around and shot a small ball of light at a Heartless behind him. It exploded against its chest, and took three others with it.

Nehrut stabbed his blade into a Torchbearer. He pulled it out, and used it to behead a Shadow in mid-leap. He thrust out his hand and blasted a group of them away, right into the path of Donald's Firaga spell. The Torchbearer that survived stumbled to its feet, and was promptly beheaded by Kairi.

She impaled another of its kind with her blade, and then fired Light through the remains into a Shadow. She turned around and swiftly cut through two more Heartless with just two quick strikes. She swept her Keyblade in a wide arc, and a crescent-shapes disk of Light sped from the blade's length and cut two Heartless cleanly in half.

Goofy leapt, and landed (shield first) on a Shadow, crushing it. Black mist seeped up from underneath it briefly. He got back to his feet quickly and blocked a stream of fire being shot at him. He moved toward the Torchbearer, still blocking it, and smashed into it when he got close enough. He then threw it like a frisbee into a Neoshadow, and it cut through it, shot around the area, and back to his hand.

Bariss wrapped her whip around a Heartless, and roughly pulled it toward her. She plunged Rose Blade into its chest, and released it. She then roundhouse kicked a Torchbearer in its face, knocking it to the ground. She pounced at it, and plunged the sai into its chest. She pulled it up, and then tossed it into the face of a Shadow.

The Heartless next to it was then flattened by the giant red-orange fist of Riku's Guardian. Riku himself leapt high into the air, and blasted Dawn into a group of Heartless. When he landed, he stabbed through a separate one, and blasted in the other direction.

Yuffie jumped toward a Torchbearer, her feet collided with its chest, and she imbedded her dagger in its face. She jumped off of it the second before a narrow jet of flame ignited the space she had been occupying. She pulled out her shuriken right when she landed, but didn't need to use it. Axel had already cut it in two with his chakrams.

The other creature was buzzing around the area, shooting small bolts of electricity at the Heartless. Every time one got too close, it would shoot away at a ridiculous speed, and turn up somewhere else, electrocuting some other one.

The fight went on for several minutes. A handful of the locals were watching in awe from a safe distance away, wondering what in the world (or any world, for that matter) was going on. A few select individuals were watching very, very closely.

Eventually, the fighting stopped, the Heartless having lost completely. Everyone turned their attention to the golden-furred creature Stitch had been trying to catch.

The second it realized that their attention was back on it, it took flight again. It didn't bother to hang around and torment Stitch again, knowing that it probably wouldn't be able to escape with all the others around. It shot away down the beach at an incredible speed, and was soon out of sight.

Stitch's ears drooped, and he fell back on the ground. He retracted his extra arms, spines, and antennae, and now looked like he had when Sora first met him. He let out a little sound of frustration.

So, Sora sat down next to him, and scratched the small alien's head. He had learned that he liked it behind the ears. Stitch seemed a lot more cheerful after he did that. His long tongue lolled out and he leaned in to Sora's hand.

"What was that thing?" Axel asked.

"Stitch cousin." Stitch answered.

This was news to them. Sora traded a slightly confused look with Donald and Goofy, who shrugged. None of them knew Stitch had any family. He seemed like one of a kind. Sora looked at Stitch again.

"You have a family?"

"Ih. Ohana!" He answered.

Sora was quiet for a moment. "Oh-whatta?"

"It means 'family.'" came a small voice.

They turned around and saw three people walking towards them. The one in front of the other two was a small girl of less than ten. Her dark skin indicated that she was one of the natives. She wore a red dress with white palm leaves on it. Her hair was long and black, and her nose was a bit large.

The second was another alien, though he was much different than Stitch. He was large in the midsection, had thick arms and legs, and a round head. His skin was mostly dark violet and had patches of pink in some areas. His nose was large and he had two sets of eyes.

The other was another alien. He was scrawny and ridiculously thin. He had pale, yellow-green skin and one large eye. A single antenna poked up from his head, and he had three legs. There were two slightly darker patches of skin on the back of his head.

It was the little girl who had finished Stitch's statement. She was looking at Sora and the others with that wide-eyed awe and excitement that was typical in all little girls. "Woooowwww!" She exclaimed slowly. "Are you Sora?"

He stood up and said, "Yeah, I am. Who are you?"

But instead of answering, she pulled out a camera hanging from a cord around her neck. She snapped a picture of Sora when he was bent down to look at her. The flash was close enough to his face to blind him. "I'm Lilo. Stitch told me a lot about you guys!"

"Uh, okay..." Sora said, rubbing his eyes, which were burning.

Kairi rolled her eyes at him and bent down to address Lilo more closely. "It's nice to meet you Lilo. My name is Kairi."

"You're Kairi?" She excitedly snapped a picture that blinded another person. "Stitch told me that Sora told him a LOT about you!"

"He even told Stitch?" Riku and Yuffie chuckled.

"And you're Donald and Goofy!" Lilo exclaimed. She walked up to the two and took yet another picture. Donald grumbled as his rubbed his eyes, and Sora wondered if she really needed the flash on with so much light already out.

"So what are you guys doing here?" Lilo asked.

"Is not obvious?" The first alien (the big one) asked in a voice that sounded suspiciously Russian. "The Key-wielding boy and his friends are here because of massive amount of Heartless walking around. Is interesting coincidence Experiment 221 escapes at same time."

"What's 'Experiment 221?'" Sora asked.

"Ah! Please do be excusing me." He walked forward and roughly shook Sora's hand. "I am Dr. Jumba Jookiba; Evil genius scientist from Kweltikwan. Is nice to be finally meeting you, Keyblade Master." (1)

"Uh, likewise." Sora was slightly unnerved by the 'evil' part.

"And you can call me Pleakley." The other alien introduced himself, extending his surprisingly flexible arm to shake Sora's hand.

"Do not be interrupting, my optic friend." Jumba said, poking him in his giant eye, causing him to back away. "Now, as I was trying to say, Experiment 221 is what you were seeing just moment ago. Is one of six-hundred twenty six experiments created by me!"

"And Stitch was another one?"

"Yes. Last one I ever made. Recently _somebody_ came across other previous experiments, which were hidden for _reason_!" He looked pointedly at Lilo and Stitch as he said this.

"Uh, how do you hide monsters?" Yuffie asked. When Stitch looked at her she added, "No offense, dude."

"Experiments dehydrated into small, numbered pods for easy storage. They being reactivated when put in contact with water." Jumba explained. "And as this world is being mostly water, is not good environment for super-destructive experimental beings."

Silence greeted this, until Kairi asked, "Why would you make things like that?"

Jumba shrugged. "It was fun."

Kairi looked as if he was fighting off the urge to slap him across the face.

"Now, thanks to troublesome little girl and 626, Experiment 221 is loose to make trouble. And I am being sure that we are not only ones looking for it."

"Want some help finding it?" Sora offered.

"Would be appreciated!" Jumba said. "Follow me back to house. Once there, we accurately plan our attack. And we must hurry, for we are not only ones looking for experiment."

* * *

_So, for those of you who don't know, Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep will feature a world called 'Deep Space' where 626 will be a party member, and a certain alien bad guy will serve as a boss battle. Should be interesting._

_Now, to all of those who celebrate it, have a Happy Thanksgiving!_

_(1) This guy's manner of speaking is just too fun._

_Please review!_


	67. Chapter 66: Race for the Experiments

_Okay, so this is kind of a set-up chapter. The real action starts soon. Still, I hope you enjoy this._

_Stitch: "DK do not own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square, or other things."_

_...Don't you just love him?_

* * *

Chapter 66: Race for the Experiments

Deeper in the Hawaiian Island of Kauai there were beautiful waterfalls in the lush tropical forests. Near one of these waterfalls, sitting in a pond was a large, black Gummi Ship the size of two houses mashed together. The ramp was down, and if one walked inside, they'd have found a meeting taking place.

There were four people sitting in chairs in the room, and a fifth was depicted on a large computer screen.

The first one stood at an impressive height of twenty feet. He had dark grey skin and small, light-blue eyes. His expression seemed to be stuck in a permanent scowl, and he wore black combat clothing. He resembled a giant, bipedal shark. Captain Gantu, former captain in the United Galactic Federation of Worlds.

The next one was much shorter. He had light brown fur, black eyes, a large, red nose, and three thick locks of hair sticking up comically from his head. He had two buck teeth that protruded from his mouth on opposite sides. He was happily eating a large sandwich. Experiment 625 was the only other one of Jumba's experiments to escape confinement, to be found by Gantu.

Xaynew sat in one of the chairs, which was much too large for him, having been designed for Gantu's species. He looked bored. He remembered how Ruxik thought Serndask had sent him on (what should have been) an errand, after he had failed his previous mission. Perhaps that was what he was doing to him now. Serndask was a harsh taskmaster.

Standing behind him of course, was a man in a black coat. He had long blue hair that came down on either side of his face. He had pointed ears, pale, yellow eyes, and an 'X' shaped scar in between them. Saix, the former second in command of Organization XIII, also known as the 'Luna Deviner.'

The one talking to them was a great distance away using a secure commlink frequency. Only his face could be seen clearly. He had white fur, and looked like a combination between a hamster and a rabbit. He had small, beady red eyes. A red cape with a yellow letter 'H' was visible around his neck. It was Jumba's old partner Dr. Jacques von Hamsterviel.

"Your experiments will be in hand soon, Doc." Xaynew said casually. "But in exchange for _our_ aid, we want yours for the Brotherhood."

"What makes you think that I need your help, Nobody?" The presumptuous alien asked.

All Xaynew needed to do was cock his eyebrow and look at Gantu. "Isn't this the guy who botched the capture of 626?"

Gantu glowered at him and bent down to his level. "I'll have you know, you little runt, that I was a captain in the Galactic Federation, and that I know twelve different forms of martial arts! And I captured _this_ Experiment, didn't I?"

625 chose that moment to take a large bite out of his sandwich and spilled mustard-covered lettuce leaves down his front.

"Are you sure you want to take the credit for that?" Saix asked, face nearly expressionless.

Xaynew smirked evilly, "And it's not as if you did that much work anyway. You picked up a stupid little ball and dropped it in water.

"He's got a point." 625 said, wiping mustard off himself. "Heh. I could have done that."

"Too true." Hamsterviel rubbed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose as if trying to ward off a headache. "Alright. _If_ I accept your assistance, what sort of aid would I be expected to provide to you?"

"You'll make the experiments available for our own use when they're ready for action." Xaynew looked him right in the eye when he said this.

"WHAT!?!?" He exclaimed, his eyes bulging. "The experiments are MINE! You hear me!? MINE!"

"Well, then we have nothing more to discuss." Xaynew stood up from his seat and turned around. He began to walk away, and Saix waited a moment longer before following him. They had only taken a few steps when he heard Hamsterviel grumble to himself.

"Aright already!" They weren't even half way across the room. Xaynew smirked. It was never a good idea to try and bluff a Nobody. He turned around and walked back into his chair. Saix took his place behind him again.

"We have a deal, then."

"Yes yes yes, fine!" He responded exasperatedly. "Let's just do this already!" He brought up a small hologram image in front of the computer screen. It depicted Experiment 221, and the computer panel below it listed off its capabilities.

"This is Experiment 221; the only experiment that has been activated as of yet."

"Hey! What am I? Chopped Liver?" 625 asked incredulously. Then a new light crept into his eyes. "Oooh, actually that does sound kind of good right now. I'm gonna go make some liver sandwiches, anybody want one?"

No one did. As 625 walked away, Hamsterviel began to bang his head against the console in front of him. Xaynew and Saix were very grateful that they couldn't feel annoyance at the moment. Hamsterviel's short temper was actually more annoying than 625.

"Whatever! Just find Experiment 221. The rest of the experiments are in a special container. Jumba Jookiba probably has it. I don't care how you get them, just do it before I arrive!"

He cut the transmission.

* * *

Lilo's house was a humble, homey place sitting on top of a hill that you could see the nearby town from. You could tell that a nice family lived there by the childish drawings hanging from the walls, and the many sets of shoes sitting by the door. They were all assembled in the living room, which had a great view of the forest below them.

"So this Hamster-Wheel dude is after the other experiments?" Yuffie asked.

"'Hamsterviel.'" Jumba corrected. "But yes. He is being after experiments. Is possible he is working with your Brotherhood of Dark to catch them."

"So there are six-hundred twenty-six experiments." Sora thought out loud. "Stitch is here, Hamsterviel and Gantu have 625, and 221 is out there somewhere."

"Yes."

"That means there are still six-hundred twenty-three experiments somewhere." Mickey finished. "Where are they?"

"Ah! That is where genius comes in!" Jumba turned around in his seat behind the couch and rummaged around behind it for something. "Where is it being, now...?"

"Ahem..." Lilo handed something to him. It was a metal, basketball-sized circular container on a little pedestal. "We uh... sort of borrowed it."

Jumba snatched it from her and set it on the coffee table in front of him. He pressed a single button on the sphere and the top popped off. It floated above the lower half, and in between the two parts, hundreds of tiny, colored pods floated and rotated in a double-helix pattern.

All of them leaned in close to get a better look.

"Are those...?" Donald started to ask.

"Cousins!" Stitch exclaimed excitedly. He got onto the table on all fours and stared at the floating pods, stubby tail wagging.

"Yes." Jumba nodded. "Remaining six-hundred twenty-three experiments dehydrated for easy, convenient transport. Only can be reactivated when placed into contact with water. Then take on true form, and wreak as much havoc as possible!" He couldn't hold it in, and burst into a round of evil laughter. Pleakley slapped him in the back of the head, and he caught himself. "Oh... Oh, is not good."

"He's scaring me." Kairi whispered to Sora.

"Good, then it's not just me."

"We must keep these safe from Gantu." Jumba said. "Perhaps we can take them off world?" He looked at King Mickey.

"But then Gantu would chase them! We can't let that happen." Lilo interrupted.

"Then we put these in secure storage area back on own ship." Jumba said. He pressed the button on the container, and it closed up again. "Will have to go to hidden hiding place to put it there, though."

"Alright." Mickey said. "Some of us will escort you to your ship to put away these experiments, while the rest search the islands for Experiment 221."

"Sounds like a good plan." Riku said, standing up. "So who goes where?"

"I'll take Jumba to the ship with Axel." Mickey said. "The rest, split into groups and comb the island for the loose Experiment."

"Hey, could we call him 'Sparky?'" Lilo asked.

"You named him?" Axel asked.

"It's better than 'Experiment 221.'"

"Point taken."

So apart from Mickey, Axel, and Jumba, there were three groups. The first consisted of Sora, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy. The second was Nehrut, Bariss, and Stitch. And the third was the pair of Riku and Yuffie.

Leaving Lilo in the care of Pleakley, the teams left the house.

* * *

Jumba held the experiment's container in his arms closely, like a small child. Mickey and Axel walked on either side of him like an honor guard. Their weapons were out and they were ready for action as they walked down a path that had been made through the forest, but it didn't seem like they would be needing them. Everything was quiet and there was no sign of Heartless or Nobodies.

Perhaps Axel jinxed them when he thought that.

A handful of Nobodies emerged from various hiding places in front of them. Five Dusks, five Berserkers, and five Paladins advanced slowly toward them.

Jumba shifted the container over into his left arm, and pulled a plasma cannon from the pack on his back. Holding it in just one hand, he aimed it at the closest Berserker's face. He fired a rapid burst of plasma bolts into its face, hitting it five times between its eyes before it fell backwards, dropping its giant claymore to the ground.

Mickey leapt toward the first Paladin, striking toward its head. Its wide axe blade shot up and caught the blow. Mickey pushed his blade off of its and pole-vaulted over the Nobody into the chest of a Berserker. He pushed off of it and jumped out of the way of its falling weapon, which got stuck in the ground. He threw Kingdom Crown into its chest, and it let out a bright light.

As the Berserker died, Mickey jumped over an attacking Dusk, which was then destroyed by a blast of fire. Axel leapt through the ashes, and sliced into a Paladin twice. He jumped toward a Berserker, and blocked its strike with his chakrams. He set them on fire, and pushed up. Both of his weapons shot out of his hands into the Nobody, setting it aflame.

As it was falling, he twisted around to block a Paladin's strike. Using one weapon, he tossed its axe away and impaled it using the other. He then threw both at a pair of Dusks, and while they were still airborne, he grabbed another one by the throat and enveloped it in flames.

Mickey lept past him and beheaded a Paladin in midair. When he landed he rushed toward the last Dusk, which was destroyed by a burst of plasma fire before he could reach it. One of the remaining two Paladins ran toward Jumba. He backed away rapidly, as it advanced, deflecting fire with the blade of its axe. He stopped, and when the Nobody was right in front of him it struck. But its target was no longer there.

Jumba had lept away with surprising speed for one so big, and was firing again. This time, the shots found their mark, and the Nobody fell to the ground. Jumba blasted two more times for good measure, and then turned his attention back to the fray, where the King had just taken out the fourth Berserker.

The King then proceeded to duel the Paladin, striking low, and then leaping toward its face with blade swinging. This was a particularly skilled Nobody, and it was smart enough to anticipate the attacks, and reacted fast enough to block them. But not so in tune with its environment to notice Axel coming up from behind.

It faded away three seconds later. Only one Nobody remained, and it was a Berserker.

It slammed its weapon down at Mickey, who was just barely able to leap away from it. Axel threw both of his burning chakrams at it, and they pierced its chest and went completely through it.

"Good thing we came." Axel said to Jumba, dismissing his weapons. "You'd have been alien flambe."

"Ah..." Jumba contradicted, stowing his gun away. He pointed his finger in Axel's face. "You being underestimating Jumba Jookiba, red-headed pyro-man."

"Uh, guys?" The King interrupted, tapping his foot impatiently. "We have to keep going. Which way to the ship?"

"Right, right. Is this way." Jumba set off down the path, Mickey and Axel following right behind him.

Minutes later, they arrived in a large clearing big enough to hold Jumba's ship.

The ship itself was large and red, marked occasionally with white lines. It looked something like a jumbo-jet, with large wings, and huge engines in the center of them. The cockpit windows were tinted blue. Its boarding ramp on the side was already lowered, waiting for them.

But they weren't alone.

"Freeze." Gantu was standing in front of the ship, also waiting for them. His plasma pistol was already in hand, and aimed directly at them. "Hand over the experiments, Jookiba."

* * *

Sora, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy walked together down one of the streets in town. They were supposed to be looking for the rogue Experiment 221, but there was a slight problem with that.

"Uhh... How are we supposed to find him?" Goofy asked.

Sora had to admit that he had no idea whatsoever. Since leaving Lilo's house they had just been wandering around town looking for any signs of strange activity. He was starting to wish that they'd brought Nehrut along. He'd have just scanned the area and found the experiment.

"We'll just have to look around." Kairi said.

And right on cue, they heard screaming from far off. They traded glances, and took off at a run in the direction of the noise. Kairi and Sora took to the air as they ran. Kairi grabbed Donald from under his arms, and Sora awkwardly pulled Goofy up on his back.

They followed the sounds of the screaming, and quickly found the place they were looking for. It looked to be a deluxe five-star hotel. Sora could see a pool in the back, and couldn't help but think that a pool defeated the purpose of coming to the _beach_. And it was from this hotel that dozens of people were running.

"Ya think Sparky's down there?" Goofy asked.

"I hope you're being sarcastic." Sora said, landing in front of the hotel. The lamp post by the front gate suddenly exploded from the inside.

* * *

Just a moment before Sora's group encountered the newly dubbed 'Sparky', Nehrut, Bariss, and Stitch were searching an open-air market just outside of town. Local merchants were selling all manner of produce to local citizens and tourists alike.

_Which one of those is Stitch?_

Stitch had gotten a bit distracted by a cart packed high with cantaloupes, and was currently running wild inside of them somewhere. Nehrut was trying to yank the little blue alien out before finally deciding to just lift him out with his mind. When he did, the creature's face was covered in cantaloupe flesh.

Bariss quickly tried to apologize to the little, wrinkled old woman near the cart. Her hair was long since grey, and pulled into a bun. The glasses she wore were large enough to make her eyes seem as large as the cantaloupes she was selling. The annoying thing about this was that she seemed oblivious to the fact that anything was going wrong, and she was near deaf.

"I am _really_ sorry about him." She was speaking very slowly and clearly.

"'My Aunt Willie worries about Tim?'" She repeated (or so she thought). "I'm sorry, sweetie, but you're going to have to talk sense."

As Nehrut struggled to hold back his laughter, (and Bariss tried to correct her) he sensed something. Sora's group had made contact. They'd found Sparky.

He walked up behind Bariss and tapped her on the shoulder. "Give it up, Bariss, she needs a hearing aid. Sora and the others have found the experiment."

"Cousin?" Stitch immediately turned his attention away from the watermelon he had been sniffing, and his ears perked up.

"Yep. So let's get going."

As they walked away, the woman called to them, "I'd get home soon, if I were you Paris!" This was what she thought Nehrut had called her. "It looks like bad weather is coming!"

Nehrut and Bariss stopped dead in their tracks. They looked at each other, and then into the sky. Sure enough, dark storm clouds were beginning to roll in. How had they not noticed?

"Hello brother."

Xaynew walked out from behind a coconut stand not five feet in front of them, smirking. Telekinetic appeared behind him.

Nehrut sighed. "You've got to be kidding me."

* * *

"You know, I could get used to this place." Yuffie said, looking dreamily out over the ocean.

She and Riku were walking down the beach where they had met Stitch, Lilo, Jumba, and Pleakley earlier. It was beginning to seem that Sparky had moved on, they hadn't found a trace of him on the beach.

Subconsciously, Yuffie reached over and took Riku's hand. He smiled.

"If you like this place, then you'll love our islands."

"I thought you considered them boring?"

"I guess I've learned to appreciate them a bit more now."

Yuffie pecked him on the cheek, and looked back over the ocean. There were dark clouds approaching rapidly from the horizon. "Hmm... Looks like there's a storm coming in... Wait, a storm!?"

"So?" Riku asked, confused.

She rolled her eyes. "A storm coming out of nowhere on a world where we know the Brotherhood is?"

Riku's eyes widened in comprehension. "We've gotta tell the others.""

But they were met with an unfortunate sight when they turned to leave. Saix stood there, looking mildly interested at the two. In his hand was his huge, ornamental-looking claymore.

"My, my. Don't you make a charming couple?"

* * *

_Well, it gets better from here. ^^;_

_Review, please!_


	68. Chapter 67: Island Brawl

_My greatest apologies to those of you who have been waiting for this update. My internet connection finally crapped out just before Christmas, and I haven't had much access to a working computer since then. And after that, my beta and I were extremely busy with the usual post-holiday stuff._

_Sora: "Excuses, excuses."_

_Darth and Raxsah: "SHUT UP!"_

_Sora: "Okay, okay! Geeze."_

_Anyway, I'm back! Hopefully, I'll be able to update more frequently this year._

_Sora: "But, he still doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else."_

* * *

Chapter 67: Island Brawl

Axel's response to Gantu was simple; he shot two jets of fire from his hands at the massive alien.

Surprisingly, he was able to dodge out of the way. He fired a large blue bolt of plasma towards him, and he leapt over it. The ground where he had been standing was now occupied by a smoldering crater.

The former Nobody landed in front of Gantu, chakrams in hand. He tossed one at his face, but Gantu brought up his arm. The weapon collided with his combat bracelet and bounced off harmlessly. Apparently, it was shielded.

He brought his fist crashing down toward him. Axel leapt away, and Gantu's fist left a deep imprint in the ground.

Mickey seized his opportunity, and jumped onto his fist. He ran up his arm, Keyblade in hand. When he reached his shoulder, he attacked the side of Gantu's face with rapid slashes of his blade. The huge alien stumbled, and shook his head quickly. He was successfully able to shake the tiny King off, into the trees.

Just as Gantu turned his sights over to where he landed, a rapid burst of green plasma shot by his head. He twisted around and made a few adjustments on his weapon, and fired at Jumba. A large net shot from the barrel, ready to capture the scientist and the container of dehydrated experiments.

Being the clever being that he was, Jumba dropped his cannon and picked up a rock lying on the ground. He tossed it into the center of the net, which wrapped around it and fell to the ground.

Gantu growled in frustration, and was loading another net cartridge, when Mickey leapt back onto his shoulder. He then jumped onto his head, and pointed his Keyblade down. A burst of Light shot from the tip into the top of Gantu's head.

He shouted, and fell over onto his back, forcing Mickey to leap off. Still dazed, but conscious, he rubbed his head with one hand, and picked up his pistol with the other. He fired at Axel, who was charging toward him.

He weaved in and out around the blasts, still running towards the downed alien. He threw his weapons at him, but they once again met with the shielded combat bracelet.

* * *

"Come on, Sparky! We can work this out!"

But Sparky wasn't listening to Sora. Instead, he was running rampant down the street. He would randomly shoot toward electrical objects, and somehow get into their circuitry. He'd take what power he could, and then blow it up from the inside, shooting out like a furry lightning bolt, totally unharmed.

Presently, he was in the process of draining the power from a nearby car's battery. And seconds after Sora called to him, the hood exploded. Sparky flew out at Sora, electricity coursing around him.

Sora's blade shot up, and next thing he knew, Sparky had his jaws clamped around the middle of the blade and was trying to push past it to get to Sora. He shoved him off, and Sparky let go.

He floated in the air again, and then turned his sight toward Goofy. Growling, Sparky charged at the knight, teeth bared. Goofy met him with his shield, and smacked the experiment away. He hit the ground on all fours, and immediately pounced at him again. He bounced off the shield again, and this time decided to change targets.

He twisted around and streaked at Kairi. This was a mistake on his part. She gripped Destiny's Light tightly in both hands, and swung hard when he got to her.

It was like she hit a furry, glowing baseball. Sparky flew through the air and smashed into the side of a house, leaving scorch marks on the side. But he wasn't discouraged. The second he touched the ground, he took to the air, and released concentrated bolts of electricity at Sora.

Donald jumped in front of the Keybearer, using a Reflega spell. The lightning bolts bounced off the shield, and back towards their source. Unsurprisingly, these had little effect on the creature.

The experiment then tried a different tactic, and released its electricity in all directions. Bolts struck the pavement, the sides of buildings, nearby vehicles, and pretty much everything else.

They all reacted instinctively. Donald threw up another Reflega spell for Sora and himself, and Kairi erected a barrier of Light around her and Goofy. The bolts collided with their shields and bounced all over the place. Almost everything within about twenty feet of Experiment 221 was struck by bolts of pure electricity, and were either singed, or burnt to ashes.

When Sparky called off his attack after a minute long onslaught, almost everything around them was scorched, singed, burned, or smoking. Except, ironically, for his targets.

He fell to the ground, seemingly having exhausted itself. He was panting heavily, and the miniature electric storm around him was gone. Sora, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy approached slowly and carefully from all sides, weapons ready just in case something unfortunate happened.

Something did.

By now the storm clouds Yuffie had seen on the horizon minutes earlier covered the entire sky. Thunder boomed, and lightning flashed.

When the first bolt of lightning forked the sky, it was like a beacon of hope to the cornered experiment. It scrunched up its face, and his antennae let off one or two feeble little sparks. He growled a little, low in his throat, and then let out a howl.

With a clap of thunder, a huge lightning bolt shot down from the sky toward Sparky. The experiment soaked up the fresh electricity like a sponge would water.

He shot back into the air, and began to fly away.

"Okay, no more Mr. Nice guy." Sora took off at a run and summoned the Keyboard. He jumped on just as Sleeping Lion appeared in his hand. He took off into the sky after Sparky.

"Wait up!" Kairi shouted after him, taking to the sky herself.

"Uh hey! What about us!?" Goofy called. But they were already nearly a mile away.

"Aw phooey!" Donald stamped his foot and sat down, arms crossed.

"How're we supposed to catch 'em now Donald?" Goofy was undeterred.

And then they heard panicked shouting from far off, "I don't know how you were able to talk me into this!"

They turned around and saw headlights down the street. They were moving around crazily, as if the person behind the wheel was doing a lot of swerving, and hitting plenty of potholes and speed bumps while doing so.

Soon, a red doom buggy large enough to hold four comfortably rolled and bounced into view. In the front passenger's seat sat an extremely pale Pleakley. And sitting in the driver's seat, the seat raised up as high as possible, was...

"Lilo!?"

Donald and Goofy cried out in fear and surprise as the vehicle came right at them with no sign of slowing down. Donald ran behind the knight as he held up his shield defensively.

But it screeched to a halt not two inches in front of them. Goofy peaked cautiously over the top of his shield.

"C'mon!" Lilo said, as Pleakley's knuckles turned white gripping the sides of his seat. "We gotta catch up with Sparky!"

"Are you allowed to drive that thing?"

* * *

"You know, it's funny. We were talking about you just last night."

The nearly identical blades of blue and scarlet met with great flashes of light. Nehrut and Xaynew were shooting through the stormy skies near the marketplace where Bariss and Stitch were fighting off his Heartless.

Rain had just begun to fall.

"Really?" Xaynew didn't sound too interested. He swept his blade horizontally at his former brother's midsection. It was parried. "What about?"

"Nothing good." He stabbed at his chest, and he shot backwards away from it. Then he blocked a strike aimed at his neck, and mentally blasted him away.

Xaynew hit the ground, and launched himself back into the air at Nehrut. "I'd imagine, coming from you."

"Coming from anyone." Nehrut blocked the downward strike, and the follow up attack aimed at his legs. "You murdered five innocent people and destroyed a world!"

"They were in my way." A lightning bolt missed Nehrut's head by an inch, and singed a few hairs near his ear. Xaynew then flew around him, and stabbed at his back. Nehrut dropped before the blade touched him, and blasted upward at Xaynew. "And now Pax Pacis is mine!

"You mean it's Serndask's."

"Shut up!"

The Nobody was shot up ten feet before he was able to gain control of his movements. He streaked toward Nehrut, and he met him halfway, their blades clashing against each other.

Bariss stabbed at the chest of Telekinetic, but was blocked by one of its knives. Stitch (now fully Experiment 626) leapt toward its face, teeth bared. And he was frozen in midair, caught in the Telekinetic's mental grip. The Heartless blasted him backwards at the same time that it disengaged from Bariss's blade.

It advanced toward her, floating inches above the ground, hacking and slashing at her. It didn't bother being graceful, Heartless didn't care about such things. But Bariss had enough grace for the both of them.

She almost looked like she was dancing. She wove around the blows, leaping and spinning. She landed a kick to the side of its head, and followed up with a swipe of her blade across its chest.

She was forcibly thrown backwards by its special powers. She landed on her feet, and ran back toward him, drawing Rose Thorn. Stitch was beside her drawing his two plasma pistols, and firing rapidly at the Heartless.

Its knives floated out of its hands, and hovered in front of it, points facing down. They moved quickly, catching every bolt of plasma that flew at it, and reflecting them all over the area. They bounced into the stands, scorching or destroying sections of wood (and some fruit).

The Telekinetic raised its arms into the air, and clenched its fists. Two nearby fruit stands were ripped from the ground. The nails and timbers separated, and floated in the air for a second. The Heartless punched the air in front of it.

Instantly, the disassembled fruit stands shot toward Bariss and Stitch at high speed. They reacted as their instincts had taught them to. Stitch's were literally programmed in, and Bariss had the experience of living on streets her whole life. They dove behind the surviving stands as the area where they had just stood was struck by the equivilent of a small hardware store.

The two of them stood crouched behind their respective stands for a few seconds, and then leapt out of their hiding places back toward the Heartless. Its knives were back in hand, and it was shooting toward them above the ground. Its black blades met Bariss's sai, and the fight started again.

Nehrut and Xaynew had touched down on the ground again several feet away from them.

Nehrut stabbed at Xaynew's face. He ducked under it and struck at his brother's legs, but the attack was leapt over.

* * *

"Xemnas to Xaynew huh? Boy, you've taken a few steps down in the evil food chain, haven't you Saix?"

Riku leapt away from Saix's claymore descending toward his head. He had no idea how he could swing a weapon that was longer and thicker than his arm so quickly.

Saix's usual indifferent, cold, emotionless demeanor vanished when he fought. He became vicious, ruthless, a beast. He roared and shouted when he attacked, and he did that fast. He shot toward them, swinging his weapon back and forth quickly.

"He isn't the ideal superior. But I'll admit that I like the order he's given me." Saix responded, bringing his blade crashing down on Riku's. He pulled the blade away, and kicked Riku in the stomach before he had time to block it. He raised his blade again to deliver a killing blow…

And received a drop kick in the chest from his ticked-off girlfriend. He stumbled backwards, and managed to regain his balance before he fell. Yuffie threw her shuriken at the former Nobody, but it was smacked aside like a fly. It landed in the ground fifty feet behind them.

Saix reared back, and threw his weapon hard at the ninja. Riku jumped in the way, putting up a Dawn shield. It collided with the shield with enough force to make the Keybearer stagger. It landed heavily at his feet, and Saix rushed over to collect it.

He swatted away one of Yuffie's throwing knives, and picked the claymore up with one hand. He ducked under a slash from Riku's blade and smacked him in the back with the flat end.

He flew through the air past him, and he turned his attention back towards Yuffie, who had her shuriken back in hand. They looked at each other for a half second, before charging, letting out battle cries.

But when they were one foot away from collision, Yuffie vanished in a cloud of black smoke. Saix had already run through it before he could stop. He turned around just long enough to see a throwing knife rapidly approaching his face. His blade went up just in time to catch it before it hit the center of his scar like a bull's eye.

Yuffie stood over by Riku, who was just now getting to his feet. She held another three knives in her hand, and the shuriken in the other. She threw all three knives at once. He sprang into action, and blocked all the knives in mid flight.

But then a great mass of orange collided with him head on. The Guardian scooped him up roughly by the arms, and tossed him into the ocean. He went in with a large splash. And it took him a moment to resurface.

The former second-in-command of the Organization swam back to shallow water. He stood up as soon as possible, and waded back to shore. He shook his head like a rabid, humanoid dog, water droplets mixing with the falling rain.

He had summoned his claymore, and looked ready to attack, when a corridor of Darkness opened up behind him. Xaynew stepped out of it, with a hand covering the left side of his face.

"Saix. We've got the experiments, time to go."

"One moment." He didn't even turn around to address him, just took up his fighting stance again.

"You can get them later. Now hurry up." He winced, as if raising his voice that extra octave had pained him in some way.

Saix scowled, and ran into the portal before Riku or Yuffie could follow.

As it closed, Riku repeated, dumbstruck, "They've got the experiments?"

* * *

As it happened, all of the remaining six-hundred twenty-four experiments had been captured one way or another.

In the clearing where Jumba's ship was parked, only two people were still fully conscious. Gantu stood taller than before, at a whopping twenty-five feet. His skin had turned from dark grey to a very deep red the color of old blood. His eyes were dark violet, and looked to be glowing.

Unconscious, completely encased in a net sat Jumba and Mickey. The container of experiments was pressed uncomfortably into Jumba's back. Leaning against a boulder not far away, sat Axel, only half conscious, and looking pretty banged up.

Gantu walked over to the net, and scooped it up with one hand. "The power of the Heartless..." He said to himself, and his voice was not quite his own. "Why didn't I consider this before?"

He slung the net over his shoulder, and walked away, looking smug.

Axel staggered to his feet, and leaned heavily against the rock. He wiped a trickle of blood away from his mouth. "Why am I always the one getting pummeled?"

* * *

"Got him!" Sora shouted triumphantly.

After several minutes of chasing Sparky, and dodging lightning bolts from ahead of them, Sora had managed to wrap the end of the Keywhip around him, much as he had with Hades weeks earlier. He began to tug the whip towards him.

Sparky started lashing around violently, and squirming in the weapon's grip. Sora began to land the Keyboard, and when he touched down beside Kairi, began to pull him down. It was hard, as the experiment refused to hold still, and kept trying to fly away.

Kairi ran over to help him. She grabbed part of the chain, and pulled with him. With their combined strength, they were able to yank Sparky down toward them. Even when he was back on the ground, he tried to scramble away, and he came close several times. This is saying something when your arms and legs bound by tight chains.

"What are we supposed to do with him?" Sora asked over the noise of the pouring rain.

As he said it, the red "doom buggy" drove up behind them. Lilo lept out of the driver's seat, leaving a very pale, Pleakley, Donald, and Goofy inside. She ran around to the back of the buggy, and picked something up.

She ran back around the vehicle just as Donald and Goofy staggered out of it. She was carrying a cylindrical glass pod as large as she was in both arms. The top was open. She waddled up to Sparky, and slammed it down on top of him.

Sora and Kairi unraveled the end of the whip, and quickly retracted it. Sparky growled from inside the pod.

"We caught him!"

Suddenly there was a ringing noise from back at the doom buggy. Still staring straight ahead, and twitching slightly, Pleakley picked up a cell phone.

He looked at it, and then reported, "It's Jumba's phone." He answered it. And soon his face was even paler. His voice was barely a squeak as he said, "Gantu's got Jumba and the King."

* * *

_Well, I hope you all enjoyed your holidays, and that 2010 treats you well! Here's to a new, hopefully bright year! The next chapter will come soon, I promise!_


	69. Chapter 68: Hostage Situation

_Well, it's not my most exciting chapter by a long shot, but I promise that things kick up again soon. Stitch?_

_Stitch: "*$)%^^&(%( ^%&)_%&^% %&)&! peanut butter."_

…_What?_

_Lilo: "He say DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else."_

* * *

Chapter 68: Hostage Situation

What was left of the group met up back at Lilo's home about thirty minutes later. The rain was still coming down hard, and there were gale force winds, which meant that Xaynew hadn't left yet.

After drying off, Pleakley explained the situation.

Gantu had called him on Jumba's 'appropriated' cell phone. He had apparently become very powerful, and had defeated the other three in combat.

At this point, Axel made a sound of annoyance. "He played real dirty. He pretended to be down and then sucker-punched us."

Bariss looked uncomfortable.

Gantu had then requested a trade. He and his 'colleagues' would trade Jumba and the King for Experiment 221, and two _other_ Keybearers. He told them to meet them in three hours near an old lighthouse on the beach. They would make the trade there, and then go their separate ways.

Otherwise Jumba would die, and Mickey would be taken to the Brotherhood base.

They sat there in contemplative silence for a few minutes, trying to find a way to get all of them back without losing anyone. Even Sparky (now sitting on the couch in his sealed container) was quiet.

Eventually, Sora asked the question that was on everyone's mind. "So how do we do this?"

"There's got to be some way we can get them back without losing our top players." Nehrut was thinking. "How exactly does Gantu restrain prisoners? If there's a wide enough window of opportunity, our guys might be able to escape."

"Well, typically, restraint units and holding cells." Pleakley answered. "Gantu's ship used to belong to the Federation, and it came equipped with some of the best security they had."

"Is that _it_?" Riku asked. "Oh, this'll be easy."

"But then you'll still be stuck in a ship." Axel said. "You'd still need to get off somehow."

The front door opened.

Immediately, the room's occupants leapt to their feet. Weapons were in hand right away, and pointed at the figure standing in the doorway.

A large black man stood there, hands at his sides. His eyes were covered by a pair of dark sunglasses (despite the unfortunate weather), and rain slid down his shaved head. He was garbed in a plain black suit over a white shirt, with black tie. Sora was reminded of the stereotypical 'Men in Black', plus two gold earrings.

His mouth was a thin line across his face. And he looked at the Keyblade in Sora's hand with a quirked eyebrow. He raised a hand, and lowered his sunglasses slightly to reveal his dark eyes. He looked Sora straight in the face.

"You can put that away, son." He said in a low voice. "I'm not going to attack you."

"Cobra Bubbles!" Lilo exclaimed. She walked up to the man, and he held out his hand.

"It's good to see you again, Lilo."

"Bubbles?" Axel muttered into Riku's ear. The both of them chuckled quietly. But then Bubbles shot a glare at them, and it was enough to make them stop right away. Behind their backs, Stitch giggled.

"Who are you?" Sora asked him.

"I am a former agent of the CIA, and I'm also the man who's going to help you get your friends back."

* * *

Five hours passed, and the storm had lightened somewhat. The rain had stopped, at least, and it was night.

Hovering above the water near a section of beach on a cliff (by a long-abandoned lighthouse) was an immense, strangely designed ship. The main body was a squashed ball shape, which spun vertically, as if it were a wheel. Connected to it were two engines, and in the back was a large tail fin.

Standing in front of it were six people. The now Heartless Gantu dwarfed Xaynew and Saix, and Hamsterviel looked like a cotton ball in comparison. Jumba and Mickey were standing in front of them, hands behind their backs, and bound in restraints. Mickey had a mark on his forehead in green ink that Axel would have recognized. This was to keep him from using his magic or summoning a Keyblade.

They were waiting.

Soon, a black car pulled up not far from the lighthouse.

From the driver's seat came Cobra Bubbles. Pleakley walked out from the front passenger's side. From the back seat came Riku, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy. The latter two were holding the container with Sparky inside between them.

They walked calmly forward.

"Well, you are finally here!" Hamsterviel walked forward, looking horribly smug with his smirk, and his fists on his hips.

"So you decided to keep the original Keybearer, huh?" Xaynew said. He looked around, checking down the street, by the lighthouse, and even the sky. "Where's the rest of your little gang?"

"They stayed behind." Kairi answered, then she smiled, "I love what you've done with your face."

Due to his last duel with his former brother, Xaynew was now sporting a long, vertical scar on the left side of his face that stretched down from being even with his eye, all the way to his chin. He scowled at her.

"Yes, doubtless they didn't want to see this." Hamsterviel said, ignoring Kairi's comment on Xaynew's appearance. "Now, as for our deal?"

"A deal's a deal." Bubbles said. He took Sparky's pod from Donald and Goofy, and handed it to Saix. He took it, and tucked it under one arm. Sparky growled at him from inside the container.

Xaynew pushed Jumba and Mickey in the backs, and they walked forward. Kairi and Riku walked forward, as well. All was silent as Mickey and Jumba stood by agent Bubbles, and Riku and Kairi stared down the others.

Xaynew reached into a pouch on his belt and pulled out a tiny container. It was a small, round container with a greenish fluid inside. He dipped his finger inside, and quickly put the power-blocking mark on Riku and Kairi's foreheads.

Then, Experiment 625 walked out of the ship with two sets of special restraining units in one hand, and of course, a sandwich in the other. Gantu roughly turned the two Keybearers around, and fastened them on their wrists.

And all throughout this, they didn't make a noise.

"Pleasure doing business with you." Hamsterviel said smugly, and turned around. 625 and Gantu followed him soon after, walking Riku and Kairi in front of them. Xaynew and Saix stayed for a moment. The younger Nobody was smirking horribly.

"Finally." They walked into the ship.

Bubbles raised a hand to the tiny earpiece he was wearing as the hatchway closed. "Are you all getting this?"

* * *

Several miles away, Jumba's ship was hovering just a little above the ground. Inside, there were three people: Stitch, Axel, and Lilo.

Stitch was at the pilot's seat, and Axel sat next to him, acting as copilot. Behind them, Lilo was strapped firmly in place to her seat. This would be a dangerous mission, but no one had been able to keep her from coming along (by any means).

Axel was a bit annoyed that he had gotten stuck as the one 'babysitting', but they had all voted for him.

At Cobra Bubbles's query over the ship's speakers, Stitch pressed a button on the console in front of him. "Ih." Was his response.

"Stand by until they take off."

* * *

In space, still several miles away from where Hamsterviel's ship would pass, sat the _Unity_. Like the other ship, there were only three on board. Sora was at the pilot's seat, Nehrut at the weapons station, and Yuffie at the RADAR station.

Sora was staring straight ahead out the window at the bright world below. But he wasn't really looking _at_ it, so much as _through_ it. The two most important people in his life were now prisoners of some maniacs on board a hostile ship.

He had offered to give himself over instead, but they would have none of it.

"_You're a better pilot than either of us, Sora." Kairi said, hands on her hips. "So you aren't coming."_

"_Are you sure-?"_

"_Yes!"_

"_Do you realize that this sounds a lot like it did before we left home?" Riku said._

"_I'm just worried, okay?" Sora said, arms held in a placating gesture, palms up. "I can't help it."_

_Kairi leaned forward, and kissed him softly. Then, she pulled him to her, and embraced him tightly._

"_We'll be fine Sora." She whispered in his ear._

He could feel her. She was alright, so Hamsterviel or Xaynew hadn't hurt her. Then he heard Cobra Bubbles over the speakers. "Are you all getting this?"

Yuffie leaned over at her console. "Loud and clear, Bubbly."

"Bubbles." He didn't sound very amused.

"Because that's _such_ an improvement." She answered, grinning.

"Just be ready." And his link went dead.

"Real beam of sunshine, isn't he?"

"In his line of work, what can you expect?" Nehrut said, messing with a few controls at his console. "Cloaking device activated."

The windows in front of them shimmered for a second, and it was as if a ripple effect was happening to them.

If they had been outside the ship (provided the airless vacuum didn't kill them, of course), they would have seen it briefly shimmer, and then after about three seconds, turn completely invisible.

* * *

Half a world over, yet another massive ship was waiting, and received Cobra Bubbles's message.

It was a large, blimp-shaped vessel. But as opposed to the nose pointing forward, it pointed straight up. The hull was painted yellow, with occasional orange stripes on the sides. The front nose was painted red, and a large communications antenna protruded from it. Three engines were on the back. Red lettering on the hull marked it as a flagship of the United Galactic Federation.

On the bridge the crew was waiting in anticipation. They were a diverse collection of species. The ship's commander stood in the center of the room, in front of a specially made podium.

The commander was actually the Grand Councilwoman of the United Galactic Federation. She was a tall woman, with blue-green skin and an elongated head. Her eyes were totally black, with light blue irises. Her bare feet were hoof-like, and three toed. Her three-fingered hands clutched the podium tightly.

Then Bubbles's message came through.

"The coordinates are punched in." The Grand Councilwoman answered. "We'll arrive on your signal."

* * *

Gantu roughly shoved Kairi and Riku into two tiny cells four feet wide on both sides, and about five feet high. There was barely enough room to sit, let alone stand. It was impossible to get comfortable, especially when one's arms were still cuffed. Not to mention that the mark on their foreheads was giving them a splitting headache.

Looking out through the plexiglass door, Kairi couldn't see anything worth watching except Experiment 625. He was idly munching on a grilled cheese sandwich, and looking a bit bored. If that was the only security that Gantu had stationed here, then they didn't have too much to worry about.

"Riku?" Kairi whispered, hoping to convey a message without 625 hearing.

"Yeah?" He answered.

"Why didn't Xaynew just take us to the Brotherhood's base with a corridor of Darkness?"

"Could be that Hamster-wheel just wants them to escort him off-world before they leave."

"You're right, kiddo." Apparently 625 _had_ heard them. "Soon as this bucket hits warp space, those two creeps are outta here."

"Why are you here anyway, 625?" Riku asked, curiously.

"Eh." He shrugged, turning around to look at them. "I've got nothing else to do... So, want a sandwich?"

* * *

_In case you're wondering why Xaynew traded one of the Keybearers, it's because the Brotherhood needs two. He knew the others wouldn't want to let Jumba die, so he knew they'd give up two Keybearers in exchange for him and the one he already had. So, it works out great for him._

_I got to write another space battle next! It's way, way better than this chapter. Plus, I introduce the next Summon. Until then!_

_Drop a review!_


	70. Chapter 69: Rescue

_A brand new chapter. I have to say, it was fun to do another space battle. I think this one turned out way better than the one I wrote near the beginning. But, you be the judge._

_Kairi: "One can only hope."_

_Do we really need the sarcasm?_

_Kairi: "You haven't let me do the disclaimer in months! I think I'm entitled."_

…_Oh yeah. Sorry._

_Kairi: "Fine. DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or whatever else he wants to use."_

* * *

Chapter 69: Rescue

Bariss snuck quietly through Hamsterviel's ship. She was pleased to find that she hadn't lost her touch. Nobody had noticed her enter the ship while the exchange was being made.

She wasn't entirely sure what part of the ship this was, but she didn't think it was particularly special. She was in one of dozens of hallways running the length of the ship. There was nothing particularly special about any of them, just plain, unattractive, metal walls.

She came to a hallway that split into two directions. She listened carefully, and heard voices coming from farther down the left path. Proceeding carefully, she took that path. She slid along the wall, keeping her eyes pinned on the door at the end of the hallway.

It was slightly ajar, and when she reached it, she could identify the voices of Xaynew and Hamsterviel.

"I don't care, Hamster-wheel." Xaynew was saying. "I'm taking the Keybearers with me as soon as this rust-bucket hits hyperspace, and I want a few experiments as collateral for your assistance."

"HAMSTERVIEL! It is Hamsterviel!"

"Whatever. I want twenty experiments. Of my choice."

That was about the time that Hamsterviel went into a long tangent about how the experiments were his (his, his!). Plenty of the words were in an alien language that Bariss couldn't recognize, but they didn't sound flattering. But, he sounded so ludicrous that she found herself struggling to hold back laughter.

"Don't count on it." Xaynew responded coldly. "I'll have thirty now."

"Thirty!? What happened to twenty!?"

"Could you two possibly save the immature brawling for _after_ we take off?" Saix interrupted. "I don't believe our pilot needs any distractions."

Bariss then heard an affirmative grunt that most likely belonged to Gantu.

"Fine, fine!" Hamsterviel said.

After they had been quiet for a few moments, she risked a peek around the side of the door. Fortunately, the room's three occupants weren't facing her. They were in a large, long room with glass walls, and a shiny tile floor. This couldn't have been the cockpit, so it must have been a meeting room. She had heard Gantu's voice over a speaker in the room.

Seconds later, the floor started vibrating gently, which meant that they were lifting off from the ground.

She'd have to hurry.

* * *

Cobra Bubbles watched Hamsterviel's ship lift off from the ground, kicking up sand, dust, and dirt from the whole area, and uprooting some of the nearest palm trees. Their clothing was whipping around them in the burst of hot air. Mickey's ears were flapping.

When it was fairly high up, Goofy licked his thumb and wiped the green mark off the King's forehead. With it gone, he summoned Kingdom Crown, destroying the binders over his hands. He then tapped Jumba's, and they simply fell off.

Jumba rubbed his sore wrists, and looked at Bubbles. "I am thinking that there is some sort of plan being involved here?"

Bubbles touched his earpiece. "Alpha team, go."

"GO!" Stitch repeated enthusiastically.

Seconds later, the large, red ship that Stitch, Lilo, and Axel were in was shooting overhead. Its engines belched white-hot flames as it rose higher and higher into the atmosphere after the larger ship.

* * *

In the observation deck of Hamsterviel's ship, there was tension in the air. They were awaiting the jump to hyperspace which would take place in just a few moments. Then they would finally be able to part company, and hopefully not work alone together ever again.

Hamsterviel's ears were twitching in anticipation, seconds before takeoff.

And then the viewport was full of ship, causing them to all leap back in surprise (or the Nobody equivalent of it). The Galactic Federation ship hovered in front of them, weapons emerging from hidden gun ports.

"Doctor Hamster-Wheel-" the Grand Councilwoman's voice rang out over the inter-ship comm speakers.

"Hamsterviel!"

"-You are outgunned, and your escape route is cut off." She went on, ignoring his outburst. "Surrender the experiments and your two Keybearer prisoners, and you will not be harmed."

Hamsterviel looked at the two Nobodies sharing the room with him. They nodded, and Saix snapped his fingers, and said, "Here's our answer."

* * *

Sora brought the _Unity_ cruising toward Hamsterviel's ship, still invisible to the naked eye and sensors alike. The Federation ship had just exited hyperspace right into its path.

The plan seemed to be working, he could see Stitch's craft far below, approaching very quickly. Sora was returning to his usual optimistic self, when something happened that they hadn't counted on.

All around Hamsterviel's ship appeared Nobody and Heartless ships.

"Shoot." Sora muttered.

"Did you mean that literally?" Nehrut asked from the weapons station.

"Hey Bubbly," Yuffie was talking into the speaker, "Lots of enemy ships just popped up. Do we engage, or stay cloaked?"

There was a brief moment of static before Bubbles replied. "Fight them on your way to the ship, and activate the automated defenses when you dock."

"Roger!"

"Cloaking device deactivated." Nehrut said.

The effect was instant and shocking. On the outside, the big ship became visible again to everyone. A good deal of the Brotherhood ships shot toward the _Unity_, nearly half went toward the Federation ship, and a smaller number flew to meet the red ship approaching from 'below'.

"Fire away!" Sora exclaimed, punching the ship forward into the oncoming mass of hostiles.

"Firing!" Nehrut's fingers danced across the controls. The eight laser cannons opened up, spewing blue and green packets of concentrated energy into the enemies. The immediate vicinity was filled with small explosions, the smoke and fire soon snuffed out by the lack of serious oxygen this far above the world.

Compared to the Unity's massive cannons, the lasers that the hostile vessels were using were just downright pathetic. The lasers only dealt cosmetic damage to the outer hull, scorching the metal on impact.

Some of the hostiles tried to pull a kamikaze on them. Sora recognized the ships, they were shaped like the Nobody crest, and silver. The crest was repeated on it in black. These ships would fly directly toward the ship and trigger a self-destruct program. But Sora was used to them.

He barrel-rolled away from them, and in the process, the _Unity_ smashed more of the tiny ships with its bulk like flies against a windshield.

Those ships alone wouldn't be much of a challenge, but now Hamsterviel's ship was firing as well. Multi-barreled cannons emerged from the hull, and opened fire, spraying green plasma at the _Unity_.

Sora's superior piloting skills were enough to keep them away from the blasts, but they were tracking the ship, and they weren't about to give up.

"Lock torpedoes on the weapons emplacements!" Sora ordered.

"Way ahead of you!" Nehrut had already been targeting the big guns with torpedoes. He was grateful that they had restocked on torpedoes at Disney Castle after Stitch used them all up. "Locked and loaded, and ready when you are!"

"Fire!"

Nehrut fired the torpedoes, and watched them twist and turn around the smaller ships to Hamsterviel's weapons batteries. They exploded against them, sending twisted, superheated scraps of metal wheeling through space and crashing into the Brotherhood vessels. Sora barely registered that Yuffie was starting to turn pale.

"Careful, over there flyboy!" Axel's voice came over the speaker. "We can't blow the whole thing up!"

"I am aware of that, _thanks_!" Nehrut was clearly not used to space combat. Sora was surprised how well he was handling it.

By now, Stitch had entered the combat, blasting with a plasma-shooting gatling gun that had emerged from the underside of his ship. Green bolts of plasma splattered into ships, sending them back to the Darkness.

The fighting went on for several minutes. At one point, Stitch passed in front of the window to the observation deck. For a brief second, he made eye contact with Hamsterviel. He stuck his tongue out, and laughed crazily.

"We can't keep wasting time out here." Sora said. He was talking to both his crew, and that of the red ship. "We have to get on that ship!"

Yuffie (still looking pale) opened up a channel to the Federation ship, which was doing its own part to destroy enemy ships, while still blocking Hamsterviel's attempts at escape. "This is the _Unity_. Are you receiving?"

"_Unity_, this is the Grand Councilwoman." A female voice answered. "We've just launched police cruisers, and they are ready to provide covering fire for your vessels."

"Glad to hear it, 'cause we're making our move now." Yuffie looked like she was about to throw up as she closed the link.

"Yuffie, are you alright?" Sora asked amid the laser blasts.

"I should tell you," She said through her closed hands, "I'm _slightly_ prone to motion sickness."

This was coming from a ninja who prided herself on using multiple cartwheels and similarly acrobatic tricks on a daily basis. "You're joking, right?"

Yuffie's response was to silently gag, and open a nearby compartment with barf bags inside.

Sora opened throttle (praying Yuffie's stomach could hold out), and sped toward Hamsterviel's massive ship. Stitch was right on his tail. (1)

* * *

Bariss stepped into the brig, whip in hand, and ready for action.

Standing in front of her were Riku, Kairi, and 625. The experiment was undoing the binders on their wrists. When Riku's hands were finally free, he wiped the strange, green mark off his forehead. His headache vanished instantly.

"You know, I should've considered this before." 625 was saying. "Gantu and those other guys are _real_ unfriendly."

"Thanks 625." Kairi said, wiping of her mark.

"Why do I get the feeling that I just combed a whole warship searching for two teenagers... for nothing?" Bariss was pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Was that sarcasm?" Riku asked.

"I've been hanging out with Nehrut and Axel." She waved it off. "Now, we need to find the experiments."

"You got it cupcake." 625 said. "I can take ya there, no problem."

The experiment rushed out the door Bariss had come through, just as something shook the ship.

* * *

Sora and the others had gained access to Hamsterviel's ship via an airlock at the back of the ship. Stitch and Axel had proceeded them inside, and were already facing a large number of Heartless, in a large circular room adjacent the airlock that probably had something to do with engine maintenance.

Sora wasted no time in joining them. He ran toward the Heartless, summoning Oblivion. He cut a Torchbearer in half, and then stabbed his blade into the back of a Neoshadow before anyone else noticed he was in the room.

He reached into his jacket pocket, and pulled out the Summon charm from the Land of Dragons. He tossed it high into the air, and shouted, "Buzz!"

_Hovering in orbit around a green and blue world, there was a space station. It was circular, in shape, like two wide 'cones' attached by the undersides. Three greenish fin-like structures were fixed to one side. On the top was a circular command bridge. The station bristled with weapons._

_From out of the station came a man. He was wearing green and white armor, marked occasionally by purple. There was a jetpack strapped to his back, which spread into two wide wings. He was smiling._

_Captain Buzz Lightyear of Star Command landed next to Sora, and saluted him, smiling._

"_Let's go, ranger!"_

Buzz touched a small button on the upper part of his right gauntlet. From somewhere around the wrist area, a narrow red beam of light shot out. The powerful laser cut through the chest of a Torchbearer, and shot out of the end to strike a Shadow in between the eyes.

Sora then rushed into the Heartless himself. He struck left to right, beheading two shadows and cutting an Armored Knight (he hadn't seen those in a while) in half. He blocked the strike from one of its fellows, and then stuck his blade through its chest. He turned around, and blocked a ball of flame that a Torchbearer fired at him.

A Shadow leapt onto Buzz's back, trying to wrap its arms around his neck. The ranger grabbed one of those scrawny arms, and flipped it over his shoulder into the ground. He turned around, and rammed his fist into the face of a Torchbearer. Then he spun right back around and delivered a kick into the neck of an Armored Knight. Then he elbowed another one in the face.

Sora ducked under a leaping Shadow and decapitated it in midair. He blocked two overhead strikes from Armored Knights, and used his other free hand to blast them with flames. As they were turning to ashes, he lept through their remains, and stabbed his blade through a Neoshadow.

Buzz blasted a Torchbearer, then a Shadow. He leapt away from an Armored Knight's blade before it was able to cut him in two. He drove his fist into its face, and then blasted through it into a Shadow.

But there were still plenty of Heartless swarming into the room through the only door.

Quickly, Buzz pressed a few buttons on his chest plate, then ran a finger across his gauntlet. At the same time, Sora held his Keyblade in the air. It started glowing with the familiar blue light he associated with locking a Keyhole.

Buzz fired rapidly at the glowing blade, boosting a few feet above the ground and staying. He flew quickly around the sides of the room, still blasting. The bolts bounced off the blade, ricocheting off of it, and all over the room.

The bolts hit several dozen Heartless, but what made this attack particularly effective was the fact that the bolts that missed them, _bounced_. If they struck any surface at all, they would ricochet off of it, as well. The room was filled with red bolts of energy, bouncing all over the place.

They struck every last Heartless, and it was three minutes before the bolts finally wore themselves out, and dissipated.

Sora observed the heavily scorched walls and floor with satisfaction. He turned his gaze to Buzz Lightyear, who was walking toward him with a broad smile.

"Thanks Buzz." He saluted him.

"Any time, son." He returned the salute. He pressed a circular button on his chest plate, and his jetpack activated again. He blasted toward the ceiling, and as he started to vanish back to his home world, he exclaimed, "To infinity, and beyond!"

"I never get tired of watching that." Axel said. "I have no idea what happens to us when you do that, but whatever."

Truth be told, Sora didn't know either. But now wasn't the time to think about that.

"Stitch, think you can sniff out Kairi and Riku?"

"Ih!" The small alien sniffed the air all around him for a minute. Sora knew he had super-heightened senses. He'd have the best chance of finding Riku and Kairi if Bariss hadn't already. After a moment, his ears perked up.

He rushed off out of the room on all fours, his antennae, spines, and extra arms emerging from within his body. Sora followed him, with Axel, Nehrut, and Yuffie (freshly recovered from her motion sickness) behind him.

"By the way, what did you do with Lilo?"

"Strapped her into her seat back at the ship with enough stuff to keep Hercules stuck in place."

"Remind me to never let you babysit _my_ kids."

"Relax, I won't hurt Sora and Kairi Jr. Those kids will have enough problems with you as a dad."

Yuffie slapped him in the back of the head.

They ran through the halls of the ship, following Stitch's constant sniffing. They had taken so many left and right turns seemingly at random that Sora's sense of direction had been totally thrown off.

Finally, several bodies collided in the junction between two hallways. Ironically, Nehrut had been so focused on following Stitch he hadn't thought to try and sense them.

Stitch and 625 crashed into each other as the two groups came together, and skidded into a wall. Kairi tripped over them, and then Sora fell on top of her. Riku stumbled over them, ran a ways, and fell. Bariss began to fall, Nehrut tried to catch her, but instead they just fell together onto Sora and Kairi.

Axel and Yuffie were the only ones still on their feet, looking at the scene in amusement.

Axel said, "Yep. These are the guys we're all counting on to save the worlds... We are _so_ screwed.

* * *

_Prepare for more boss battles coming up!_

_(1) I still didn't know much about FFVII when I wrote the last space battle or I would have elaborated on her motion sickness sooner. It's kind of funny!_

_Please leave a review._


	71. Chapter 70: Boarded

_Here we go! Hope you all enjoy._

_Xaynew: "This'll be good." (Smiles evilly)_

_(Smirks) Yeah. Maybe not for you, but we'll see._

_Xaynew: "You suck. And don't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else."_

* * *

Chapter 70: Boarded

"We've been boarded!" Gantu transmitted, back in the cockpit.

"Ohhh?" Hamsterviel answered, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Is _that_ why all the alarms are going off? Of course I know that we are being boarded, you shark-like bafoon!"

There was a growling noise over the speaker.

Hamsterviel turned around to address Xaynew and Saix. "You two have to take care of them before they can get to us _or_ to the experiments."

"My price is now forty experiments." Xaynew said casually.

"No!"

"Fifty." He summoned a corridor of Darkness behind him. He meant business.

"Fine! Forty."

"_Fifty_." He took one step backwards into the corridor.

"Alright!"

* * *

"He's in here." 625 said.

The group entered something of a storage area. It was a long room, lined with shelves holding all manner of equipment. There were jars with unsightly tissues and organic matter floating inside, along with multiple vials and test tubes of multi-colored fluids, and crates containing God-only-knew-what.

On the far side of the room, buzzing around inside his container, was Experiment 221. Sparky stopped what he was doing when he saw them at the doorway. His dog-like face split into a toothy grin, and he waved at them.

Stitch rushed across the room first, and leapt toward the container. "Aloha cousin!" Using only his head, he smashed the container open. Sparky flew out of the breach in the pod, and hovered over Stitch's head. The two shook hands.

"Sparky," Sora said to him, "We need you to short-circuit the ship's systems so that Hamsterviel can't escape from here. Can you do that?"

Sparky's response was one he had come to expect from Stitch. "Ih."

The experiment shot toward a thick pipe in one corner of the room that ran through the floor and up through the ceiling. This was one of many special conduits that led to the main power grid of the ship.

He transformed, like he had during his fight with Sora and the others. He became pure electricity, and shot into a tiny gap in the pipe line. He was soon in the circuitry of the ship itself.

And seconds later, the power went out. All but the most basic life support systems went off line. And they intended to keep it that way.

"Nice." Axel said. "One down. Six hundred twenty-three to go."

"Relax hot-head I know where the other ones are." 625 said. "Up on the observation deck with Hamster-Wheel, and now he can't activate any of 'em because the power's out and he can't access his water supply!"

"Alright!" Riku said. "So which way to the observation deck?"

"You don't need to know." came a familiar voice. They turned around. Standing there was Xaynew, sword already in hand. It glowed softly in the lack of light. The light of Presul joined it as Nehrut unsheathed it, and stepped to the front of the group.

"It's nine against one, Xaynew." Bariss said. "I'd give up if I were you."

"Actually slave, it's more like two against two."

Perfectly timed, two corridors of Darkness opened up behind the group. Then, the Telekinetic appeared directly behind Xaynew. With a blast, more than half of them flew back into the corridors. Sora, Kairi, Stitch, and 625 went into the left one. Riku, Yuffie, and Axel went into the right one.

Nehrut and Bariss were alone with Xaynew and his Heartless.

"See?"

* * *

Sora didn't like corridors of Darkness. The oppressive feeling of Darkness surrounding him, and pushing him along wasn't something he particularly enjoyed. He felt cold all over as he was yanked through the blackness toward wherever he was going. He dimly sensed Kairi and the two experiments to either side of him.

Finally, there was light. Dim light, but light nonetheless. They landed on the hard, metal floor in another part of the ship. Sora looked up.

They were in another large room, but it wasn't like the rest of Hamsterviel's ship. It looked a bit like someone's living quarters. There were a few very large chairs around, a meeting table, and a large screen in this room. There were also a few other doors that presumably led to the rest of the vessel. The large door behind them would take them back into Hamsterviel's ship.

They were in a different ship altogether, linked to Hamsterviel's by the same type of airlock that their two ships were. Its owner was standing in front of them.

Gantu cracked his giant knuckles menacingly. He picked up two oversized plasma pistols from the table next to him, and aimed them at the four. But he addressed Stitch directly.

"Hello abomination."

"Aloha stupid-head!" Stitch drew his pistols, as well. Sora and Kairi drew their Keyblades, and faced Gantu.

"Sora." Kairi whispered to him, while still facing Gantu. "I can take this guy easy. You take Stitch and 625, and go get Hamsterviel."

"What!?" He answered. "Kairi, this dude beat Axel and the King! Do you honestly think that I'll leave you to fight him on your own?"

"First off, he cheated against them. Now that I know he fights dirty, I'll be watching for it. Second, I'll be fine! But somebody needs to get those experiments back!"

Sora was forced to admit that she was right. Grudgingly, he said, "Okay. Just be careful."

"Aren't I always?" She smiled at him. Sora returned the smile, and rushed through the door behind them, with Stitch and 625 on either side of him.

"Oh no you don't!" Gantu exclaimed. He pointed his pistols at the fleeing Keybearer, only to have them blasted out of his hands by pure Light. As Sora easily opened the door with his Keyblade, Kairi smiled.

"Oh yes they do." Gripping her blade firmly in both hands, she flew at Gantu's face.

Surprisingly quickly, he dove to the side, and she buzzed by his head. She spun around to face him, and was nearly flattened by his giant fist flying at her. She swerved around it, and blasted Light at his face. The beam struck him in between the eyes, and he fell over backwards.

Kairi touched down near his head. Gantu looked unconscious, but she knew not to believe that at first glance.

That was a good thing, too. Gantu reared up, and brought his fist crashing down towards her. She blasted herself back, just out of the alien Heartless' reach.

_That blast hit him right between the eyes._

"He's pretty tough." Namine agreed. "Keep your guard up."

Charging a blast of Light energy in her blade, and shot it at Gantu just as he had gotten back on his feet. He held up his arm, and the blast struck his combat bracelet without visible effect, apart from pushing his arm back.

_This could take some time..._

* * *

Riku spilled out of the corridor of Darkness. Yuffie and Axel were right behind him. He had traveled through them on more than one occasion, but like Sora, never liked the feeling. He'd take a nice Gummi ship any day.

He looked up, and found that the lighting was much different here. They now stood in a long room in one of the ship's rear fins. There wasn't much to say about the room, apart from the fact that it had one heck of a view.

The walls and ceiling were all made of an extremely thick glass. They could see the space battle unfolding between the Brotherhood ships, and the police cruisers of the Galactic Federation. The police cruisers were small, one-man fighters with blue and white painted hulls, and sirens on top of them. They had belly-mounted plasma turrets, which were firing rapidly at the enemy vessels. (1)

Standing at the end of the room with his arms held behind his back, was Saix. His back was to them, and he was looking down at the world below. He turned slowly around when he heard the sound of Riku summoning his Keyblade. On either side of him, Axel and Yuffie had taken up their usual fighting stances.

"Hey, Looney!" Axel said, casually. "What've ya been up to lately?"

"Dwelling in the empty blackness, waiting for some chance of survival." Saix answered, glaring at his former colleague. "And you helped to bring that about, traitor."

"You know, I got that kind of response from Marluxia, and look what happened to him."

"We beat your butt into the ocean last time, scar-face." Yuffie cut in. "Do you really think you stand a better chance now?"

In response, Saix pointed behind him, to a specific point in the 'sky'. The full moon shone brightly on this side of the world.

"Ah crap..." Axel said, as Saix summoned his claymore.

"Can you feel the moon's power?" Saix asked. He started to glow with an eerie blue light. "You soon will!"

He shot toward them at an unbelievable speed, roaring like an angry beast. He came on so fast that they had to dive to either side to avoid being smashed into.

The Silhouette stopped on a dime, and twisted around. He rushed toward Riku, massive claymore held over his head with only one hand. He struck at Riku over and over, the weapon let off a flash of bluish light every time it struck a solid surface. The floor around him was periodically getting singed.

Riku had to move his blade very quickly just to catch the blows. He was giving ground so fast that he was practically running backwards.

Yuffie ran at Saix's back, holding her shuriken high. She leapt into the air, and was going to slam it into his back when she landed.

But he twisted around immediately, and swept his blade at her. Her weapon soared out of her hand all the way to the other side of the room. He clenched his fist, which became enveloped in lunar energy. Before she had even landed, he punched her in the stomach, knocking her a full fifteen feet backwards before she hit the ground.

But Axel took her place, rushing at him with chakrams blazing. He and Riku struck as quickly as they possibly could from either side of the Luna Diviner, but he kept moving to either block, parry, or dodge the blows. Under the moon's influence, he was incredible.

Saix slammed his blade into the ground, creating a powerful shockwave of lunar energy that blasted the two of them away. Axel landed less than gracefully, but Riku was just able to skid to a stop on all fours.

Riku sprang toward him quickly, and swung at his head. Saix's blade shot up, and blocked it. He used his blade to knock Riku's out of his grasp. As Way to Dawn clattered across the floor, he punched at Riku's face with his glowing fist.

Thinking on his feet, the Keybearer set his fist alight with Dawn energy, and returned the punch. Their fists collided, and let off orange and blue flashes of light. The two leapt away from each other, unscathed.

A throwing knife then passed less than an inch in front of Saix's nose. He turned his head, and snarled at Yuffie, who was back on her feet. He slammed his blade into the ground a second time, and a wave of energy blasted across the ground toward the ninja.

Just before impact, she vanished in smoke, and reappeared right above Saix. She drove her foot into the side of his head as she landed on the ground.

His head shot back, and that was all. He roared, and ran towards Axel, who was charging at him. He struck his flaming chakrams against the claymore. They pressed the weapons against the other, trying to break through.

The battle of strength remained undecided. Riku blasted at Saix's exposed back with Dawn energy, causing him to drop his weapon. It hit the ground with a loud noise, and Axel struck him across the chest twice with his burning weapons. He let out a single grunt of pain, and leapt away, just in time to avoid Riku's slashing blade.

He landed in front of the door. Yuffie and Axel ran towards him. They threw their weapons. Two burning chakrams and an oversized shuriken flew towards him, spinning rapidly as they came.

His fist became engulfed in lunar energy. With a snarl, he knocked them away with a single wide swipe of his hand. The three weapons shot away at the walls, and Riku thought for sure that they would crack the glass walls. But they were highly reinforced, and didn't break.

The Nobody floated into the air, and his dropped weapon floated toward him. It stopped behind his back, and began to shine brightly. The blue light emitting from it spread to him. He let out a loud, animal howl as his eyes started glowing with the same light.

He reached behind his back, and took the claymore by the handle. He shot towards the ground, and the second his feet touched the ground, he slammed it into the ground with enough force to leave a huge dent around him.

The lunar energy released on impact spread out across the room in the form of a massive shockwave. Meter-high waves of energy rushed away from him.

Riku leapt high into the air, and changed it into a hover when he was safely above the action. Axel tried out a trick inspired by Liasa. He gathered fire beneath his feet, and used it to shoot himself up into the air, over the lunar attack.

Yuffie used her usual method of avoiding ridiculously strong attacks. She vanished in a cloud of smoke, and reappeared in the air high above them. For a moment, she made an impressive sight, silhouetted against a bright explosion caused by a police cruiser's blasters.

Saix's energy attack had just hit the walls. On impact, the walls would surely crack. This was what Riku thought, anyway. But the glass walls simply became warped under the pressure.

Yuffie pulled three throwing knives from her belt, and threw them at Saix as she fell.

But Saix wasn't there when they hit. He had stepped neatly to the side right before they struck him. He looked up at her, and leapt high up, his weapon ready to strike.

Riku flew in his way, blocking the strike with his Keyblade. The two of them fell back to the ground, blades still locked together, as Axel and Yuffie landed lightly on their feet.

* * *

(2)Xaynew was definitely out of his element.

His special abilities to manipulate weather conditions could only work when someplace actually _had_ weather. A ship in the middle of an airless vacuum didn't fall into that category.

He was forced to fall back on his swordsmanship. And honestly, no matter how much the Nobody hated to admit it, Nehrut had him beat in that department. He had grown a bit lax in the past few years, having relied heavily on his storms to get the job done. Now he had been robbed of that.

They had moved from the supply room into the hallway. The power was still out, and the hallways were very dark. The only light came from viewports across the walls, spilling the light of explosions and plasma bolts into the hallway. But these viewports were fairly scarce, only appearing every twenty or so feet.

Nehrut tossed him backwards with a blast from his mind. He landed in front of one of those windows, and got up just in time to block a downward strike from his former brother.

The elder one came on hard, pushing Xaynew back farther and farther down the hallway, their glowing blades illuminating the darkness.

Somewhere behind them, Bariss was faring well against the Telekinetic. Her shield was in her left hand and Rose Blade in her right. The majority of its blows were caught by the shield, and sometimes parried by the sai. They were backing down the hallway in the same direction as the two former brothers.

She parried a strike from one of its daggers, and reached from behind the shield to stab into its chest. The attack just barely reached it, but it still gave ground for one split second.

Then it came on again in full force, its weapons were all over the place. It pushed Bariss down the hallway, and directly into the back of its other.

Xaynew spun around and swept at her waist. She twisted around and blocked it with her sai, and then back flipped over his head, landing next to Nehrut. The Nobody stabbed at her with his blade, which only stopped against her shield. Nehrut reached around her and stabbed toward him using Presul. The Heartless blocked that strike.

Nehrut and the Telekinetic moved in front of their partners, and sent mind blasts at the other. The close proximity of the attacks had unforeseen consequences. Instead of hitting the intended targets, they rebounded off each other and hit Xaynew and Bariss, sending them flying down the hall in opposite directions.

Nehrut sliced horizontally at the Heartless, trying to cut it in half at the waist. It shot backwards quickly, just out of reach of his blade. It then rushed forward, left knife extended to remove his head from his shoulders. He ducked under it, and stabbed at its exposed chest.

He succeeded in hurting it, but the Heartless had turned aside at the last second, so the blade cut across its broad chest instead of piercing through it.

It stumbled backwards, and he rushed in to finish it. But it sank into the ground like a common Shadow would. In its place was Xaynew, leaping at Nehrut ready to kill. But then with a whip crack, he fell to the ground less gracefully than he intended.

Presul was at his throat inside of a second. But before the telepath could do anything other than this, he was blasted backwards by the Heartless. He flew over Bariss's head, and hit the ceiling.

* * *

Kairi touched the ground for a split second, before leaping into the air. The ground where she had just been standing blew apart due to a bolt of plasma.

Gantu had somehow gotten his pistols back, and he didn't have any trouble using them. The inside of his ship was a mess. He was blasting holes in everything as long as it was near Kairi. But she was too quick for him to get a decent lock on her, so his shots went wide.

She flew at his face, Keyblade enveloped in Light. She batted away every shot that came her way, regardless of the fact that the plasma bolts were about as big as she was. They bounced into the walls and floor, adding to the wreckage. She got within one foot of him, and he dropped the pistol in his right hand.

His fist shot up in an uppercut toward the girl. She extended her free hand at his fist, and a Light barrier appeared below her. Gantu's fist bounced off of it, and she didn't yield. She swung her blade in a wide arc, shooting a crescent-shaped disk of Light at his face.

The giant Heartless-alien tried to jerk his head away, only to have the disk cut a deep gash into the side of his face. Darkness seeped from the wound for a few seconds, and Gantu held his free hand to it in obvious pain. He lifted his other hand, holding the pistol, and aimed carefully at the girl.

He used his thumb to flick a single switch on its barrel, and fired.

Rather than plasma, a giant net flew out. It was infused with Darkness, and had an eerie dark glow about it.

Kairi wasn't quite able to move away in time. The net collided with her full on, and wrapped around her entire form, trapping her. It then began to shrink, pressing painfully into her skin, and letting the Darkness covering it do its work.

Gantu smiled in triumph and walked forward, holstering his weapon.

The net suddenly started to tremble violently and the thick layer of Darkness covering it seemed to be splitting. Pinpricks of bright silver light were beginning to shine through tiny openings.

"Oh kark it." Gantu muttered to himself.

The net exploded in Light. The shreds of supposedly unbreakable netting flew everywhere, trailing the Darkness that had been covering it. Kairi was kneeling there, glowing with her faint silver light, Darkness dissipating around her.

The burst of Light continued outwards past the net, tearing apart sections of floor, and the wall. It smashed into Gantu, hurting him as nothing else could, and sending him flying back into the wall, unconscious.

Unfortunately, it also struck the ship's main controls at the opposite end of the room. The controls it had been using included the anchors keeping it attached to Hamsterviel's ship via the airlock.

Promptly, before Kairi even totally realized what was happening, the ship separated from its larger counterpart. Unfortunately, this coincided perfectly with a misfired shot from a police cruiser into its starboard engine.

It tumbled wildly through the battle, helpless and defenseless, with the Princess of Heart still inside.

* * *

Riku ducked under a wide strike of Saix's claymore that could have beheaded him. But he wasn't fast enough to avoid his uppercut, with his fist enveloped in lunar energy. It hit him at the point of the chin, and knocked him flat on his back.

The Nobody stabbed at Riku, who was _just_ fast enough to roll out of the way. With the giant blade now stuck firmly in the ground, Riku kicked up with both legs, striking Saix in the chest, causing him to lose his grip on the weapon, and hurling him backwards.

The instant before he hit the ground, a great column of flame erupted out from under him. It tossed him straight up into the air, the back of his coat smoldering. Axel shot up after him, chakrams blazing.

Saix was able to right himself in the air, and faced him. He summoned a replacement claymore, and struck it against his weapons. He caught the blow, but was shot back toward the ground.

Saix himself was just beginning to fall naturally, when two feet smashed into the small of his back, shooting him down even faster. He smashed into the ground, with Yuffie standing on top of him.

She put her shuriken to the back of his neck. But there was a surge of lunar energy from his body, and she was thrown off entirely.

He got back to his feet, and picked up his claymore. With one clean movement, he knocked Axel's chakrams away into the walls. Then he blocked a stabbing attack that Riku aimed at his chest. He swept his blade to the side, sending the attack harmlessly aside.

And suddenly the space between the two of them was filled with the orange mass of the Guardian. It rammed into Saix, throwing him bodily to the other end of the room. He had just landed painfully on the ground when he received a fist to his stomach.

Before the diviner could even catch his breath, the Guardian picked him up by his neck, and threw him back to the other side of the room.

As he skidded to a stop and hit his head against the back wall leading to the rest of the ship, Riku decided that now was the perfect moment to end the fight.

He looked over toward Yuffie, who was rushing to Axel's aide, administering a standard potion. "Hey Yuffie!"

His girlfriend turned at the sound of his voice, and saw him rushing at Saix, who was getting to his feet, looking exhausted. She smiled, and nodded. She vanished in a cloud of smoke, reappearing directly behind Riku.

"Miss me?" She asked coyly.

A smile was on Riku's face, as he enveloped his fist in orange Dawn. He leapt into the air, Yuffie still behind him, and punched the ground with unbelievable force.

A massive shockwave of bright red-orange energy formed. Huge waves of Dawn energy spread from his fist outward, smashing into Saix before he even knew what was coming. What he did know that he was in extreme pain, and being thrown high into the air.

He smashed into the glass ceiling, actually leaving a significant dent in it. He hung there for a moment, before falling to the ground and landing in the dent he himself had made earlier.

Excess Dawn energy washed into Riku's Keyblade and Yuffie's shuriken. It seemed to lick at the weapons like fire, without harming them in any way.

Riku and Yuffie dashed at the downed Nobody, who couldn't seem to stand totally straight after taking such a fall. The master ninja threw her shuriken at him striking him directly in the chest. It flew back to her hand immediately, and she threw it again, this time hitting him in the side, and then a third time in the leg.

Immediately after the fourth, which hit him in the chest again, Riku reentered the picture. He streaked above the ground, toes just skimming the floor. He held his Keyblade over his shoulder, and swung it with all his might upon reaching Saix. A large gash leaking Darkness appeared across his chest.

It was soon followed by two more across the stomach, and then a vertical strike down his shoulder to his chest. Saix cried out in pain, and slumped down to one knee. His claymore disappeared from his hand, and faded away.

"Let's go!" Yuffie exclaimed.

The two of them leapt toward each other, and stood back-to-back. Yuffie tossed her weapon into the air, where it hovered horizontally over them, spinning rapidly and pouring out Dawn energy. Riku pointed his blade out horizontally.

The two floated into the air, maintaining their back-to-back position. They then began to spin. Slowly at first, but then it began to pick up speed. The Dawn covering their weapons began to expand, and cover the area around them.

Soon, from the outside it looked like they were inside a swirling globe of red-orange energy. And they still kept spinning, stirring up the energy, making it swirl even faster than before.

Then, it stopped suddenly, coming to a complete, total halt.

All was still for a few frozen seconds outside of the globe. Until, with a loud, rushing noise, the energy shot out in all directions, expanding to cover the whole, giant room. Saix let out a loud howl of pain as the Dawn hit him. He flew once again to the other side of the room, actually cracking the glass.

The Dawn faded after a moment, and Riku and Yuffie stood tall. "Score one for the ninja." Yuffie said, grinning.(3)

They approached Saix carefully. He was leaning back on the glass, cracked behind him due to the force of his impact. The half conscious Nobody looked up at them with tiredness in his eyes.

"We'll meet again." A corridor of Darkness opened below him, swallowing him up.

"Dang it." Axel said, walking up to them.

"Hey, what's that noise?" Yuffie asked to no one in particular.

Riku listened closely, and could soon hear an odd sound. It was an unfamiliar, creaking, groaning sort of noise. It was soon followed by a barely discernable hissing noise. Riku looked ahead at the cracked window. His jaw dropped, and his eyes widened in horror.

Axel caught up on his line of thinking. "Shoot, RUN!"

They all turned tail and bolted back towards the only door at the other end of the room. As they ran, Riku said, "I knew that wall couldn't handle the pressure!"

* * *

During one of the brief pauses in the fighting, Nehrut caught a glimpse of the glass shards passing by a window. He had no idea what they were, so he didn't think anything of it. He parried a blow from Xaynew. Their blades struck the wall in a cascade of sparks, leaving behind two deep lines, faintly glowing red and blue.

The hallways had gotten much more narrow as they progressed through them. Every other movement brought a shower of sparks and the smell of scorched metal with it.

Nehrut was pressing his former brother back, down the hall. His red chest plate was scratched in numerous places, and his cloak was in shreds.

The younger one lashed out, his blade passing within an inch of his nose. When that missed, he aimed a wild punch at his face. It made contact, but with his chest instead. He staggered away, giving ground for just a second.

Xaynew thrust his blade forward. He ducked under it, and with amazing reflexes, slashed upward to knock it from his grasp. It stuck into the ceiling, and Nehrut shot out his hand. Xaynew flew backwards a full twenty feet.

He nearly knocked over Bariss, who was still locked in combat with the Telekinetic. She heard him flying at her, and leapt into the air (an impressive feat considering how little space there was). He passed underneath her and crashed into the chest of his Heartless.

The two bounced off the floor, down the hall, through a doorway, and into a wall.

The Nobody had hit his head on impact, and wasn't able to see entirely straight, but he saw six people running toward him with weapons brandished, and decided that now would be a good time to leave. An instant before the two got to them, a corridor of Darkness opened up behind them.

They fell through it, and it closed back up a split second before Nehrut and Bariss reached them.

"Why does he always have to do that?" Nehrut shook his head in annoyance.

* * *

_Did you like it? Oh, tell me, tell me, please? I'll be your best friend! Please review!_

_1) When I saw Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, I thought that watching a duel while a space battle raged outside looked extremely awesome. That's where this came from._

_2) Another Star Wars moment. Play 'Duel of the Fates' during this battle._

_(3) Dawn of Wutai_


	72. Chapter 71: The Giant Mech Fight

_The final chapter of Hawaii is here at last. It was fun, but not _that_ fun. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this new world up to this point! ... In completely unrelated news, is anybody else really psyched about the imminent arrival of God of War 3?_

_Roxas: "Me! DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else."_

* * *

Chapter 71: The Giant Mech Fight

"Okay, just up one more level and we'll be in the observation deck." 625 said.

Sora was running through the hallways of the ship, feeling the deck below his feet constantly shaking. It was taking heavy fire, they had to hurry.

They turned the corner which would lead to a lift that would take them up, and were met with a sight that none of them expected.

"Lilo?"

"Aloha guys!" She smiled and waved at him in a perfectly normal manner, as if she was used to being on hostile vessels totally unprotected. She was standing in front of the lift, she poked her finger at the doors. "I think you have to take this one."

Sora looked at Stitch, who looked back and shrugged. "Um... How did you get here, Lilo?"

"I walked." She answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "How else would I have gotten here?"

"Never mind." Sora shook his head. "Listen Lilo, we've got to get to Hamsterviel, so you need to get back to the ship as fast as you can."

"Not a chance!"

Just as Sora was about to protest, he felt something. Fear shone in his eyes, and he turned noticeably paler. He ran towards a window next to the lift and looked out apprehensively. His hand started shaking at his side.

He could see a fairly large, black metal object tumbling through the battle toward the world below, spewing smoke as it did. As they watched, a stray shot from a police cruiser blew off its remaining engine.

"Cooool!" Lilo said, in total awe.

"Kairi was in there!"

"What!?" The three others exclaimed in shock.

Sora tried to reach out to her, to feel her somewhere, hoping against hope that she was alright.

After a desperate minute of searching for her, he felt her presence. She was still there in the falling ship, and still in good health as far as he could tell. But she was confused, scared, and unsure of how to escape her falling prison.

Somewhere in his subconscious, he recalled the controls for the _Highwind _and the _Unity_. In his mind, he was sitting in the pilot's seat, his hands on the controls, weaving it in and out between Heartless ships.

He didn't know it, but Kairi saw these very memories…

* * *

Kairi suddenly found herself reliving a memory that she knew wasn't hers. She felt herself behind the pilot's seat of the _Highwind_. Her hands rested comfortably on the controls, but of course, they weren't _her_ hands at all.

She somehow found her way to the controls of Gantu's ruined ship. The only possible pilots who could possibly control this ship within a thousand worlds were several miles away now. But she didn't need Stitch, or even Sora.

Sora was a part of her.

She grasped the controls, and though they were grossly oversized, she found that they moved easily.

With just the right amount of force, she was able to slow the craft's speed. With a tweak of the controls, she was able to level out the vessel, moving toward the world below at a reasonable pace.

Never mind the fact that the ship had two blown out engines. Nevermind the fact that she was in the midst of a massive space battle. Nevermind the fact that the semiconscious Gantu was only a few meters behind her.

She and Sora could handle it.

* * *

Sora let out a long, relieved breath when he saw the ship's flight get under control. He felt Kairi's smile on the other end. He mentally returned it, and it showed on his face, as well. "Hang in there, Kairi." He said aloud.

He turned to his companions, looking extremely relieved. "Let's get Hamsterviel and end this."

"Ih!" Stitch barked enthusiastically, and followed him into the lift. 625 and Lilo walked in behind him. He pressed the bright 'up' button. The doors slid shut, and they began to rise.

Just before the doors slid open, revealing the observation room, Sora wondered, "Wait, isn't the power supposed to be off?"

And then the doors parted, revealing an unnerving sight. Hamsterviel was standing in the middle of the room, hands on his hips, and looking extremely smug. Next to him was the experiment pod, which was taller than him. But the worst part was what was standing behind him.

"There's always a giant mech." Sora muttered.

This particular giant mech loosely resembled a giant crab that was about twenty feet tall. It had six large appendages. One set of massive back legs, a middle set armed with some kind of rapid-fire weapons at the tip, and a front set of huge claws with firing weapons included inside. Mounted on the underside of it's main body were two rapid firing plasma cannons more suitable to the police cruisers on the outside. There was a single viewport at the front.

And on the top of it, trapped inside a plexiglass pod built into the mech was Sparky. How in the worlds Hamsterviel had caught him to restore the power, Sora would never know. The experiment looked apologetically down at them.

"Well well!" Hamsterviel said. "You have made it this far, but NO FARTHER!"

"That's because there's no more ship..." Sora said.

"SHUT UP!" Hamsterviel shouted, stamping up and down rather comically. "I will have no more of your disrespect! _I_ have the giant mech, _I_ have the experiments, I have-"

A green loogie hit him in between the eyes, dripping down his face and covering his eyes. He screamed and immediately tried to wipe the gunk off.

"Nice shot, cousin." 625 complimented.

"Good dog!" Lilo exclaimed. Stitch giggled in response.

While Hamsterviel was running around, trying to shake off Stitch's drool, Sora walked toward the experiment's container. He picked it up casually in one arm, and walked back to Lilo. He handed it to her, and she struggled to hold it. 625 helped stabilize her.

"You guys get this back to the ship as fast as you can." He said. "We'll handle Hamster-Wheel."

"It... is... HAMSTERVIEL!" He had finally managed to clean his face off. "And give me back my experiments!"

Sora punched a button on the wall by the lift, and the doors slid shut in front of Lilo and 625. That left Stitch and himself alone against Hamsterviel.

"That does it!"

He ran underneath the mech, and a bluish light shone down from it. Hamsterviel then began to rise up off the ground, and up toward the mech. He entered through an opening in the bottom, which closed right behind him.

He went to the controls, and pressed a button. There was a surge of electricity from Sparky's pod, which then spread to the rest of the metal behemoth.

Slowly, agonizingly slowly, it straightened up with the quiet sound of working machinery. The claws snapped, and opened, revealing the muzzles of two high-caliber plasma cannons. The weapons on the underbelly spun, and aimed at the two.

"Bye bye!" Hamsterviel mocked. He fired with all his weapons. Sora and Stitch leapt in opposite directions, Sora left, Stitch right. No sooner had they done so then the plasma blasts reduced the floor where they had been standing to cinders.

They ran around the mech. Stitch pulled out his twin pistols, and fired them repeatedly at the side of the mech. Sora continuously fired a combination of fire and ice spells from the opposite end. But neither one appeared to have any real effect.

Its middle legs lifted into the air, and opened fire. Blasts of red plasma spewed toward Hamsterviel's two targets, scorching anything they hit.

The two were just able to outrun the blasts, but it soon became clear that they were getting nowhere pounding it from a distance. So Sora decided to use a new tactic. He leapt high into the air, toward Hamsterviel's mech.

"Power!"

He let off a bright flash of light and seemed to freeze in midair. When the light faded, his clothing had changed. It was predominately gold, marked with black. On the shoulders and legs were patterns of three overlapping crosses. The clothes had also become much more loose. Freedom of movement was crucial in Master Form.

Once again, he had a second Keyblade. But this one was floating in the space in front of his left hand, held there by Sora's will. It was known as Ohana's Pride. The hilt was circular, with two red 'fins' sprouting off from either side like those on Jumba's ship. It was linked to the blade's shaft by a pommel that resembled two large sea-shells. The shaft itself resembled a long palm tree, complete with two long green palm leaves. In front of those leaves was a blue silhouette that looked suspiciously like Stitch's gaping, toothy mouth. The keychain was a small, blue pod with the number '626' on it.

Not skipping a beat, Sora shot toward the side of the mech, and drove both blades into its armored side all the way up to the hilts. Sparks flew from the new, narrow openings as he ripped them free and landed back on the ground.

One of its center legs moved to blast at him. Sora raised his left hand, and Ohana's Pride shot upwards at it. It cut through the leg entirely, cutting it in two. The useless stump left behind rotated and swung all over as the appendage struck the ground at Sora's feet.

Hamsterviel turned the mech as far as possible, to face Sora directly. Its left claw rose into the air, and came crashing down toward the Keybearer. He leapt backwards in time to avoid the attack, landing ten feet away from his original position.

The cannons on the mech's underside whined back into life, and shifted to aim directly at Sora. They opened fire, but he didn't move.

With a twitch of his hand, Ohana's Pride moved up in front of Sora. With a wiggle of his fingers, it spun rapidly in front of him. The plasma splattered against the blade before it could get to him. While his left blade was occupied, he engulfed Oblivion in fire.

He swung it in a wide arc, and a fireball blasted from it, exploding against one of the cannons. With a slower rate of fire, Sora leapt into the air, bringing Ohana's Pride with him. A flick of the wrist, and it spun through the air at the other gun.

A twisted scrap of metal fell to the floor as Ohana's Pride boomeranged back to him.

He landed lightly back on his feet, and leapt over a blast from one of the front claws. He went high into the air, floating almost directly above the mech. Its claws rose to follow him, and they began to spin. Energy built up inside of them, until it all spewed out at Sora.

He crossed his blades in front of him and shouted, "Reflega!" A magic barrier appeared around him in the shape of a bubble. The energy attack smashed against it, pushing his bubble back into the wall, still unharmed.

Sora thrust out his left hand, with his new blade floating in front of it. The blade stabbed outside the bubble, into the midst of the energy, which all shot right back at its source.

One of the claws was blasted off entirely, and lay on the floor, twisted and burning.

Sora landed back on the ground, and reverted back to normal, having destroyed four of its six weapons.

Stitch reentered the fight, blasting directly at the viewport where it was possible to see Hamsterviel's angry face. The hot plasma collided with the viewport, only causing minor aesthetic damage. The window was repeatedly singed, making hard to see inside or out.

Hamsterviel's remaining claw lifted into the air, and fired at the experiment. He rolled over to the side of it, and fired at the claw itself. A few bolts of plasma collided with the claw, though once again, this did very little.

The claw lashed out, nearly reducing Sora and Stitch into pulp with one horizontal swipe. They leapt over it, and then were nearly blasted by the remaining middle leg. The blast passed between them so close that they felt the heat radiating off of it. They landed unceremoniously on the ground in a heap.

They were just starting to get back to their feet, when the claw came back and hit them full on. They were tossed bodily toward the wall with just enough force to crack it. Fortunately, the walls in the observation deck were much more sturdy than they were in the room at the back of the ship.

But that just made the hit all the more painful for Sora and Stitch. The two groaned, and got back to their feet.

Immediately, they dodged to the side as quickly as possible to avoid a large plasma blast. Hurrying, they ran around the perimeter of the room, outrunning the blasts by a hair's breadth each time. As they ran, they could hear Hamsterviel shouting, "How do you like _that_ wise guys!? Never underestimate Jacque Van Hamster-Wheel!" Then he caught himself. "Ah vicksglacks now _I'm_ doing it!"

Perhaps as a sign of his frustration, he pulled out a secret weapon neither had seen on the mech before. The top of it (which held Sparky inside his pod) lifted off the main body. It rotated around vertically, revealing some kind of massive cannon, with the pod fastened at the end.

There was another surge of electricity from Sparky's pod, and the cannon let out a quiet humming noise. The inside of the barrel began to glow, and Sora and Stitch were just barely able to get out of its line of fire, when it unleashed thousands of volts of electricity at once.

The bolts exploded against the wall in front of which they had been standing. The force of it was enough to send them flying in opposite directions; Sora to the left, and Stitch right.

While Stitch was still down, Hamsterviel lifted the mech's remaining claw as if to smash him into the ground. It came down hard and fast, but Stitch was able to catch the blow, and held the claw at bay with all four arms.

Sora knew for a fact that Stitch could lift three-thousand times his own body weight, but Hamsterviel was pressing down with a significant amount of force, and it showed in Stitch's expression. He was starting to sweat; something Sora had never seen him do before.

Meanwhile, Hamsterviel moved the mech's remaining middle leg, and aimed its plasma cannon at the experiment while it was still trying to hold off it's claw.

Sora raised his blade, and shot a large ice shard at the claw. While it didn't have much of an effect, the power behind the shot pushed the claw in the other direction. Stitch leapt free, and Hamsterviel accidently blasted his own appendage.

Stitch reclaimed his pistols, which had slipped from his grasp during the lightning attack. He and Sora tried once again to pierce the machine's armor with plasma and flames. But once again, all they succeeded in doing was darkening his viewport.

Sora thought that it was amazing how quickly the tide of battle could change. At the beginning of the battle, he had been crushing him. It was because of the Master Form that it was now missing most of its weapons.

Now it didn't look like they were going to beat it.

"But of course," Roxas said, "That's never stopped you before."

_You know it._

So, he tried a different sort of approach. He ran directly at the mech, flourishing his blade. He ran at the mech, dodging or deflecting it's shots as he went. Stitch came up behind him, running on four legs and blasting with the extra set.

He leapt into the air, aiming for Sparky's pod. He was able to get on top of the mech, just barely. He lifted his blade, and slammed it down on the pod, which cracked.

"What are you doing!?" Hamsterviel shouted from below him. He sounded afraid.

Sora was just about to strike again, when the giant machine started to buck and shake violently. The Keybearer tried as hard as he could to hold on, even resorting to grabbing Sparky's damaged pod, but to no avail.

Hamsterviel flung him off his mech, and across the room. Soon after, when Stitch tried the same technique, he expected it. The claw shot out, and smacked the blue experiment across the room to join Sora.

"Give up Key-child!" Hamsterviel shouted at him.

"Okay, that name's just plain unoriginal." Roxas said.

Sora ran at the mech again, but this time with a different strategy in mind. Stitch fell into step right next to him. They ran at the mech, avoiding it's attacks, until finally when the machine raised its claw, he shouted, "Stitch!"

"Aloha!"

The two stood back-to-back. Stitch held both his pistols high in the air, and Sora flourished Oblivion. They held them both out. Sora's blade spewed green energy bullets, and the two spun around each other quickly, never ceasing fire.

The energy spewed all around them, rapidly. They scarred the walls, leaving brownish-black burn marks all over them. But they had a more desirable effect on Hamsterviel's mech. The bolts seemed to explode against it, denting its armored plating, or punching through it entirely. The viewport was holed by eight separate bolts. Hamsterviel had to crouch under the console in front of him.

"Go, go, GO!" Stitch exclaimed. He held his pistols close to him, and curled up into a tight ball shape like an armadillo would.

Not hesitating for a second, Sora gripped the Keyblade tightly, and smacked Stitch at Hamsterviel's mech. The small being wasn't hurt, but the machine soon suffered from a huge dent in the front just under the shattered viewport.

Inside of it, Hamsterviel was knocked to the back of the machine.

Stitch bounced off the mech, and to the opposite wall. He bounced back off of it as well, and came back to smash into the same spot, nearly going entirely through this time.

Sora meanwhile, was gathering energy at the tip of his blade. He held it there for a few seconds, before releasing it all at once at the mech's claw. This time, it was damaged. Actually, 'destroyed' would be a more appropriate word. It was reduced to a flaming hunk of useless metal just barely hanging on to the rest of the appendage.

Another similar blast removed the entire front appendage from the main body, sending it to the ground with a loud _clang_. And another blast removed the last weapon: the middle right leg with a plasma projectile.

Stitch bounced off the glass wall one last time, and smashed into the same dent he had already made, going all the way through, and hitting Hamsterviel in the gut. All his air left his lungs as he bounced back out the window, landing next to Sora.

"Meega natha queesta, Stupid-Head!" The experiment shouted. He pulled _four_ pistols seemingly from nowhere, and held them aloft. Sora summoned a second Keyblade (his original Kingdom Key) to his off-hand, and held them high. Energy gathered at the tips, swelling to the size of basketballs. Stitch's pistols were vibrating with all the pent-up energy.

They pointed their six weapons at the mech (which was no longer standing up, and looked horribly defeated). Energy spewed forth from their weapons, shooting at the machine. One split second after they fired, there was an explosion, and machine parts flew everywhere, smashing into the floor, walls, and ceiling. (1)

From the fire and smoke, Sparky shot into the air, his ghost-like tail crackling with electricity. Clutched in his mouth was Hamsterviel's tail. He was hanging semiconscious in his grip, fur singed.

Stitch laughed wildly as he dropped the doctor at his feet.

Hamsterviel looked up at them with squinted eyes. He laughed weakly. "You wouldn't do anything too horrible to me. Would you?"

Sora bent down and picked him up by the tail, slung him over his shoulder like an old sack, and ran out of the room with the two experiments right behind him. But not before picking up a shining silver charm laying by the door which had apparently been tossed from the mech. It had a black and yellow circular kind of logo on it resembling a lower case letter 'I'.

But Sora didn't want to think about it right now. They had to leave.

* * *

"C'mon guys, this place is gonna blow!" Yuffie exclaimed from the airlock entrance leading to the _Unity_. The Federation fire was having a serious effect now.

"Where are Axel, Lilo, and 625?" Sora asked, the experiments, and fully unconscious Hamsterviel with him. As he asked this, the deck under his feet shook violently.

"They're at the other ship with Nehrut." Riku shouted from inside, near where Bariss stood. "He's going to fly them out of here!"

They all entered the _Unity_, and Sora took his usual position in the pilot's seat. "Hang on everyone. Yuffie, get a barf bag, this is going to get rough!"

* * *

"Which one closes the airlock!?" Nehrut exclaimed, looking back and forth at the console in front of him with panic in his eyes.

"You mean you don't know!?" Axel asked, just as worried. "Is it this one?" He pressed a small blue button near the steering veins. The ship lurched violently, but didn't separate from the main ship.

"Don't touch that!" 625 said. His ears were quivering in worry. "I'm pretty sure that it's this thing!" He flicked a switch to the right of the button. Two of the ship's cannons blasted at the area near them. There was a bit of violent shaking, and they still didn't move.

"Don't touch that!" Nehrut said.

"What about this?" Lilo said, much more calmly than the others. She reached out to press a red button in between the steering veins.

"Don't touch that!" The other three shouted in alarm.

Too late, though. Everyone closed their eyes, expecting a catastrophe. But instead, the ship ejected from the airlock, and harmlessly backed into open space.

"It's always the big, red button." Lilo said proudly as Nehrut cruised away.

And exactly ten seconds later, Hamsterviel's ship finally succumbed to the concentrated firepower of the Galactic Federation. The first thing to go was the observation deck. Glass and metal fragments from the floor and the remains of the mech spewed into space and were frozen immediately in the vacuum.

Soon, the tail fin broke free of the main body of the ship, falling, burning. The wheel-like body seemed to spin rapidly, the new opening leaking fire which was soon snuffed out from the lack of oxygen.

By the time of its explosion, the police cruisers had pulled back to a safe distance, and the Heartless had fled without a strong leader. Sora and Nehrut were already halfway back to Hawaii.

* * *

Back on the same beach where they had been standing for nearly an hour were Bubbles, Mickey, Goofy, Donald, Jumba, and Pleakley. The Grand Councilwoman had since joined them, after it had become apparent that her forces could easily finish the Brotherhood in space without her aid.

Behind them was Gantu's horribly damaged ship, still smoking from its fresh collision.

They walked cautiously toward it, not sure what was inside. That was of course, assuming anything had survived the crash.

"This is the Grand Councilwoman of the United Galactic Federation." The Councilwoman announced loudly and clearly enough to be understood to anyone inside the wreck. "Put your weapons down, and step out here into the open, or we will open fire."

The response was a blast of Light energy through one of the sides of the ship.

Jumba and Bubbles aimed their weapons at the new opening. Donald and Goofy took up fighting stances. Mickey, on the other hand, held up his arms, signaling them to stand down. He was smiling.

Out stumbled Kairi, waving dark smoke away from her face. Aside from a few bumps and bruises, she was perfectly fine. She returned the King's smile. "Sorry about that landing. I still need to work on my parking."

She walked up to them, and was immediately greeted with praise.

"I thought only Sora could fly like that!" Donald exclaimed.

"You know, I think he did..." Kairi said thoughtfully, looking up at the sky. Two tiny specks were growing larger and larger.

"Huh?" Donald asked, confused.

"You mean Sora's in there?" Goofy then ran toward the ship, and into the opening. Donald was right behind him, shouting for Sora. They assumed he had been hurt.

Kairi and Mickey laughed quietly to themselves. Jumba and the others looked a little confused.

In a matter of minutes, Jumba's red ship was hovering uneasily above them, as if the pilot was unsure of what to do. Finally, it seemed he had found the landing gear. They deployed easily, but then the ship shot straight up.

Kairi could have sworn she heard muffled shouting from the cockpit as the ship changed directions, and landed with a loud _clang_. Of course it was only after that that the pilot decided to shut down the engines completely, and inadvertently set fire to a patch of grass.

The boarding ramp opened, and Nehrut shot down the ramp as fast as possible to snuff out the flames.

A queasy-looking Axel stepped down soon after, followed by 625. "How were you able to get around on your own for three years!? You almost killed us!"

"I landed us didn't I!?"

"If Lilo hadn't found the right button, we'd have been burned alive with Hamsterviel's ship!"

"You're welcome." Lilo walked down the ramp with 625, carrying the experiment container.

"Little girl!" Jumba walked up the ramp to meet her, and took the container from her. "I am thanking you for finally recovering experiments!"

"Y'know, we helped." Axel said, feeling a bit annoyed.

"Yes, yes of course." But Jumba was already walking away, looking at the pod with great affection.

Sora's group arrived seconds later in beams of light (the _Unity_ having been put back into orbit).

Stitch immediately ran to his friend. "Lilo!" He flung himself at her, wrapping all four arms around her in a friendly embrace which she gladly returned.

Sora had just enough time to smile warmly at the two, when he was crushed in Kairi's embrace. He pulled her close to him, and kissed the top of her head. She smiled, and leaned up to whisper in his ear, "Thanks."

"Kairi, we couldn't find Sora!" Goofy shouted from Gantu's ship. His eyes fell on the new arrivals. "Oh. Hey Sora!"

The Keybearer laughed.

Riku walked toward Mickey and the Councilwoman, holding a squirming Hamsterviel in both his arms. "Uh, Your Majesties? What do we do with Hamster-Wheel?"

"Hamsterv-" the doctor was cut off when Yuffie clapped a hand over his mouth.

"I will call down an extraction unit to take him into custody." The Councilwoman answered with a nod.

"Hey, we found a big feller in here, too." Goofy called. "It's Captain Gantu."

"Yeah." Donald said. "He's all... Heartless-y."

"There's a nice prison cell awaiting him, too. While he's there, maybe we'll find new ways to combat the Heartless by running a few tests on him." She turned to look at Jumba, who had opened up the experiment's container and was gazing at the tiny experiment pods contentedly. "And as for the experiments..."

With surprising reflexes, she snatched the container away from Jumba. He seemed to have been taken totally by surprise, having been too caught up in staring at them to really notice anything else.

"I'll have my chief scientists liquidate them immediately."

Suddenly, a small, blue blur shot toward the container. Stitch landed near her, clutching the container protectively to him. "Naga! Cousins!"

He was soon joined by Lilo, who threw her arms defensively in front of him. "You can't do that to Stitch's cousins! They're his family! And they could be ours, too!"

The Councilwoman looked down at the two sympathetically. "Now Lilo, Stitch, I know how you feel about this, but the experiments are _dangerous_. If they were to be unleashed, it would spell disaster for not only this world, but others. And I cannot allow that to happen."

"Well what if the pods were just kept away from the water?" Sora suggested, standing behind the two. "Then there'd be no problems."

"Or what if we turned them to good?" Lilo threw in. "You know, found a place where they truly belonged?"

"Lilo..." The Councilwoman said slowly, in a tone one usually reserves for speaking to the fatally ill. "I really don't think that there's much chance for that..."

"What about Sparky?" Kairi asked.

The yellow experiment was hovering a few feet above the ground. He turned around at the sound of his nickname. He floated over next to Stitch, and looked up at her as if pleading.

"Coussssssinssssssssss..." He said, surprising almost everybody.

"You programmed him with vocal cords?" Pleakley whispered to Jumba.

"I don't remember..."

The Councilwoman looked down at him sympathetically. "Experiment 221..."

"Sparkyyyyyyy." He corrected. A few of the gathered friends smiled.

"Oh... Sparky, then." She corrected herself. "Can you prove to me that you are good in _any_ way?"

Sparky looked at Lilo, a questioning expression on his face. She was silent for a moment, and looked around. Her eyes lit up when they settled on the empty lighthouse. "Stitch, Sparky, come here!"

She ran off toward the lighthouse, her little legs carrying her as fast as they could. Sparky floated after her. Stitch tossed the container to Sora, who just barely caught it. It was a lot heavier than it looked.

Lilo threw open the door at the base of the lighthouse (surprising that it was unlocked, it had been abandoned for years), and rushed inside. The experiments followed her in.

Everything was quiet for a few moments, with the group outside wondering what they were doing. And then, after a few moments, they heard the sound of coursing electricity. And suddenly, the giant lamp lit up, shining its bright light through the thick lens out over the ocean.

The dazzling light suddenly illuminated something. And it soon became obvious what it was.

Destiny's Light appeared in Kairi's hand as soon as Hawaii's Keyhole was revealed. She smiled to herself and pointed it at the large phenomenon in the sky. Silvery light gathered around it, and then speared from the tip into the center of the Keyhole. It emmitted a few strange bursts of light before fading from existence.

After that, there was nothing to do. So everyone stood there, admiring the simple beauty of the light shining across the night time sea. A soft smile graced everyone's lips. Naturally, Kairi leaned into Sora, and he placed his arms around her from behind. Yuffie took Riku's hand in hers.

And, as if on its own accord, Nehrut's hand reached over and interlaced its fingers with Bariss's. She looked down at it, and then into Nehrut's face, and smiled. From farther away, Axel noticed this, and winked slyly at Nehrut. He pretended not to notice.

In a few moments, Lilo and Stitch rejoined them, looking very proud of themselves.

"You see?" Lilo asked the Councilwoman. "The experiments _can_ be used for good."

The alien woman looked down at her, wearing a slightly embarrassed smile. "I think if we really try, we can find the one place where they truly belong. Like Sparky belongs at the lighthouse, and Stitch belongs here with me."

"_Ahem_." 625 interrupted from a few feet away.

"And 625 can probably go to a nice sandwich shop somewhere!" She caught herself, and looked back at the experiment. "You know, we should call you 'Reuben.'"

"I love you." The newly dubbed Reuben said.

"So come on, lady." Lilo continued. "Give the experiments a chance to prove themselves."

The Councilwoman looked down at her, thinking.

"Very well, I won't destroy the experiments. But, only under the condition that you can find 'the one place where they truly belong.'"

"You can count on us, ma'am!"

* * *

_Yes, I realize how cheesy that ending was. Get off of my back._

_Anywho,I hope you liked it anyway, and please review!_

_(1) "Tiki Smash"_


	73. Chapter 72: Conspiracy

_This chapter is short, but potentially very important. Now I can focus a little more on our villains. Especially one in particular…_

_Ruxik: "DarthKingdom does not own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else. But he does own all OCs and locations in this chapter."_

* * *

Chapter 72: Conspiracy

It was night at Pax Pacis. Though admittedly, it was difficult to tell when day ended and night began ever since the Brotherhood of the Dark had made it their headquarters. Dark storm clouds constantly rolled over the world. And occasionally, lightning forked across the sky. Thin sheets of rain were pouring down from them.

The beautiful capital city of Salusis that had stood bright and shining a mere three years previously was a shell of its former self. Many of the tall, elegant buildings were toppled, or destroyed completely. Debris from them littered the streets. This was the result of the Brotherhood's invasion of the world. A certain amount of terror and anguish was required to fuel the Darkness shielding the world.

Many, many lives had been destroyed to strengthen the defenses. And Heartless and Nobodies still patrolled the streets.

What was once the royal palace was the only building that was still mostly intact. Its towers still stretched high into the sky; its walls were still smooth, and fairly clean. Even the hole in the ceiling above the throne room had been repaired by magic, though it wasn't exactly the same place it had been before. The whole place was covered by black, and a guard of two giant Darkside Heartless stood sentry at either side of the front doors. Overwhelming Darkness seemed to ooze from it, spreading out across the landscape.

Currently, there were two people walking up the steps to the huge front doors, which now bore the Brotherhood's emblem of the three-pronged circle.

Xaynew and Saix were walking, bruised and beaten, up the steps, trying to prepare themselves mentally for what they knew would come.

The younger Nobody held up his hand as they neared the doors, and they opened slowly. The Darksides didn't react to them at all as the Nobodies walked inside, into the dark entrance hall. The doors shut behind them.

The long, tall entrance hall was completely dark, aside from greenish crystals glowing eerily all along the walls like lanterns; one row along the top of the walls, another in the middle, and a third practically touching the floor.

They walked down the hall in silence, seething. They had failed, yet again, to capture the Keybearers. What was worse was that they had also failed in their original objective to recruit Hamsterviel and the experiments.

They were in trouble. And that very thought was soon voiced by someone behind them.

"You guys are in _so_ much trouble…"

They turned around and saw the smirking Larxene. She was leaning against one of the walls, and Ruxik was standing next to her.

Since she had been released from her form of captivity, Larxene had become an official member of the Brotherhood, and had abandoned her old Organization coat. Now she wore a tight black jacket over a yellow tank top. The top had sharp, jagged black lines going down it that looked slightly like lightning bolts. The same design was repeated on the back of her jacket in yellow. She wore long, black jeans with pouches for various pain-inflicting instruments of her own personal choice.

She smirked as she stood up straight and walked toward the two. "Saix! How's it going?"

Saix's response was a low growl. "What do you want, traitor?"

"Awww… Now that's not very nice. You didn't finish your anger management classes did you, Looney?"

"_What_ do you _want_?" Xaynew asked again harshly.

"You could do with some too, junior." Larxene said, her eyes found the new scar going down his face. "You could also probably use a band-aid." By this time the both of them looked ready to kill her. "But believe it or not, we do have a reason for delaying your punishment."

"Then be out with it." Saix barked.

"Don't you think Serndask has too much power around here?" Ruxik asked.

"He leads us." Xaynew said. "Obviously he has more power than us."

"But don't you _want_ a bit of that power?" Larxene asked quietly.

They were all totally silent for a moment, until Saix spoke. "I cannot believe that you are actually staging another coup, Larxene."

"Consider this, though..." She countered, not sounding at all worried that she'd be turned in, only conversational. "That guy Serndask doesn't give a Moogle's backside about any of us. One of the original members is dead and four old Organizers are gone and he just takes out his frustration on us. He doesn't even want to change his plan. 'Capture the Keybearers'. So... I think it's time for a change in command."

"And you support this?" Saix looked at Ruxik.

"I admit that there's a certain amount of risk to it." He shrugged. "But it'd be worth it if we succeeded."

"I always thought of you as Serndask's lap dog, 'Ruxy.'" Xaynew said with a smirk. Since it was revealed that Ruxik and Larxene were 'together', the other members of the Brotherhood had taken to mocking him this way. Xarcs had been the one to start it. "Why the sudden change of no heart?"

"Funny." Ruxik rolled his eyes in a credible imitation of Riku. "The guy sent me to the Underworld when I failed to bring back Axel. And Xarcs told me before he left that he was considering sending me on a six-month mission to Agrabah with the mark on my forehead."

"He's a harsh taskmaster." Saix said. "You should either finish your missions or learn to deal with it."

"Easy for you to say. Xemnas gave you special treatment, Looney." Larxene said, smirking. "You were so far up his butt that the rest of us couldn't see your face anymore. Serndask, on the other hand doesn't like special treatment…"

She held up her right arm, and rolled up the sleeve of her jacket. There was a long scar there, running down the entire length of her forearm. It was pure black, and made for an unsettling sight. "This happened the day after Olympus. It's in near constant pain, and I can't cover it up. Prepare yourself for something just as bad."

"_One_ scar?"

"Only Ruxik is allowed to see where the others are." She said with something of a smirk.

"So, we want to make sure this doesn't happen again." Ruxik said, pointing to Larxene's arm. "Are you in or out?"

"Just what's stopping us from telling Serndask about your little scheme here?" Xaynew asked, arms crossed.

"The fact that you're genuinly interested." Ruxik replied, smirking.

"And the fact that I'm always ready to nab a bit more power." Xaynew returned the smirk. "We're in."

"_We_?" Saix asked.

In response, Xaynew reached into his pocket and held out the blank Absent Silhouette card. There was a swirling pattern on it, indicating the Darkness that Saix had come from.

"You're _in_."

Saix looked furious, but said nothing.

"Awww… Cheer up, Looney!" Larxene said, rolling her sleeve back down. "This'll be good for all of us! And I'm sure in that time we're planning we're all going to become the _best_ of friends."

"Your sarcasm is appalling." He said.

"Bite me."

"So who else is in on this thing?" Xaynew asked Ruxik, ignoring the two Silhouettes.

"At the moment, it's just us. I don't believe that the other members of the Brotherhood are quite as _flexible_ as we are."

"But maybe good ol' Marly could give us a hand…" Larxene said. "Has he been released from the convenient-to-carry card form yet?"

"No." Xaynew said simply. "That overconfident swordsman owner of his card doesn't think he needs his help… maybe if we convince him to use the card, though."

"I'm not so sure that the 'One-Winged Angel' is open to persuasion." Ruxik said. "He'll probably change his mind when he fights the Keybearers again, though."

"At the rate those punks are progressing," Larxene added, "It won't be much longer before they take out Serndask himself before we do. This Brotherhood is running out of assets faster than we can find them. We've lost Xayn-Shu and plenty of Organizers. Not to mention Hades, Oogie-Something, and Hamster-Wheel."

"And that little wretch who defected to their side." Xaynew added. "Now she's probably told us where we are."

"Then they also know that they can't get back to this world without a dark matter warp engine attachment." Ruxik said, waving it off. "We'll be just fine here."

"True enough, provided that we're the only traitors around here." Larxene said.

The four of them walked off down the hallway, speaking in low voices of what they'd have to do to overthrow Serndask and take the Brotherhood for their own.

They were arrogant and careless, not to expect anyone to be listening.

* * *

_Fools._

He thought.

_Do they honestly believe that I wouldn't know? I AM Darkness itself. I can be anywhere in this castle, fully engulfed in the Darkness. No secret can be hidden from me here, in these hallways._

_Ruxik. I am disappointed. You were so promising… With you it would have been that much easier to take Kingdom Hearts. But now look. My simple disciplinary actions have driven you to treason._

_And Xaynew. Have you not enough power already? I've strengthened you in return for this castle. Now it seems that I'll have to make you leave this place permanently. If you really want to see power… Oh, you have no idea what true power is._

_Larxene. I suspect that this was originally your idea wasn't it? You are no stranger to treachery, you've suffered through it, and you've dealt it out. It is now such a great part of who you are that I suspect that you will always betray those above you until there is no one left._

_Though, Saix… I understand that you have no choice. You feel no fear, but the black abyss where you came from is probably as close to fear as you will ever know. You do not want to return there. And so you _must_ betray me._

_Do any of them honestly believe that they can defeat me? Once upon a time, perhaps. But now, it is impossible. There are only two possible threats to my power in all of existence, and neither of them can be four Nobody traitors._

_The first is the Keyblade. Not the one that you use, Ruxik, but that one held by the infuriating boy Sora. As long as that boy draws breath I will never be completely safe._

_And the second is, of course, Kingdom Hearts. The heart of all worlds, of all that lives… Many have tried to aquire its unspeakable powers. All have failed. Maleficent, so clever, and yet so foolish. She was arrogant enough to believe she could never be consumed by the Darkness. And now look what has happened to her. She paid the price for her arrogance._

_Had she even gotten to Kingdom Hearts, how could she have ever hoped to harness that level of power? She would be destroyed, surely. Power of that magnitude could never be controlled fully by a mere mortal._

_That is why I must have it._

_But one step at a time. I must deal with these insurgents, first. But not now, not while they can still serve a purpose to me. Ruxik is too valuable to destroy outright. But perhaps I can send a message._

_Marluxia._

_Yes… Yes. That could work._

Serndask smiled to himself.

* * *

_Ah, those Nobodies can never just seem to agree on who the boss is can they? Well at least it gives us a new plot twist to watch._

_Hope you liked it. Next chapter starts off a brand new world!_

_Please review!_


	74. Chapter 73: The Animal Kingdom

_A new world. The first movie that I ever saw in a theater was _The Lion King_. And I still love it! Wonderful characters, engrossing plot… Interestingly, I just finished reading _Hamlet_ for literature. But, I'm rambling._

_Namine: "This isn't rambling. Hamlet on the other hand, he rambled."_

_Touche. But in other news, this story has finally exceeded one-thousand reviews! Thank you everybody!_

_Namine: "Congratulations. But moving on to the story, Darth doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else he wants to use."_

* * *

Chapter 73: The Animal Kingdom

"Woah…" Yuffie exclaimed. "Check us out!"

Sora had plenty of fond memories of the Pride Lands. And most of them were linked to the fact that it was totally inhabited by animals. And so, it seemed only natural that they should take a similar form when visiting.

Sora looked like a young lion cub. He had short brown fur covering most of his body. And his 'mane' resembled his usual spiky hairdo. His crown pendant still hung around his neck. Donald had become a different kind of bird, with wings instead of arms. He seemed to enjoy the aspect of flight. Goofy was a tortoise with a brown and green shell.

Kairi had become a young lioness. Her crimson hair had spread all over her body like Sora's. A few locks of her normal hairdo hung down on either side of her face. Her Oathkeeper lucky charm/necklace was hanging from her neck.

Riku was also a lion, though a slightly older, larger adolescent version than Sora or Kairi. He had silver fur all over his body. His mane of spiked silver hair hung on either side of his head.

Yuffie had become a lion adolescent like Riku. She was slightly smaller, and her fur was jet black like her hair had been. She had her usual hair style on the top of her head, her bandanna was wrapped around her forehead, and her wrist guard was on her front leg over her paw.

King Mickey had nearly gone back to his ancestor's roots. He was a black-furred meerkat, with a few light brown markings on his back that resembled his seal. His face was the same, and his distinctive ears were untouched, but his tail was longer and thicker than it had been. His arms were also slightly skinnier.

Nehrut had become a mandrill. The majority of his body hair was dark brown like his hair, and it was messier at the top of his head. His skin around his eyes was dark blue in color, and his long nose was dark red. He had a tail (though he had heard that mandrills typically didn't) and the very tip was marked with blue.

Bariss was a mandrill as well. She was still slightly shorter than he was, and her hair was closer to the blonde color it was in her human form. Her typical hair style was still in place on her head. Her emerald heart necklace hung from around her neck. The skin near her eyes was dark green, and she too had a tail, marked with green.

And Axel was now a bat-eared Fox with red fur to match his usual hair. He seemed to have his own sort of mane going down his back, like his normal hair. His very large ears seemed to be permanently flattened back on his head. Whether he was doing this consciously to make himself look less ridiculous or not, no one ever knew.

As Sora tried to re-familiarize himself with walking on four legs (_left and right, right and left, left and right, right and left_) he looked around the environment, and was amazed at what he saw.

When they had left the Pride Lands a few months previously, it had been only recently freed from Scar's reign. The old tyrant hadn't taken care of the land, resulting in it being parched, dead, and free of almost all wildlife. There had been very few prey animals wandering about, and there had been barely a trace of green anywhere on this very savanna.

But now it was lush, and green, and full of life. The wide open plains were covered by tall grass, and smaller creatures roamed around. The sky was clear and blue, and beautiful birds flew overhead in great impressive loops. It was miraculous.

"Simba's done a lot with this place, huh guys?" He said, adressing Donald and Goofy.

"Aww... I always knew he'd whip the Pride Lands back into shape!" Goofy said.

Sora was just about to agree with him, when Riku (trying to get the hang of the whole four-legged thing that had nearly gotten Sora killed by hungry hyenas) rammed into his side and fell on top of him.

"Having a bit of trouble?" Nehrut asked, standing above them. He looked over at Bariss. "We really lucked out here, didn't we?"

"No kidding." She agreed, demostrating her point by standing on one hand.

"My feet are so big!" Mickey said, walking awkwardly around the immediate area. He tripped, and fell into Yuffie, whose already precarious balance caused her to fall over on top of him.

Kairi, on the other hand was adjusting beautifully. She easily trotted around them all, looking very proud of herself, and struggling to hold back her laughter at the antics of her less-than successful friends.

"How are you getting it!?" Riku asked, sounding incredulous.

"You're just jealous." She replied cheekily as he got up off of Sora. Then right away, she literally pounced on her boyfriend. The two rolled over and over across the ground, knocking over Axel in the process. Eventually, Kairi was able to pin him to the ground by his shoulders.

"Not that I'm complaining..." Sora said with a grin, "But what has gotten into you?"

"I can't help it!" She said, rubbing her nose against his. "You're just so cute!"

For reasons that only Sora knew, Donald immediately started laughing. (1)

"Nothing's going to stop you guys from being all sappy, huh?" Axel said. He had finally managed to get his walk somewhat under control, though his legs wobbled occasionally. "You're _lions_ for crying out loud!"

"So?" This time it was from Yuffie, who –having gained some acceptable amount of control over her legs- stunned Riku by rubbing her body along his in a feline manner. She smiled devilishly at the result. He was staring straight ahead with a stupid look on his face. She then touched his chin with the tip of her tail, and his knees buckled.

"Oh brother..." Axel said. Sora, Kairi, and Nehrut were rolling on the ground in silent laughter.

"Guys..." Mickey said, somehow sounding simultaneously amused and annoyed at the same time, "Could we please stop fooling around and-"

Something burst from the brush behind him. He reacted instinctively, and leapt high into the air, all traces of his former clumsiness gone. Kingdom Crown (which was slightly smaller to account for his shorter height) appeared in his hand while he was in midair.

His attacker passed under him in a blur, and stopped when it found Presul at its nose. The weapon had appeared out of nowhere in similar fashion to a Keyblade. The young lioness stopped on a dime, when she suddenly realized that there were ten different weapons pointing at her.

But the second they realized who she was, the weapons disappeared again. "Kiara!"

She looked at Nehrut, who was directly in front of her. Her eyes narrowed slightly, she recognized his voice. She looked into the face of the mandrill in front of her long and hard for a few seconds before she realized. A smile spread across her face instantly.

"Guys!"

She jumped at Nehrut, who had been the first to put away his weapon. For a few seconds they stood there in a weird, cross-species hug. The two had somehow grown very close during the few days they had spent on the _Unity_. The rest of the party grinned and gathered around her.

Kiara bowed to the King, looking embarrassed. "I'm _real_ sorry, Your Majesty. I thought you were someone else."

"Someone else?"

"Young lady!" Somebody shouted from a little farther off.

"Darn it..." Kiara's ears drooped.

Two figures came into view soon after the shout. One was riding on top of the other's back, holding on to his ears for balance. This one was a meerkat with light brown fur. A patch of red hair sat on the top of his head. His fingers and toes were black, and he looked fiercely irritated.

His larger friend whom he was riding on top of was a dark-red colored warthog. He had black hair on the top of his head, and slightly yellowed tusks. His relatively tiny hooves kicked up bits of dirt as he ran.

Sora smiled. It was never a party without Timon and Pumbaa.

Pumbaa came to a halt when they were about five feet away from the group. Timon jumped off his back, and the two walked toward Kiara, who looked much more annoyed than worried.

"You can NOT just wander off like that young lady!" Timon exclaimed, looking sternly at her. "You know how we and your parents worry when you just disappear without telling anyone!"

"If any of the Outlanders were to..." Pumbaa started to say, but then he stopped when he realized they had an audience. Three of which he recognized. "Sora!"

"Yeah, Sora can't do it either!" Timon added. Then he caught himself, confused. "Wait, Sora?" Then he too, noticed the audience. "Oh! Sora, Donald, Goofy!"

"Hey guys." Sora said, smiling at the meerkat.

"How've you been?" He asked. "Livin' Hakuna Matata?"

"Not exactly."

"Too bad."

"Okay would someone tell us what the heck Hakuna Ma-whata means?" Riku asked.

"It means 'no worries' for the rest of your days!" Pumbaa answered him, with a big smile.

"It's our motto."

"What's a motto?" Goofy asked.

"Nothing! What's a motto with you!?" Timon and Pumbaa burst into laughter. Sora chuckled.

"Unfortunately, the princess's trouble-making makes that a bit difficult." Timon said, recovering, and looking pointedly at Kiara.

Or at least where Kiara had been.

"Where'd she go!?" Timon and Pumbaa screamed simultaneously, looking panicked.

"She went over that direction while you guys were getting re-acquainted." Nehrut said, hiking a thumb over his shoulder as he did.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Timon asked with a glare and a twitching eye.

"I was laughing at the 'motto' thing."

* * *

Kiara stopped nearly a mile later, laughing quietly to herself. She knew that the odds were good that she'd be punished for this, but sometimes a girl just had to break a few rules to have some fun.

She shrugged silently to herself. Maybe with Sora and the guys here, her father would be too preoccupied to punish her too badly. She walked a little ways, humming a little song about Hakuna Matata that Timon and Pumbaa had taught her. She stopped her humming soon however, when she realized where she was.

She had just entered the outermost section of the place her father and other lions had affectionately dubbed the 'Outlands.'

It was a fairly barren place, as opposed to the Pride Lands. Rocks, sand and dirt and near-dead trees as far as the eye could see. The place always seemed darker somehow, like the day light was afraid to get too close. An eerie mist seemed to be constant here. It was unsettling. A murky, very dirty grey river flowed nearby past the cliffs that marked it's border with the Pride Lands.

Normally, this wouldn't have bothered her _too_ much, if the place was empty. But for the past few months, since Scar's downfall, the Outlands had been the home of traitors; Lions loyal to Scar, who hadn't been overly pleased by the sudden change of command, and exiled for it, not to mention a few leftover hyenas.

Among other things.

Kiara froze when she saw two red-brown pinpricks through the mist, surrounded by a sickly yellow: A set of eyes.

As the eyes came closer, their owner gradually began to come into view. It was a lioness with dark brown fur that was starting to grey after a few years of harsh living. A streak of darker hair ran from the center of her forehead and down her neck. One of her ears appeared to have a tear in it. She walked, crouched over, teeth bared, ready to pounce in an instant.

"Princess....." She said, smiling horribly as she approached. Her eyes flashed. "Welcome to the Outlands. What brings you out here?"

Her question was greeted by rounds of hysteric laughter from behind her, and another three figures came into view slowly. They were hyenas, and these three were particularly well known to anyone who had lived through Scar's reign, including Sora, Donald, and Goofy.

Shenzi (the apparent leader of the three) said, "Awww... Girl, are you lost?"

"Why don't we give you a hand?" Banzai asked.

Ed just laughed, as always.

"Silence, you fools!" The lioness snapped quickly, before turning her attention back to Kiara. She chuckled, but it was totally without mirth, and there was murder in her eyes. "Now just come here..."

Suddenly there was a deafening roar from very nearby. And the space in between the two lionesses was suddenly filled. There stood a large full-grown lion male. His coat was bright and yellow-orange. His brown eyes were fierce, and his dark red mane hung down around his face.

Simba, the King of Pride Rock got down on his front legs, ready to pounce, and snarled.

The lioness glared at him, and looked about to pounce herself, when suddenly another thirteen beings appeared, quickly circling her and the three hyenas. This included the ten off-worlders, Timon and Pumbaa, and the Queen, Nala. Several weapons were now pointing inward at them.

But the lioness only continued to glare at Simba. "Simba..."

"Zira."

"Nala."

"Zira."

"Shenzi." Sora.

"Sora."

"Banzai." Goofy.

"Goofy."

"Ed." Donald.

"Timon... Pumbaa." Timon said. "Great! Now that we all know each other, GET AWAY FROM OUR PRINCESS!"

The lioness now known to all as Zira turned her head briefly toward Timon and let out an audible growl.

"Take your hyenas, and leave here. Now." Simba said, his voice harsher than anyone had ever heard it before.

There was a small motion from near Zira, and suddenly everyone's eyes were focused on a young lion cub. His fur was dark red and the little patch of hair which would later become a full mane was black. His eyes were green. The cub looked a bit apprehensive, and was shaking a bit.

"Have you met my son, Kovu?" Zira asked, using a tone that suggested that she was showing the cub off. "He was hand-chosen by Scar. To follow in his pawprints, and become king..."

"Woah..." Roxas said into Sora's head. "He looks a lot like Scar. You know, just not evil or psychotic, or _old_ yet."

"Pffftt..." Timon wasn't impressed. "That's not a king! That's a fuzzy maraca!"

"Kovu was the last of us born..." Zira continued, ignoring Timon's insult. "before _you_ banished us to the Outlands! Where we have little food, and less water..."

"You chose your own fate, Zira." Simba interrupted, his voice lower, but somehow more intimidating than when he was snarling. "Take them and go. We're finished here."

The lion king turned around to his daughter, and picked her up gently with his teeth. She hung in the air by the scruff of her neck.

"Oh _no_ Simba." Zira said, smirking horribly. "We have barely begun." She picked up the cub Kovu with her teeth (with less affection than Simba) and turned around. Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed glared at the party at large for a few moments, before following her back into the mist.

They vanished from sight soon after, but they could hear Zira's low laughter echoing back to them through the darkness.

* * *

_Viola. The next chapter will mark the two-year anniversary of Brotherhood of the Dark. Tune in then!_

_(1) In case anybody missed this, Donald comments that Kairi would think Sora would look cute in lion form in KH2._

_I've hit a thousand, but I still want more! Please review._


	75. Chapter 74: Be Prepared

_(Cut to a huge, circular, mosaic platform. The platform is adorned with images of past scenes that have occurred in Brotherhood of the Dark, like Sora and Kairi's first kiss, Nehrut joining the team, Riku aquiring the powers of Dawn, and several others.)_

_(The main cast of Brotherhood of the Dark are all sitting in silver throne-like chairs around the platform. DarthKingdom has his own)_

_Sora: "Happy anniversary!"_

_Mickey: "It's been two years, right?"_

_Yep, two years! Two years since the prologue chapter of Brotherhood of the Dark was posted on this site!_

_Riku: "I have to say, your wrighting really sucked back then."_

_I know, I know._

_Roxas: "Congratulations, though!"_

_Bariss: (looking at a computer screen) "I'm looking at this now, and it says that there have been 1,055 reviews, 217 people on the favorite stories list, 137 alerts, and over 99,000 hits. (looking up) Not too bad."_

_Thank you!_

_Nehrut: "Not to mention that you've created some pretty awesome OCs."_

_Riku: (Rolling eyes) "But they're not humble."_

_Kairi: "Ah, let him have his fun, it's kind of his birthday."_

_Anyway, I'd like to thank everybody out there who's read the story, and stuck with it for so long! You guys are just plain awesome. And a special thanks to everybody who's made a special contribution to this story… You guys know who you are!_

_Namine: "So, small question: You're continuing the story, right?"_

_Sure am. I just kind of hope that I can get most of it posted by the time the actual game comes out. Expect many more chapters to come, either way!_

_And now, on with the show! I still don't own anything._

* * *

Chapter 74: Be Prepared

"I'm sorry that we couldn't have met under less stressful circumstances, guys." Simba apologized.

"Don't worry about it." Sora waved it off with his paw.

It was midday. They had returned to the beautiful Pride Lands, and now stood on the gigantic rock formation known as Pride Rock. It stood in the center of the great savanna, towering over everything else. From this perch the king could look over his kingdom, knowing the true meaning of 'pride.'

"So." Simba asked. "I take it that you're here because of the Brotherhood?"

"Yep." Sora answered. "Has anything bad happened lately?"

"Surprisingly, no." Simba sat down at the tip of the rock, which stretched out from the main mountain more than fifty feet above the ground. Sora, Mickey, and Riku followed him there. "We haven't seen any Heartless around, and the Outlanders have pretty much stayed in the Outlands. Today was the first trouble we've had in months, actually."

"If the Brotherhood hasn't struck yet, they will soon." Riku said. "There's Darkness all around us, I can feel it."

"So can I." Mickey said. "We need to be prepared for anything."

"Great trouble is brewing in the Outlands I fear." Came a voice from behind the four. Turning around, they saw an old mandrill. Sora knew him as the shaman Rafiki. His blue-grey fur was tossed about in a sudden breeze. He walked toward them carrying a long stick with two gourds tied to the top.

"The other king is right, Simba." He said, gravely. "The Pride Lands are in danger. Something far more terrible than Scar is coming. We must be prepared."

Then he took a deep sniff, as if trying to smell something in the air. And then, for reasons he didn't bother to explain, he leapt off the rock, landing neatly on two legs. Then he ran (surprisingly quickly) away from Pride Rock.

* * *

The Outlands were a truly horrible place. It was practically a desert, several miles away from the Pride Lands. Water here was scarce, and food even more so. Huge termite mounds protruded from the parched desert floor, pointing into the sky like desperately pleading fingers from a dying man's hand. Any kind of vegetation for miles was dead and withered.

And it was to this sun-baked wasteland to which the Outlanders had been exiled.

Several lionesses that had formerly lived at Pride Rock roamed around, searching fruitlessly for any scrap of food they could find. Unlike Simba, these lions didn't find termites quite so edible. Otherwise, there would have been no problem. The hyenas were in the same boat, sniffing for anything that looked remotely edible.

Zira walked into their midst, still holding the cub Kovu in her mouth. The three hyenas that had accompanied her were bickering about something or other behind her. She finally put Kovu on the ground, and twisted around, bearing her claws.

"If you three don't shut up right now, so help me I will rip your heads off with my bare claws!"

They had no doubt that she would live up to her threat and then some. So after one final giggle from Ed, they were silent as the grave.

Somewhat satisfied, Zira turned away from them and walked toward the largest of the termite mounds in the area. It almost resembled a crudely built castle. And for all intents and purposes, it was. Over the months it had been hollowed out to provide the Outlanders a shelter from the blistering heat.

She walked inside, followed (from a safe distance) by Kovu and the hyenas.

"Just look at us..." She said to no one in particular. Though she drew the attention of some of the lionesses inside, who decided that it wouldn't hurt to listen. "Less than one year ago we were at the top of the world!" She exclaimed.

"And now, thanks to that _brute_ and that little key-holding _brat_..." She stopped in the center of the mound, which was a giant, roughly circular cavern. "We're reduced to THIS!" She slashed her claws across a softer termite mound, breaking it into pieces, and upsetting a few termites.

She brought out her claws, and scraped them along the side of the wall, creating a loud, high-pitched sound reminiscent of fingernails against a chalk board. "Ohhh.... If Scar could see us now he would hang his head and _weep_!"

"Oh?" came a voice from above them near the cavern's ceiling. Everyone looked up at once.

The speaker was perched on a bit of the mound that jutted out from the side of the ceiling, looking down at them all with a raised eyebrow. He was a large, muscular lion. His fur was a dark-reddish brown, and his mane was as black as night. His eyes were green, and the whites of his eyes had turned to amber. The left one bore a very familiar scar. One of his claws was scraping the side of the mound next to him over and over.

"Scar...?" Zira breathed out in awe.

He answered with a sinister-looking, toothy grin. Technically, he was what was left of Scar after his descent into Darkness. This was his Nobody: Xarcs.

"My friends..." He said. His voice hadn't changed. "It is time..." He lifted up his claw, and placed it on the wall near him. "To take back..." He punched a hole in the wall, and then tore it out sideways, leaving a large opening. Light came pouring in. "What is rightfully ours!"

"Scar!" Zira was smiling wildly, and without hesitation, she bowed down to him. The hyenas and lionesses followed suit immediately.

Silhouetted against the new opening that he had made, Xarcs's smile widened further. He liked this feeling (or at least, he should have); the feeling of control, and power.

"My loyal followers." He said, as the remaining Outlanders poured into the cavern to see their king who had finally returned. "I find myself proud of each and every one of you. Each of you chose to go into exile rather than renounce me. And you can be sure that your loyalty will be rewarded!"

All eyes were on Xarcs. "You will be elevated! Taken from this miserable wasteland to Pride Rock itself! We will cast the false king from his throne! We will hear his dying screams as he struggles for life in my paw!"

The lionesses and hyenas roared and cheered. "And all those close to him will be cast out! Let them see what life is like in this horrible place! If they refuse, then they will die!"

The roaring and laughter was deafening. And nobody noticed one small lion cub creep out through the back entrance.

"Be prepared for our glorious return to power!" Xarcs exclaimed, raising his front paws into the air. He roared, and the roof of the cavern cracked open wider. With one bound, he was standing on the ceiling of the makeshift castle. He gazed out at the horizon, in the direction of Pride Rock.

"Be prepared for our ultimate triumph!" He shouted.

The roars and laughs only increased in volume, echoing out across the landscape. And as Xarcs looked out over the horizon, he saw a small little creature running as fast as its legs could carry it in the direction of the Pride Lands.

_A traitor. No matter._

Looking closely, he could see that it was Kovu. That was a shame. He had personally chosen that boy to carry on in his stead after his death. It seemed that he had chosen wrong. But that made no difference, now. He wouldn't need an heir to Pride Rock, because he'd never have to give it up.

Still, he couldn't afford to leave any loose ends. He could have easily killed the cub as he retreated, but that wouldn't have been very sporting, would it?

"Be prepared!" He shouted to his allies one last time, and roared to the sky. The lionesses echoed him, and the hyenas added their crazed laughter to the mix. All around the massive termite mound, shapes began to emerge from the ground: Heartless.

There were a lot of Shamans, Living Bones, Aerial Knockers, and of course basic Shadows. But with them were new Heartless called Wild Dogs. They were dog-like Heartless about the size of wolves, or the actual African Hunting Dogs. Their 'fur' was black and had patches of scarlet on them. Their extremely white teeth seemed constantly bared. And their eyes were bright yellow, just like all other Heartless.

As Xarcs finished his roar (which was how he had summoned these Heartless in the first place) he looked down at a Wild Dog in the lead, and gestured toward the rapidly running Kovu with a nod of his head.

It sprinted after him immediately, and the rest of the Heartless (three dozen in all) took off behind it.

Xarcs laughed.

* * *

Kovu ran as fast as possible, kicking up sand and dirt as he ran. He only had a vague idea of where he was going, but he knew he had to get back to the Pride Lands. Fast.

The Outlands were clearly not the place for him, or anyone at the moment. Scar, or whatever that was, clearly wasn't in his right mind. Or at least not in the right mind set. He was talking about killing a whole pride for the sake of revenge!

The cub knew that what he was doing right now wasn't exactly smart, but it was at least _right_. Truthfully, he had always had his doubts about whether or not his mother's hatred of Simba was entirely justified. All that she was ever focused on was vengeance. And he knew good and well that she wouldn't hesitate to burn the Pride Lands to the ground to kill Simba.

Best that they be prepared.

As he kept running, he heard something behind him. Though he knew that he'd regret it, he turned his head and looked back. His eyes bugged out when he saw thirty-six Heartless (ten Wild Dogs, six Shadows, six Aerial Knockers, six Living Bones, and eight Shamans) charging at him, and gaining fast.

And Kovu decided that about now would be a good time to panic.

He increased his speed even further, and started moving so fast that his legs appeared a blur. He could hear the varied footfalls of the Heartless behind him, coming ever closer. Still running, he searched the area for something he could use to his advantage. That was about the only thing of value his mother had taught him: Always look for an opportunity.

But this was a desert. It was completely flat terrain, with nothing but termite mounds and the occasional dead tree that was far too weak to climb up, even for someone of his relatively small weight.

Things weren't looking good. He knew good and well that he couldn't outrun the Heartless forever, and it was still miles to go before he got anywhere near the Pride Lands, where someone might help him. But he still had to try.

He ran harder than he ever had in his life. And miraculously, he was able to widen the gap between him and the lead Heartless by several feet. All the while, he searched, his eyes scanning the environment for some chance of escape.

And at last, he found it.

He had inadvertently run toward a large valley. Years before, the old king Mufasa had met his end here due to a wildebeest stampede, though it was Scar who had pushed him into its path. He had gone farther than he realized.

Fearlessly, or perhaps foolishly, he ran right in.

Tactically, this was a mistake, as there was nothing particularly interesting about this valley. It was just rocks and sand in the ground with sheer, near vertical cliff walls on all sides.

But fear had taken control of Kovu, and he was just running for his life (or, more likely, his heart). He ran along the valley floor as fast as possible, and only started to realize what a mistake this was after it was too late to turn back.

He looked back, and saw the first of the Heartless (a Wild Dog) running down the side of the cliff. It landed easily on all fours, and ran directly at Kovu, followed close behind by the rest of its 'pack.'

The young lion's eyes widened in fear, and he ran even faster. But he was tiring, he wasn't sure if he could keep this chase up for much longer.

He ran as fast as possible, and to his credit, he was one of the fastest lions (of any age) on his world, capable of running at nearly forty miles per hour for long distances. Most lionesses could only reach that kind of speed in short, quick bursts. But still, he was slowing. The Heartless were nearly upon him less than a minute later.

And just when Kovu thought things couldn't possibly get any worse (which, naturally means that things can and most likely _will_ get worse), they got worse.

He tripped over a slightly larger rock jutting out of the ground, and skidded across the ground a full ten feet before hitting his head on a large boulder. There was a throbbing pain in his forehead, and he felt like his head would explode. He was seeing stars as he staggered back to his feet.

He also saw the Heartless now twenty feet away, rapidly closing the distance.

He let out an exclamation, and leapt up to the top of the rock he had crashed into. Just in time, the first Wild Dog slashed at the space he had occupied a split second earlier, leaving deep gouges in the rock face.

It turned its soulless yellow eyes up at him, and bared its teeth menacingly.

It looked about to climb up after the cub, with thirty-one of its friends to back it up, when something happened. One could have described it as a blessing in disguise.

First, the earth began to shake faintly. A few scattered pebbles across the valley floor started to tremble, then seemed to bounce a tiny bit on the ground.

The shaking increased, and by the time all of the Heartless had arrived at Kovu's rock, its source was coming into sight. Mufasa would have laughed out loud if he had seen it. He was a lion who appreciated irony.

It was a wildebeest stampede.

A large herd rushed through the valley, the sounds of over a thousand hooves crashing to the ground sounded like thunder in Kovu's ears.

At first, the Heartless didn't pay them any attention, and kept trying to get to Kovu. One of the Wild Dogs leapt to the top of Kovu's rock. It lifted its claw to attack, and missed the cub by nearly a hair's length.

Reflexively, Kovu lashed out with his own claw, catching the Heartless twice his size in its stomach.

Its equilibrium gone, it fell backwards off the rock and crashed to the ground in front of a Living Bone. A Shadow sank into the ground, and slithered up the side of the rock. As soon as it emerged to attack Kovu, he struck it in the head with his claw, destroying it.

And it was at that moment that the stampede reached their part of the valley.

The Heartless had been so focused on Kovu that they hadn't noticed them. They really were mindless, only focusing on their original target. Over a dozen of them were trampled under their hooves immediately.

Three more were destroyed seconds after the realization that they weren't alone. This left one Living Bone, one Wild Dog, and the Six Aerial Knockers. The Heartless turned to face their new unintentional enemies, and charged into them. But there were over a hundred wild, crazed, extremely scared wildebeests charging through the valley.

Soon, the Heartless ranks were reduced to the Living Bone, and three Aerial Knockers, and fifteen of the wildebeests were now missing from the herd.

Kovu watched it all in awe from atop the rock. Wildebeests rushed past him in a blur. It was a similar experience to being in the eye of a hurricane. You can see the destructive winds and storm clouds around you, but you're still relatively safe.

When the herd finally passed on, it was just four Heartless, but Kovu still doubted that he could take them on his own.

But, of course that didn't mean he wasn't going to try.

He growled at the Heartless, though he knew that it wouldn't have any real effect on them. He pawed the ground in front of him to add to the effect, anyway. The Living Bone charged at the rock, and smashed its head into the side with enough force to leave a large crack, and shake the whole thing.

Kovu fell less than gracefully onto its back, and it bucked him off, throwing him into the air. While in midair, one of the flying Heartless shot at him, and smacked the cub in the stomach with one of its feet.

He hit the ground hard, and found himself face-to-face with the Living Bone.

He was about one second away from getting chomped in half when something landed on its head. Looking up, Kovu saw an old mandrill holding a long stick with two gourds tied to the end.

The old monkey smashed the head of his makeshift staff into the Heartless' face, cracking it right in two. The two halves of its hollow head fell to the ground, and disappeared in twin puffs of black smoke.

Rafiki leapt in Kovu's direction. He picked the cub up by the scruff of his neck, and set him down on all four legs. He looked up at Rafiki, surprised.

"Uh... who?"

Suddenly he got whacked on the head by the old monkey's staff.

"OW!" He said, rubbing the top of his head in annoyance. "What was that for?"

"You must always deal with one situation before getting caught up in another little cub!" He reprimanded. "Now fight fight fight!"

Chuckling, he leapt back into action. He jumped into the air, and smacked his staff into the face of an Aerial Knocker. It reeled backwards into another rock, and vanished in a cloud of dark smoke on impact.

The second of the flying Heartless swooped down at the mandrill's back. But Kovu leapt, with his claws outstretched, and brought it to the ground. As it struggled to escape, he bit down hard on its neck. It felt as if he were biting down on a felt balloon, which almost immediately burst and evaporated into smoke.

The final one charged at him, only to be met by Rafiki's fist, and then smacked into a rock by his staff.

The entire confrontation had lasted less than a minute.

And then, without preamble, Rafiki picked Kovu up by the scruff of his neck again, and he walked toward the end of the valley from which he and the panicking wildabeests had come.

"Where are we going?" Kovu asked, unable to move while Rafiki was holding that part of his fur.

This received him another bop on the head from Rafiki's staff. "Patience, young Kovu! We are going to Pride Rock. And there, we can better prepare King Simba and the pride for what is to come."

"Why do you keep hitting me?"

"Do not question Rafiki!" He bopped him again.

It was a bit annoying. Kovu was completely unable to move in Rafiki's grasp, and every time he tried to say something, he got hit in the head. The most annoying part however, was that the mandrill sang the same exact mantra over and over all the way back to Pride Rock.

"Asante sana, squash banana, we we nuga, mi mi apana."

It was a long walk back.

* * *

_There's your two-year chapter! Hope you liked it!_

_Bet you can't guess where this chapter name came from. So, pretty much all of you already guessed who Xarcs was, especially since Shire Folk borrowed him, and actually posted his part in his own fic before I did!_

_Please review!_


	76. Chapter 75: The Night Before

_I'm not about to lie, this is kind of a set-up chapter. But, I thought it was worth writing, just to build up to the action, and look at the characters a little more._

_And I've said it once, and I'll say it until everybody is sick of hearing it (many people are already). Scar is the best Disney villain ever! That's why his Nobody is here in my story._

_Scar: "You flatter me. DarthKingdom does not own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else at all."_

Chapter 75: The Night Before

Rafiki returned to Pride Rock about an hour and a half later with a furry surprise.

When he got back, Nehrut had been hanging upside-down from a tree by his tail.

"What are you doing?" Bariss asked, looking up at him curiously.

"Monkeying around." He answered simply. "Join me?"

"That has got to be your worst joke yet." She said, smiling. "But sure, why not?"

He held out his hand, still hanging upside down. She took hold of it, and he pulled her up. She balanced herself easily on the branch, and he followed her up, and hung by one hand from the branch right above it. "I love this place!"

Yuffie was working on her combat skills in her new lion form. Gripping one point of her shuriken in her tail, and holding some throwing knives with her teeth, she was trying to hit a scorch mark that Axel had put on the side of a rock. He was there too, trying to get used to holding one chakram with his bushy tail and the other in his teeth.

It had been tough going, at first. Yuffie had nearly impaled Timon with a knife on her first shot. And Axel had almost roasted Pumbaa immediately afterword. But they were adjusting well, and after they had finally managed to completely shatter the rock, they agreed that they were ready to fight if necessary.

Simba, Donald, Goofy, and Mickey were discussing, 'Royal Stuff' as Sora had put it.

He, Riku and Kairi were sitting at the very edge of Pride Rock, watching the setting sun as they so often had back home (minus the fur and tails). They saw the lionesses below them meandering about. Sora noticed a mother grooming one of her infant cubs.

She took it into her paws and licked (or kissed, in the human sense) the top of her head affectionately.

He liked the look of that, Sora decided. He smiled to himself. He turned his head slightly and looked at Kairi. He found that she was looking down at the mother and the cub too, with just as much affection. Sensing his gaze on her, she turned her head to smile at him. She leaned toward him and licked him on his cheek. Sora regretted that it couldn't be a normal kiss. He decided that that would be the first thing he'd do back on the ship.

"Some day." She whispered into his ear. Sora's smile was huge.

Over on Kairi's other side, Riku rolled his eyes.

_Then_ Rafiki came back, holding Kovu by the scruff of his neck. The unexpected appearance of Scar's heir caused a bit of a stir. The lionesses all looked suspiciously at him and Rafiki as they passed by them.

But the mandrill ignored the looks, and carried him up to the overlook part of the rock. Simba walked forward to meet them. He looked curiously at Kovu, with his eyebrow raised in confusion.

"Rafiki? What's going on here, exactly?" He asked, as the others gathered around him.

The old mandrill chuckled. "This, Sire, is the new member of our pride."

"I left the Outlanders." Kovu explained, looking extremely nervous. His voice shook so much that he had a hard time getting the words out. "Scar. He's back, somehow. He's going to attack."

"Scar?" Simba had a mixed look of confusion and anger on his face. "How?"

"Ohhh..." Bariss said. "It must be Xarcs... right."

"So he's got a Nobody now?" Sora asked. He looked at Donald and Goofy. "He just won't stay down, will he?"

"Villains are stubborn like that." Riku said. "They're always finding some way to come back. I mean, Xehanort came back like, what? Three times?"

"Good point."

"He's brought Heartless with him." Kovu continued. "A lot of them."

"Our specialty." Axel said.

"And so you just decided to leave?" Timon looked up at Kovu, with his eyes narrow. "Yeah right! Is anyone actually buying this guy!?"

"Timon..." Nehrut said.

"I mean does he actually think-"

"Timon."

"That we are stupid enough-"

"_Timon_."

"To believe that he just decided to-"

Rafiki finally hit the meerkat on the top of the head with his staff. He chuckled, as Timon rubbed the top of his head. "Listen to what the telepath says, Timon."

"He's telling the truth."

"Oh..." He looked at Kovu, embarrassed. "Sorry about that kid, welcome aboard!"

"Can you _please_ put me down, now?" Kovu muttered. Rafiki complied, dropping the cub on his backside directly in front of Simba. The lion monarch looked down at the cub for a few moments, thinking hard. Then, he looked at Nehrut.

"You're _sure_ he isn't lying?"

And then, the mandrill hit him in the head. "Simba! This cub was chased by Heartless!"

"Neglected to mention that." Simba looked at Kovu again. Still, it took him a moment to reply. "Alright. You can stay here with us. But don't cause any trouble or I'll have to change my mind."

Kovu smiled gratefully, and bowed to Simba, practically shaking with relief. "Thank you, Your Majesty."

"Now." Simba said, putting a paw on Kovu's shoulder, and steering him into the inner cavern of Pride Rock, the rest of the group followed after them. "Tell us what 'Xarcs' is up to."

A few hours later, the sky had darkened, and the full, silver moon, accompanied with thousands of stars, were the only light for miles.

Simba and Nala lay on a slightly elevated rock in the center of the cavern. The other lionesses were sleeping soundly around them, and the off-worlders were scattered around them as well. Kiara was on the far side of the cavern, and Kovu wasn't far from her side. Nehrut had entered into a _Corporis Quiesco_ meditation near the entrance to the cavern.

His mind scanned everything within miles. And now that he was actively looking for it, he felt the mind of Xarcs.

The Nobody was several miles away, surrounded by his minions. His mind was cold, and calculating like all Nobodies, but with echoes of malice from his former life. He felt his lionesses and hyenas prowling around in his vicinity. The blowhard was probably entertaining them with stories of his 'magnificent return to life' or some such.

He felt Zira, a raging thunderstorm of hatred and betrayal. Her anger at Simba, Sora, and now Kovu was as black as the night. It wouldn't surprise him if she soon became a Heartless and Nobody herself.

But for now, he turned his attention away from the enemy to the other occupants of the room. He focused first on Bariss. Her dreams were peaceful, unlike the last time he had scanned her dreams. And he was glad for this, she deserved a good night's sleep, among many other things.

He peeked quickly into her dreams, and was surprised to see Bariss and himself standing together (both of them were human, of course). He didn't know the place exactly but there sure was a whole lot of snow. And finally, he realized that it was Christmas Town, in the same general area where they had...

His eyes mentally widened when he saw the dream version of himself wrap his arms around dream Bariss's waist. He looked at her for a second, before lowering his face to hers. He watched, and their faces were exactly one centimeter apart when suddenly he mentally heard a loud roar.

He was sucked out of Bariss's dream as if from a vacuum. Silently cursing whoever it was that was having the nightmare, he was pushed into a different dream.

_It was a deep gorge, with nearly vertical cliff walls. Simba knew this place better than he cared to admit. Far below him were several thousand wild stampeding wildabeests. They were jet black, and had glowing red eyes almost like that of a Heartless. The whole gorge was bathed in an eerie red light._

_It was as hellish a scene as Simba had ever known. And he looked down on it from the side of one of the cliffs. The horror of it all was only enhanced by what he saw next._

_Kiara, his only child, was hanging for her life on the side of the cliff, her claws lodged into the rock face._

"_Dad!" She cried, tears leaking from her eyes. "Dad! Help me!"_

"_Kiara!" He shouted back, in terror. He stretched out his paw as far as he could over the edge for her to grab._

_That was when he heard horribly familiar laughter coming from behind him, and slightly higher. He looked back for a moment, and wished he hadn't. Standing on a rock higher up, was Scar. He was enveloped in shadow, but his silhouette was easily recognizable against the blood red moon behind him._

_His uncle began to walk toward him, still laughing wildly._

_Simba's eyes widened in a mixture of fear and surprise. "No!" He turned his attention fully back to his daughter, and began to climb down. "Kiara! Hold on!"_

_Kiara stretched out her paw, trying desperately to reach her fathers, lest she fall into the gorge into the stampede. Just like the grandfather she never knew._

_Their paws were just close enough for their claws to scratch against each other. "Just a little farther!"_

"_Got you!"_

_Simba suddenly felt a searing pain over his paw that was holding the side of the rock. He looked back briefly to see Scar, his claws imbedded in the top of Simba's paw. He smiled toothily, and his eyes looked to be glowing. "Trust me..."_

"_Dad!" Kiara began to slide down the rock face, her claws not strong enough to support her any longer. She went down a full ten feet, before she finally lost her grip on the side and fell all the way down, and disappeared into the wildabeest stampede._

"_NO!" He felt his heart break in two. Snarling, he turned around to look at the murderer, who was now laughing like mad. "Scar!"_

_But Scar was slowly changing before his eyes, still cackling. He was becoming larger, more muscular, his teeth were larger, and they were yellow. The whites of his eyes were turning orange. His paw now totally obscured Simba's._

_Xarcs lowered his head, and looked Simba directly in the face. He smiled, displaying all of his sharp, yellow teeth. And then he spoke, in a low voice, "Long live the king."_

_He tossed Simba from the edge, tumbling into the gorge. (1)_

"Simba wake up!"

Nehrut was now sitting right in front of Simba, shouting into his dreaming mind. Almost immediately after he did this, the King's head bolted up. He was breathing heavily, and still had a far-off look in his eyes.

"If you don't mind me saying, Simba, that was one of the worst nightmares I've ever seen." He said sympathetically. "And I've seen really horrible nightmares, trust me."

_Like that one Riku had where Maleficent was doing the tango with Jafar._

"Thanks for waking me up, then." He said. He rubbed the bridge of his nose in a surprisingly human gesture. "This doesn't bode well."

"Don't read too much into it, Simba." Nehrut said. "You'd be surprised at just how few dreams are actually prophetic. What you saw was the manifestation of your worst fears. You're a father who's concerned for the safety of his daughter, and you're a king who's concerned for his kingdom. And you saw it in _that_ environment because you still remember what happened to Mufasa."

Simba blinked. "Have you ever considered being a psychologist?"

"I've been asked that question so many times that; Yes. Yes I have." He shrugged. "But I can't help you get rid of the fear, Simba. I can only help you accept it."

"That sounds alright from where I'm standing. Thanks."

From a little farther away, Goofy peaked out of one eye. Anyone who knew him would have been surprised to see a tear there.

He understood exactly what Simba was going through.

He knew all too well what it was like to be a concerned father.(2)

Miles away, in the Outlands, Xarcs smiled wickedly.

"The seeds of fear have been sown." He said to himself, laughing low in his throat.

He stretched out, scratching his claws across the rock in front of him. He seemed almost to enjoy making that loud, obnoxious, ear-grating noise. Zira approached him, wondering why he seemed unnaturally happy.

Xarcs caught on to her stray thought, and explained it without any prompting. He got to his feet and began to walk around the area. "My relation to my dear, dear nephew bore unexpected fruit, my dear. His fear and doubt will be his undoing come tomorrow."

He leapt easily to the top of the rock, which now bore his claw marks, and looked out in the direction of the Pride Lands.

"Tomorrow, we reclaim the throne."

Zira joined him on the rock, and looked out across the desert with him. She was clearly still seething with her son Kovu's betrayal.

"He should have continued the throne." She growled.

"Calm down, my dear." Xarcs said. "Kovu is unimportant now. And even on the off-chance that he made it back to Simba and the others, he will be of no use to them, and he'll suffer their fate."

"Yes..." She agreed.

"In the meantime, make sure that the hyenas and the lionesses understand what needs to be done. We wouldn't want any mistakes now, would we?"

"At once." She bowed to him, and leapt off the rock. She passed Shanzi, Banzai, and Ed on her way to the major termite mound from before. She paid the hyenas no mind as she passed them.

The three walked up to Xarcs's rock and stopped behind it. The Nobody's back was to them.

"Yo, Sca-" Shenzi caught herself. "I mean Xarcs. Can we just do this already, we're getting really bored over here waiting like this."

Xarcs cast a brief glance backwards in their direction. He then turned back to gaze out across the parched landscape, his lips curved once more into a smile. "Very well. You know your task."

The three flunkies cheered in excitement, until they heard a threatening growl. They froze in place and looked back up at the lion Nobody. He still wasn't looking at them.

"But remember..." He warned, slipping off the rock to its other side. "If you fail me again, the consequences will be quite unpleasant."

The next thing they heard was a loud roar, and the rock was blown to pieces as if hit by a wrecking ball. The hyenas were showered with its debris, and whimpered as the rock fragments struck them.

Xarcs stood on the other end of the destroyed rock, a satisfied smirk on his face.

"Now go!"

Not wanting another demonstration of what would happen if they screwed up, the three hyenas bolted from the area toward the Pride Lands, their goal the only thing in mind.

_Et viola! I really like how the next chapter came out, so hopefully, it'll be worth the wait._

_1) The original version of this scene in Lion King 1 gave me nightmares. A wonderfully chilling scene, and Scar's line just made it perfect._

_2) I think you know what I mean by that…_

_Please review!_


	77. Chapter 76: Cub Napped

_So, sorry for the delay. Been very, very busy. But in better news, I am now a high school graduate! Finally, on to the miserable reality that is the adult world! Woohoo!_

_Riku: "You know, I'm just realizing that a lot of your attempts at humor revolve around sarcasm and self-deprication."_

…_Uh, maybe…_

_Riku: "No joke for that, huh?"_

…_I guess not._

_Riku: "Right, well… DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else."_

Chapter 76: Cub-Napped

It was just before dawn at Pride Rock. The majority of the sky was still dark, but there were faint traces of pink and orange far off on the eastern horizon, signaling the very beginning of the new day.

Only a few at Pride Rock were awake. Riku and Nehrut were among them, and both sitting at the tip of the rock. Both of them were a bit groggy. Riku wasn't a morning person, and Nehrut hadn't been able to focus on meditation or sleep after Simba's nightmare the previous night.

"Just look at that." Nehrut said.

"The sunrise? Sure... nice."

"For the 'Wielder of Dawn', you really aren't much of a morning person are you?"

"You're a psychic and you're just now realizing that?"

He chuckled quietly, and then yawned widely.

"Anything new on the Xarcs front?" Riku asked, lying on the ground and hanging his head over the edge of the rock.

"He hasn't moved all night. He's still in the Outlands with most of his lackeys."

"'_Most_ of his lackeys?'" Riku was suddenly more attentive. "Some of them are gone?"

"I could be mistaken, but it seems that a few of them are no longer in the Outlands."

"If they're not in the Outlands, then they're probably in the Pride Lands. And that is _not _good." Riku stood up. "I'll have to wake the guys up and tell them. See if you can find the missing lackeys."

"Sir, yes SIR!" The new mandrill said with a mock salute.

The Keybearer rolled his eyes and walked back into the cavern. He had only taken a few steps in before he did something that rudely awoke almost everyone in the cave, and made a certain someone feel sore for the next several hours.

He stepped on Axel's tail.

The former Nobody leapt a full five feet into the air, screaming in pain. The soundwaves bounced all around inside the cavern, magnifying it approximately ten fold. So, Axel's scream was soon accompanied by the startled shouts of more than two dozen animals.

"What happened?" Simba asked, slightly panicked.

"Heartless?" Kairi asked, confused.

"What's up?" Kiara asked.

"False alarm!" Riku exclaimed, embarrassed. "False alarm! I am _so_ sorry!"

"You will be!" Axel snarled. Riku took flight immediately back out of the cavern, Axel following right behind him with both chakrams blazing.

Nehrut walked into the cave to deliver the message that Riku was now unable to give. "I think that some of Xarcs's goons have left the Outlands."

"Are they in the Pride Lands?" Simba asked, walking towards him.

"Probably. But I haven't found them yet."

"I'll put the word out, then." Simba said, walking out of the cavern. He took only a few steps out, and then shouted, "Zazu!"

From higher up on the rock, there was an exclamation that nobody could entirely make out. Then, seconds later, a hornbill came flying down to land lightly in front of Simba. He had blue and white feathers, and the brightly colored beak that was customary with all birds of his species.

"Good morning, sire." The bird said, sounding more than a bit groggy. Though to his credit, he was trying extremely hard to hide it. "What can I do for you?"

"Zazu, I need you to spread the word to anything that walks, slithers, or flies." The king said. "Tell them to be on the lookout for lion outcasts and hyenas. And now that I think about it... Tell them to watch for Heartless, too."

Zazu, suddenly all business, gave Simba a deep bow. "I shall do so at once, Your Majesty, though I don't look forward to waking the crocodiles about this." And he took flight out to the savanna first.

"We should probably head out ourselves," Mickey suggested. "'Cause if there's any Heartless out there, we're going to have to protect the other animals out there."

"Let's go, then."

In seconds, the entire cave was empty, save for one person.

Sora hadn't been woken up by Axel's scream. He had simply let out an odd snort, and rolled over onto his other side.

Irritated, Kairi ran back inside, and leapt onto him. She shook him roughly by the shoulders, but she didn't succeed in waking him. "Wake up you lazy bum!" She shouted. Still no luck.

She rolled her eyes, and then got an idea. She lifted one of her back feet, and stomped down on his tail.

"YEEEOOOOOOW!"

The entire royal party had split up into groups to search the immediate area of the Pride Lands, and its surrounding terrain. The first consisted of Simba, Sora, Kairi, and Axel.

The four of them had just entered the elephant graveyard. Before Scar's takeover, this had been where he plotted with the hyenas. As Simba understood it, this place was a geologically unstable area. So he wondered why exactly elephants chose _this_ place to die.

They crept along carefully, scanning every rock face and crevice for signs danger.

"This place gives me the creeps." Axel said, looking into the sky.

"Tell me about it." Kairi agreed.

As soon as the four of them reached a small area wedged between three large cliffs, Simba stopped completely. "I hear something."

The rest stopped as well, listening closely. But no matter how hard they strained their ears, they heard absolutely nothing. "I can't hear anything." Sora said.

"It's gone now. But I feel like there's something nearby."

He was right. No sooner had he said that than a Wild Dog Heartless leapt down from the top of a cliff, landing right in front of him. More of its kind soon joined it, surrounding and trapping them in a ring. A few Aerial Knockers hovered above them, ready to attack in an instant.

Simba crouched down, getting ready to pounce. Oblivion appeared horizontally in Sora's mouth, and he clamped down firmly on the hilt with his teeth. Kairi wrapped the end of her tail around the hilt of Destiny's Light. Axel did both with his pair of chakrams.

They all stayed perfectly still for a moment, and then they all moved at once.

Sora ran directly at a Wild Dog, and swung his head hard to the left. The black blade beheaded the Heartless. He leapt into the air, back-flipping over a charging Heartless. He landed behind it, and with a move of his head, brought it smashing down into its back. He twisted around, and took the legs out from under another one.

Two Wild Dogs leapt at Simba. They landed on top of him, but before they could so much as get a grip on him, he grabbed one of them around the neck with his teeth, and slammed it to the ground. Then he rolled over on his back, crushing the other one underneath him. He then took the head off another with a powerful strike of his claw.

Kairi leapt away from a swooping Aerial Knocker. When it touched the ground, she lashed out with her blade, taking it out immediately. She spun around quickly, taking out a Wild Dog during the spin, and lifted her paw to shoot Light into the face of another flying Heartless.

Axel tossed the chakram in his teeth at a Wild Dog. As it pierced its chest, he made a barking noise in the direction of another one. A ball of flame shot from his mouth and caught the Heartless in the face. He summoned his other chakram back to his hand, and then threw the both of them at a Living Bone that had just charged into the area.

Sora rushed around the area, his head snapping back and forth to strike at the Heartless. He cocked his head to the side, and then snapped it upward to catch one under the chin, sending it into the air. Simba smashed the Heartless behind him, preparing to pounce. The lion then spun around, bashing another one into the ground.

They fought for a long time, destroying dozens of Heartless. But more and more came in from the cliffs.

"Where are all these things coming from?" Axel asked, just before catching one of his chakrams in his mouth again.

Little did they know, but Nala, Riku, Yuffie, and Bariss were having similar problems out on the savanna.

They had only walked for a short amount of time through the tall grass, before they were set upon by Heartless. They had emerged from the ground all around them, or else jumped through corridors of Darkness.

They immediately burst into action. Nala, while less experienced than Simba in combat, gave her all, taking down several Heartless with only her teeth and claws. She was agile and quick, managing to stay just out of harm's reach whenever one of them came at her. Then she'd take them out herself.

Bariss had her whip in one hand and her sai in the other. Rose Thorn lashed out, destroying a Shadow. She flourished it, and used it to take out a Wild Dog not two feet away, which was about to pounce. She leapt into the air just as a Living Bone charged at her, and landed on its back. She plunged her sai into its skull.

Riku (who held his Keyblade in his tail) destroyed a Shaman in front of him, and then dodged away from one of its partners's fire spells. He pointed his blade at it, and a blast of Dawn shot from it, piercing its chest and crashing into the one behind it. He then took out two Wild Dogs with one clean slash of the blade.

Yuffie threw her shuriken with her tail, bashing it into the side of a Living Bone. The large Heartless then changed course, running toward her.

Holding three kunai in her mouth, she snapped her head in its direction, letting them fly into its face even as she caught her returning shuriken. She then smacked two Wild Dogs with the oversized weapon, finishing the second one off by kicking it in the underbelly.

She vanished in a puff of smoke, and reappeared by Riku. There were two Living Bones on either side of them. Almost immediately, they charged at the two lions.

In perfect synchronization, Riku and Yuffie leapt directly at the Heartless.

Riku landed on the head of his just as Yuffie did the same with hers. The two Heartless stopped dead in their tracks, and then started shaking their heads in desperate attempts to shake them off. Riku climbed up its head, and onto its back. He mounted the Heartless, and dug his claws into its neck. Yuffie copied him.

The Heartless started to writhe in pain at the attacks. They began to run around, stomping the ground, and leaping. Doing whatever they could to stop the pain, but to no avail. They trampled the smaller Heartless under their feet.

Riku steered his Heartless hard to the right, aiming it headlong at Yuffie's. She caught on to his way of thinking, and goaded hers toward his. Naturally, the two Heartless ran directly into each other.

Their heads smashed together, and vanished into Darkness on impact. The two lions lept off their backs, and landed lightly on the ground.

Rafiki led King Mickey, Donald, and Goofy. Their final team member was 'elected' to stay behind at Pride Rock to guard Kiara and Kovu.

"_Yeah, not that I'm not grateful for getting the cushy job for once, but..." Nehrut looked slightly put off. "Why me?"_

"_Because someone has to." Axel had said._

"_Nehrut," Mickey explained, "You're the closest here to Kiara. If any of Xarcs's forces come to get to her, it would be best if she's around someone she trusts."_

"_And with Kovu having deserted the Outlanders," Riku added, "They'll want to get to him, as well."_

He had protested a bit more, but eventually succumbed to their arguments.

So now, the other four were on the bank of a watering hole. A heard of zebras were nearby, drinking contentedly from its waters. A few of them acknowledged them as they passed by, looking for any signs of Xarcs's lackeys, and then went back to their water.

Mickey's group walked down the bank, and even without any of the prompting that so often seemed to proceed them, ('No sign of Heartless.' 'It's pretty quiet out here.' 'Great! No more Nobodies!') the Heartless appeared.

Immediately, the zebras panicked, and began to run in the direction of Pride Rock. About two dozen Heartless chased after them.

Mickey ran after those. He extended his blade as he ran, blasting bolts of lightning at them. Half of the Heartless were incinerated by the attack. This succeeded in drawing the rest of the Heartless away from the zebras, and back to the Keybearing meerkat.

He ran to meet them, moving quickly despite his smaller legs. Kingdom Crown was in his hand, and when he was within three feet of the Wild Dog in the lead, he leapt directly at it, slicing completely through it with his Keyblade. He came to a stop, and leapt into the air onto a Living Bone, and stabbed down into the top of its head.

Donald held Save the Queen in his two talons. He flew across the watering hole to engage a handful of Heartless, electrifying the head of the staff as he did so. Two Aerial Knockers shot at him, their boxing glove-like fists flying at him. The court wizard weaved around the attacks, and smacked the first one in the head of the first one. Then he shot a fireball into the stomach of the second.

Goofy tucked himself into his shell, with his shield strapped onto the top of it. He spun around as quickly as he could, kicking up dirt and dust. Then, he shot directly at a Shaman, smashing into its stomach. Another one shot a fire spell at him, but his high speed spinning caused it to bounce off of his shell, scorching a nearby Shadow.

The knight then changed course toward that same Shaman, and took it out immediately. Afterwards, he shot directly at a Living Bone. Unfortunately, his shell got stuck right between its large teeth, and it commenced to bite down as hard as possible.

Rafiki smashed the head of a Shaman with his staff, and ran over to help him. Gripping his staff in both hands like a baseball bat, he swung it hard into Goofy's shell, knocking him free of the Heartless' mouth, skipping across the water, and through a Shadow, into a Wild Dog's chest.

The mandrill shaman demonstrated kung-fu-like skills in combat against the Heartless. He leapt all around the area, utilizing his staff as a pole weapon. For an aging primate, he was very quick and nimble. He sidestepped a leaping Shadow and drove his fist into the side of its head. He spun his staff around himself, and swung it around his body, taking out the Heartless immediately around him.

By contrast, Pride Rock was still quiet and peaceful. Nehrut sat at the entrance to the rock, in a deep meditation. He felt all of his friends fighting out there, against the Heartless. It was murder, knowing they were in danger, but having to stay here.

He could also feel the minds of the three hyenas, Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed very close by. He couldn't pinpoint exactly where, it seemed his weird monkey form was throwing off his equilibrium a bit.

Behind him, Kiara and Kovu were talking about nothing in particular. Kiara was asking Kovu all manner of questions about the Outlands, and pretty much anything else that happened to pop into her head. Her never-ending curiosity seemed to be throwing Kovu for a loop. Nobody had ever asked him this many questions.

Nehrut had to laugh at that. He could feel that Kovu had a touch of affection for the king's daughter already.

_Give them a few years and they might just be the new King and Queen of Pride Rock._

The psychic turned his attention back outside. But as he did so, he heard the lionesses outside roar as one. And he immediately knew why. The Heartless had arrived at the outskirts of Pride Rock.

"Gotta go!" Nehrut said, 'summoning' Presul to his hand (he still didn't know how that worked). He turned his head to address the cubs behind him. Their heads had shot up at the sound of the lionesses' roar. And now the sounds of their fighting had reached their ears. "You guys wait here."

"You can't be serious." Kiara said, narrowing her eyes. "Haven't we been over this before? _I can fight_!"

Kovu agreed. "So can I! Do you really think we're going to just wait here?"

Nehrut sighed in aggravation. He had no time for this. He bent down in front of them, and placed a hand on each of their heads. "Listen to me. I know that you want to help defend your home. And I respect that, believe me, I do. But you have to stay in here, where it's safer. You could very easily get hurt; there are dozens of them out there."

But Kiara was undeterred. "Too bad. We're going."

"Okay, I didn't want to have to do this." He walked calmly to the entrance of the caverns. He held something else in his hand. When he was _just_ outside, he threw it hard to the ground. There was a flash of bright light, and suddenly, the cubs saw the formation of an invisible force field at the entrance.

"What!" The cubs exclaimed, incredulous.

"That was a gift from Bariss. It will keep you in _there_, and any Heartless out _here_." Nehrut explained. "I'm really sorry."

With that, he turned around, and sprinted toward the end of Pride Rock. Not hesitating for a second, he leapt off the rock, down to the ground. He landed, as luck would have it, right on the head of a Living Bone. He stabbed his blade down into the top of its skull.

He leapt off the dying Heartless, landing directly behind an unsuspecting Shaman. With a simple flick of his sword, it was without a head.

Now that he was on the ground in the middle of the fighting, he saw the situation more clearly. A dozen lionesses were engaged in combat against the Heartless, and faring quite well despite the fact that they were heavily outnumbered. He also saw Pumba rushing around, goring some of the smaller Heartless with his tusks. Timon was riding on his back, shouting encouragement to anyone who could hear.

He observed this all for a few seconds, before rushing into the fighting.

From just outside the battle zone, the three hyenas watched.

"Oh, man did you hear that!" Banzai complained to his two partners. "Monkey boy over there locked them in!"

"Shut up!" Shenzi whispered. "He said 'it will keep you in there, and the _Heartless_ out here.'"

"Yeah, that's what I-"

"Hush! It'll keep the _Heartless_ out. But we aren't Heartless, now are we?"

Ed laughed stupidly, apparently agreeing with the fairly obvious statement that they were not, in fact, Heartless. And as such, they would be able to pass through the shield.(1)

Nehrut leapt over a pouncing Wild Dog, and landed one-handed on a Living Bone's head. While still balancing on the one hand, he took that head off. He really loved how nimble this monkey form was, as he'd never have been able to balance one handed on a moving surface as a human.

It seemed that the Heartless considered him to be the greatest threat. There was an undeniably larger number attacking him than the lionesses. That was fine with him. He had taken on large numbers of the creatures before. They hadn't.

He advanced on a pair of Wild Dogs, striking left and right. Both of them were down in a few seconds. He ducked in surprise when he noticed one of the lionesses sprinting right at him. She jumped over him, and dug her claws into a Living Bone behind him.

He spun around, and leapt up after her, piercing its broad back with his blade. They both leapt off of it as it fell, and attacked two separate Aerial Knockers. Nehrut stabbed behind him, taking out a Neoshadow. The same lioness from before then took out two Shamans that had appeared directly in front of him with one clean swipe of her paw.

It was then that Nehrut noticed that this lioness was slightly older than most of the others around the Pride Lands. He was certain that she was older than Simba, and was perhaps around Zira's age. Then he finally realized that he was fighting alongside Sarabi; Simba's mother. She fought pretty well for an old lady.

The two stood near each other as Heartless closed in around them. They leapt towards separate sides at the same time, attacking their respective sides fiercely.

Nehrut speared a Shadow in front of him, then twisted around to cut a Shaman across the chest. He ducked under a Wild Dog that leapt at him, and then stabbed behind him, taking out another Shadow. Then he took two quick steps forward, and removed the head of the Wild Dog that had just missed him.

Sarabi ran toward a Wild Dog that was running at her, and bit down on its neck just before it reached her. She brought her claw down onto a Shadow, and then drove it into the face of a Shaman. She ran toward a Neoshadow, but Nehrut beat her to it by taking it's head off with a backwards swing of his blade.

The two stood near each other for the rest of the skirmish at Pride Rock, watching each other's backs, and aiding the other one with the Heartless that caused them trouble. It was exhilarating for all involved, until something very strange happened.

The Heartless just disappeared. They sank through corridors of Darkness, and just left.

Naturally, Nehrut knew something was wrong, despite that the lionesses were roaring in triumph all around him, and Timon and Pumbaa were cheering. He found himself reminded of the incident at the Land of Dragons, and he didn't like it. But at least there was no possibility of him getting caught in an avalanche this time.

_What's happened?_

He immediately started searching the horizon, and reaching out with his mind. And that's when the horrible realization hit him:

This particular battle had all been a diversion.

He felt so stupid. He scanned the chambers in Pride Rock. He found absolutely nothing there. Kiara and Kovu had been taken. He sent his mind outwards, searching. And he found that the kidnappers were not far away.

He could feel that Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed were really excited, having accomplished a mission that was sure to get them in Xarcs's good books. The cubs themselves felt blank. They were unconscious, but at least they were still alive.

_Of course. Xarcs's wouldn't want to kill them outright._

Ed's laughter floated up to Shenzi and Banzai's ears. They smiled widely. On the former hyena's back were the two unconscious lion cubs. Despite the fact that Banzai had a swollen nose and that Shenzi had a cut at the side of her mouth, there was no evidence that they had put up a fight before they were knocked out.

"I can't believe we did it!" Banzai said, excitedly. "Finally, we can get in and out without getting hurt too bad!"

"Oh yeah, from here on out, it's easy street for us!"

That was when Ed made the mistake of looking back. He saw a flying monkey speeding directly towards them at roughly the speed of a bullet train (though he wouldn't know what a bullet train was, of course).

This might not have been so terrible, if it weren't for the fact that the monkey was being closely followed by over a dozen ticked-off looking lionesses, and an angry looking warthog and meerkat.

Ed let out a surprisingly puppy-like yelp of fear, and increased his speed, shooting past his two smarter partners. They looked at him, confused. But their confusion was only temporary, as they looked back around and were met with the same sight. Only this time, they had gotten closer.

They yelped just as Ed had, and started running faster, as well. Their efforts were wasted, however, as the monkey soon caught up with them, and landed on Banzai's head. The hyena stopped instinctively, and received a punch between the eyes.

As he fell unconscious to the ground, Nehrut picked up Shenzi with his mind, and tossed her at a nearby tree hard enough to make a few of its leaves fall off.

That left only one hyena left. He stretched his hand out in the direction of the fleeing hyena, and made a gesture. Ed came up off the ground right away, and started to float towards him. Gently, the psychic scooped Kiara and Kovu off his back with his mind, and handed them gently to Sarabi and Pumbaa, respectively.

Then he made another gesture, and rammed Ed's head into the side of a nearby boulder.

"Well, that had to be the most botched kidnapping attempt, _ever_." Timon said, looking down at Kovu, who was lying on top of Pumbaa's snout, rather like Simba had been many years ago. "Seriously, what was Scar thinking?"

"I was thinking that I'd give them a sporting chance." came a familiar voice.

A corridor of Darkness opened up in front of the whole group, and out stepped Xarcs. Everyone took up fighting stances immediately. Xarcs ignored them and looked down at the unconscious Banzai with a mixture of disappointment, irritation, and pity. None of which was really there.

"Pitiful hyenas… No brains at all, really." Then he met Nehrut's eyes. "I'll be taking those cubs back now, my boy."

"And you really think I'll let you have them?" He held up his sword.

"So confident!" He said, grinning toothily as if proud of Nehrut. But then his smile vanished as suddenly as a light bulb blowing. "But I _will_ have them."

And without further preamble, he lifted his head, and let out the loudest roar that anyone present had ever heard before. The very earth shook, leaves fell from the trees in huge clumps. It was positively deafening, and caused the lionesses, Timon, and Pumbaa to drop to the ground, unconscious. Some of them were bleeding from the ears.

The roar had been enough to drop Nehrut to his knees, and he felt a small trickle of blood coming from his right ear. He dropped his sword, and it landed in the grass. Xarcs's roar rang in his ears for several seconds after he had actually stopped.

He was just starting to get back to his feet, when the lion Nobody stamped his paw into the ground. Suddenly, the ground around the young psychic shot up around him, encasing him in the earth. Only his head was left free. He struggled in vain to get free, but only succeeded in craning his neck uselessly around.

He tried to focus enough energy to lift his sword off the ground to cut himself free, but the ringing in his ears was giving him a horrible headache. He just couldn't focus. All he succeeded in doing was making it shake a little on the ground.

Xarcs walked up to him, and stamped his paw down onto the guard of the weapon, keeping it from going anywhere, just in case.

"Ah ah ah..." He said, grabbing his face in his free paw. He turned his head to face him. "I could snap your neck like a twig right now, young one, but I still have a minor use for you."

"Now listen here, you little brat. Tell Simba that if he wishes for his little girl to live a full life, he'll come to the Outlands with three of the Keybearers tomorrow morning." He squeezed. "And they are to come _alone_."

In response, Nehrut just glared at him.

"Sleep tight." Xarcs smashed his forehead into his.

Nehrut was out like a light instantly.

_Not one of my better chapters, but I was trying to get used to writing the animal combat. I'm not entirely sure what kind of job I've done, so you tell me._

_(1) A really, really cheap explanation for the creation of these barriers and the way they work, I know. My humblest apologies._

_Review please!_


	78. Chapter 77: The Lion's Share

_It's a short chapter, so the next one will come more quickly than this one. But, maybe you'll like this one._

_So, I just signed up for my fall semester college classes… Life is either going to be great, or it will SUCK._

_Bariss: "Just don't abandon us, alright?"_

_You mean the story? Don't worry about that…_

_Bariss: "I really hope so, because I've seen what you've typed, and you'd better keep updating!"_

_Alright! Geeze…_

_Bariss: "Good. Now, DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else."_

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Chapter 77: The Lion's Share

"I'm sorry, Simba." Nehrut said sympathetically.

It had been a few hours since Xarcs had kidnapped Kiara and Kovu. Nehrut had only recently woken up, and conveyed his message to Simba and the others.

Simba was pacing up and down his private chamber deep within Pride Rock. The off-worlders, and his 'inner circle' were there as well. He was obviously a nervous wreck. He didn't say anything, just stared at the floor, growling to himself. Finally, Nala had to walk up to him and hold him still long enough for him to calm down.

"So what do we do about this?" He finally asked to nobody in particular.

"We find a way to rip Xarcs off like we did Hamsterviel." Sora answered. "We should get somebody over there to quietly free Kiara and Kovu before we get there."

"And since I control the 'stealth department' of this group of ours, I guess I'll do it?" Bariss interjected.

"Just be sure that nobody notices you." Mickey added. "If they know you're coming, they'll give Kiara and Kovu to the Heartless."

At Simba's grave expression, Kairi added, "But she won't be seen."

"I guarantee it." Bariss promised. "I've never been caught before." Nehrut cleared his throat loudly, and she rolled her eyes. "Okay, once."

"Thank you." Simba said. "My daughter is the world to me."

"But what do we do after we free the kids?" Axel asked. "We still have a Brotherhood problem that needs taking care of."

"I've been thinking about that." Sora said. He looked at Nehrut, a glint in his eye.

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The Outlands were just as they had been when Kovu had left them two days previously. The only difference now was that there were a few Heartless roaming the area near Xarcs's new base.

In the heart of the giant termite mound that had become the Outlanders' home, Kiara and Kovu were being patiently watched by the unblinking eyes of the Heartless. They were sitting together on a raised stump in the center of the cave, which almost resembled a tiny throne.

They glanced uncomfortably around their prison. If they made even one suspicious move, the eight Wild Dogs hanging around the room would pounce without hesitation.

"What are they going to do with us? Why haven't they done anything yet?" Kiara asked Kovu quietly.

"We haven't done anything to you because you're worthless to us dead, girl." Zira had walked in for the fifth time since their capture to check on them. She walked to the space between two of the Heartless and stopped there.

"The _only_ reason you're still alive is because we need you as a hostage, not as a lifeless body." She said, not acknowledging her son in the slightest. "The second your father arrives, you will be out of our sight forever."

"And what about Kovu?"

But Zira was already walking away. She stopped only briefly, and turned her head a fraction of an inch back toward them. But they could see a horrible smile on her face.

It didn't take a genius to understand what that meant.

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Xarcs awaited Simba, Sora and his friends outside the base. The sun was just beginning to rise in the east. He could feel Simba approaching, and he knew that his former nephew felt the weight of the world on his shoulders. That was good.

_Let him stew in his own fear before he dies._

No, he didn't intend to make a Heartless out of Simba. Surely he'd produce a powerful Nobody, and there was no doubt that he wouldn't be so easy to control. No, he would kill the 'king', and retake this world in the name of the Brotherhood of the Dark.

Zira walked up next to him. "The cubs aren't causing any trouble, I take it?" He asked her.

"None at all."

"Good. We still need the girl... But after the exchange, feel free to do away with Kovu."

As Zira went on and on about ground treachery on Kovu's part, Xarcs suddenly got a strange feeling. Animal instinct, Nobody instinct, whatever it was, he knew that something suddenly wasn't right. He had no idea what it could have been, however.

He scanned the area, and something struck him as odd. There had been a Shadow not three feet from him only a moment ago. He hadn't seen it leave, nor had he heard the unmistakable sound of a corridor of Darkness.

Yes, something was wrong, but he didn't have time to dwell on it, he felt that Simba was much closer now. He'd go to meet him personally.

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Simba had led the group into the Outlands. Sora and Kairi were to his right, and Riku to his left. They had come alone, just as Xarcs had requested. The four had walked in relative silence, the only sounds those of their breathing, and the hot wind blowing across the desert.

Their paws kicked up sand and dust with every step they took, and they were soon within sight of the tall termite mounds that were Xarcs's base of operations. They gazed calmly ahead, and kept walking.

When they were about a hundred yards away, they could make out several figures approaching them. Most of them were unmistakably Heartless, though there were also a few dozen lionesses and hyenas. At the head of them all (Zira at his side, naturally) was the figure that Bariss -and later Nehrut- had described to them.

Xarcs was smiling as he approached them.

"_Well_, if it isn't my favorite nephew come down from on high to mingle with the commons!" He said, stopping a meter in front of him. Sora noticed that he was now larger than Simba in both muscle and height.

"I don't care for your joking, 'Uncle Scar.'" Simba shot back.

"Oh, come now dear Simba. After all it's not every day that someone pulls off such a _perfect_ victory. In any civilized society, I should be allowed time to gloat."

"Take all the time you want, give us a call when you're done." Riku began to walk away, but was immediately blocked by a pair of hyenas.

"Ah, very well..." Xarcs said. "It's down to business, then. Zira, my dear, would you go fetch little Kiara?"

"We want Kovu, too." Sora said.

Xarcs raised an eyebrow. "And may I ask why?"

"Kovu is a member of my pride, now." Simba said. "It's my responsibility to keep him safe."

Xarcs scoffed. "As you wish. I suppose I am getting the 'lion's share' of assets in this bargain, after all."

Zira, looking a bit disappointed that she wouldn't be able to kill her traiterous offspring personally, walked away back toward the main termite mound.

"Now as for you, kitties," He said, gesturing with his paw. A corridor of Darkness appeared next to him, "It's off to the Pax Pacis dungeons."

"Not until Kiara and Kovu are safe." Kairi said defiantly.

"Touchy." But he closed the corridor nevertheless.

They stood in silence for several seconds, waiting for Zira to return with the cubs. Sora and his group were constantly being circled by the Outlanders, hyenas, and Heartless. Nobody would take their eyes away from them for a second.

And finally, there came the sound that Sora had been waiting eagerly for: a loud scream of outrage from the giant termite mound.

Xarcs and his lackeys spun around at the sound of Zira's shouting, and Sora looked to the sky, a smile forming on his face.

_That's your cue._

Xarcs spun back around, outrage etched on his face. "What have you done!"

Simba looked as if he was trying to hold back laughter. "You played dirty. We thought we'd try and do it, too."

"And it was fun!" Sora added. He glanced upward again, with the lion version of his trademark grin. "And now, you might want to look up."

They all looked up, and Xarcs saw something that he had never even _thought_ he _wouldn't_ see.

Nehrut was descending from the sky; he was flanked by Donald, who was holding Goofy's shell in between his talons. On his other side was Axel, who had King Mickey riding on his back. Behind them, kept airborne by Nehrut's special abilities, fully ready for battle, were Yuffie, Timon, Pumbaa, Rafiki, Sarabi, and every single lioness from Pride Rock. Even Zazu had joined them.

Then, on top of one of the nearby smaller termite mounds appeared Bariss. Kiara and Kovu were on either side of her, totally unharmed.

The Keyblades came to Sora, Kairi, and Riku.

"It's your choice, Xarcs." Simba almost quoted himself. "Stand down, or fight."

Xarcs snarled, feigning outrage at the loss of his bargaining chips and the appearance of the surprise reinforcements. "ATTACK!" He bellowed.

And a battle broke out.

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_Ta-da! The battle coming up is one of my favorites that I've written, so hopefully, you'll like it._

_Review, please!_


	79. Chapter 78: Lion's, Nobodies, Heartless

_The Pride Lands are now finished! This chapter was a little weird for me to write, as I'm still not used to the animal combat. But, I think it went well, nonetheless._

_Ven: "Well, we'll just see."_

_What are you doing here!_

_Ven: "What, I can't stop by to see a story in progress?"_

_Uh, I guess you can… I've just never seen you around here._

_Ven: "Apology accepted. DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else he decides to use."_

_!_

Chapter 78: Lions, Nobodies, and Heartless

The air was filled with loud roars, and the sound of stamping paws.

Simba and Sora were soon facing off against Xarcs by themselves. It soon became apparent that the lion Nobody was capable of controlling the land around him. With every stamp of his paw, the earth would shoot out from underneath them. With every roar, they heard the sound of far-off thunder. And the added fact that his teeth and claws were razor sharp didn't make the fight any easier.

Xarcs aimed a fast strike at Simba's head. The king was just able to duck under it, narrowly avoiding decapitation. He countered with a clenched paw into Xarcs's chin, which sent him staggering backwards briefly from the force of it. Sora used the window of opportunity to leap at Xarcs with his blade lashing out.

But the lion Nobody displayed surprising reflexes, lashing out with his paw to catch Sora in the air, and smack him away. He skidded across the ground several feet, before coming to a stop in front of a large, sand-covered boulder. The Keybearer-turned-lion got back on all fours just in time to run his blade into the chest of a charging Wild Dog.

He tried to get back into the fight he had been in, but found that he couldn't. His view of Simba and Xarcs had been obscured by a large mass of Heartless, lionesses, and hyenas. Hoping that Simba could take on his old uncle on his own, he turned his attention back to the more immediate threat.

Nearby, to his right he saw Riku holding his own against a group of lionesses and hyenas. He ran to his aide, rushing directly at a hyena, and smashing the flat end of the blade into his underbelly. He flew through the air in an arc over a few lionesses into another of it's kind.

The new, unexpected threat from behind them caught the lionesses off guard, causing them to hesitate for a fraction of a second in attacking Riku. And the older Keybearer decided to use that fraction of a second to his advantage, by blasting the lioness in front with Dawn.

Just to experiment, Riku summoned his Guardian. Interestingly, it had taken on a new, animal-like form just as its master had. It now resembled a large, muscular, red-orange rhino-like creature with glowing violet eyes. It rushed directly into the lionesses, ramming them into the ground with its huge bulk or goring some with its new horn.

Not far away, Axel was setting Heartless ablaze with gouts of fire from his mouth. "Oh, yeah! I'm loving this fire-breathing thing!"

The Heartless were soon replaced by a pack of hyenas running directly at him. One leapt at him, his teeth bared, intending to snap his neck. He definitely hadn't expected for a chakram to appear in his mouth and slash across his forehead. It fell to the ground, and another of its pack leapt over him to get to Axel.

He summoned his second chakram in his tail. With a simple twist, he set it on fire, and it flew at his first attacker. It burned his chest, and then brought another to the ground as it boomeranged back to him. As he caught the weapon, he looked at the remaining hyenas with something of a grin, as if challenging them.

They turned tail (literally) and ran in the other direction, but they didn't make it very far before they were ambushed by Donald, Goofy, and a team of lionesses.

Axel then noticed the two very angry-looking Outcast lionesses rushing at him with teeth bared. Before he had time to do much else, the first bit down hard on the chakram in his mouth, trying to rip it away from him. They went through a bit of a tug-a-war with it for a few moments, before Axel sent flames into his weapon.

The lioness backed away immediately, trying to massage a burnt tongue. But Axel didn't notice that her partner had snuck around behind him. She pounced, and was just inches away from his head in midair, when King Mickey leapt out of nowhere. He hit her in the side of the head with Kingdom Crown, knocking her out instantly, and sending her rolling across the ground.

After he heard Axel's hurried thanks, he ran back into action. He beheaded a Shadow, and impaled a Shaman as he ran, and then finally saw a target worth aiming for: A Living Bone towering over the frightened-looking Timon and Pumbaa.

He pulled his arm back, and threw his Keyblade hard at its skull. It went in through the top, piercing its head. He leapt on top of the head, reclaimed his weapon, and jumped back to the ground next to the warthog and meerkat, just as it began to fade away.

A Shadow came up from behind those two, and leapt at them. Mickey jumped over them easily, and cleaved the Heartless in two. Timon and Pumbaa thanked him quickly, and ran back into the battle, where he soon lost sight of them.

"Go for the eyes!" He suddenly heard someone shout over the sounds of battle. He turned toward the noise and saw that it hadn't been directed at him. Zira was standing on top of a large boulder, shouting orders and advice to her forces. "Break his jaw! Hit him hard!"

She seemed to be giving off a dark aura. "Get them! Do what you must!"

"If you insist." Bariss, standing behind her, said.

She turned around just in time to duck her head under a swipe of Rose Blade. She jumped off of her rock, and Bariss followed her down with sai and shield.

She stabbed out at Zira, who stepped backwards, and then lunged forward with both claws extended. Bariss raised Vexen's old shield, catching the blow. Zira grabbed the harmless sides of the shield, trying to pry it from her fingers.

Her face peered over the edge of the shield, and she snarled, "Do you really think you can beat _me_ you little brat!"

"Maybe if she has some help." said another female voice from behind her.

A blast of Light shot into Zira's back, throwing her totally over Bariss. She was able to collect herself in the air, and land back on all fours. Kairi was now at Bariss's side, her tail wrapped around the hilt of Destiny's Light. Bariss had replaced her sai with her whip.

Zira growled and charged at them, roaring. The two girls dodged to either side, and immediately turned to face her when she landed. Bariss swung her whip in a wide arc, managing to catch Zira's wrist. The lioness grabbed that end of the whip, and pulled hard. Bariss stumbled forward, and Zira swiped at her with her free paw.

She had enough coordination to bring up her shield to catch the blow. Kairi stepped in, her Keyblade flying everywhere despite the awkward position of holding it with her tail. But Zira displayed surprising agility, evading almost every single attack. It bothered the girls that she seemed to give off a dark aura every time she moved, until she seemed to ooze Darkness.

And then it hit them with startling clarity that Zira had followed after her mate in more ways than one. She had willingly become a Heartless, and a very quick one.

Zira took one swift step backwards to avoid a strike from a Keyblade, which simply crashed into the ground. Zira lunged forward, and hit Kairi beneath the chin, sending her reeling backwards. She jumped quickly back from Bariss' sai, and then lashed out with her claws.

Bariss blocked the attack with her shield, but Zira kept coming, and she gave ground. Kairi fired a second blast of Light at the lioness, but to her surprise, it was blocked. Zira was using a Dark technique that Scar had used. There were three Dark orbs floating around her. One of them had moved into the path of the blast, and exploded.

The other two shot at Kairi and Bariss with the speed of bullets. Bariss blocked hers with the shield, and it splattered into non-existence against it. Kairi swung her Keyblade horizontally in front of her, destroying the orb.

Zira backed away from the two girls, with five new orbs surrounding her. She then shot all five at the girls, laughing.

Kairi erected a Light shield in front of them, and the orbs crashed into it, exploding spectacularly against it. Kairi dropped the barrier, but as it turned out, this was a mistake. Zira pounced at her immediately (knocking Bariss away with one paw), and managed to pin her to the ground by the shoulders.

She was about ready to take a chunk out of her neck with only her teeth, when Kairi began to glow silver. Zira looked at her curiously for a few seconds, before the Light surrounding the 'cub' shot out, and blew her off completely. "Purifying Pulse!"

Zira landed a full fifty feet away, and unfortunately, right in front of Yuffie, who had just brought a hyena to its knees. She twisted around, and struck downward with the shuriken in her tail. Zira was just able to roll away from it, and the shuriken got stuck in the ground.

The lioness got to her feet, and was about to rip the ninja apart when Nehrut came from nowhere, blasting her high and far.

Ironically, she landed semiconscious a few yards behind Xarcs, who was gradually beating Simba back. The real King of Pride Rock was stumbling backwards, losing energy fast just trying to hold the powerful Nobody off. By now, these two were resonably far away from the main fighting, all on their own.

With one powerful punch to the jaw that was finally able to get past Simba's guard, Xarcs knocked his opponent flat on his back. Simba hit the ground with a grunt.

Xarcs stood over him, a satisfied smile on his face, and a glint in his eyes. He idly held up one paw to his face, and waggled his fingers, checking the sharpness of his claws. "And so it ends, Simba. With your death, I usher in a new age of Darkness to the world. 'The Pride Lands of Darkness...'" He put a finger to his chin as if thinking. "Yes, I rather like the sound of that."

He stamped his free paw on the ground, and all four of Simba's paws were covered by earth, keeping him bound there. Xarcs lifted his claws, ready to strike...

…And got smashed into by a giant, orange rhino.

Riku's Guardian smashed into his side, knocking the breath from him, and tossing him several feet away with its horn. As the Nobody landed, the Guardian came at him again, this time accompanied by its master, Riku.

He got to his feet in time to dodge to the side of the Guardian, and managed to catch Way to Dawn in his teeth as Riku swung it.

Meanwhile, two Neoshadows had just come at Simba, and were standing over him, about to attack. But then a bolt of electricity took one of them out. As it dissipated, the other one turned around as if surprised. But before it had even completely turned around, Oblivion had cut it in half.

Sora bent down, and carefully set to work on freeing Simba's right front paw with his blade. After a few seconds, he had managed to break the layer of rock around it. Simba then started to free his other front paw, while Sora freed his back legs.

"Thanks, Sora." Simba said, standing up.

With every one of Xarcs's mighty roars, storm clouds had moved in closer and closer. And he had roared a _lot_. The sky was almost fully covered with dark clouds, obscuring the scorching sun that had shimmered above them not an hour previous.

With one final roar from Scar's Nobody, the clouds unleashed a torrent of rain upon them, coming down in sheets onto the Outlands: The first rain there had been in months.

Sora and Simba ran towards the battling Xarcs and Riku. But before they were able to get too close, they were surrounded by a pack of hyenas, and a few Aerial Knockers hovered above them.

Xarcs pushed Riku back into the newly created hyena circle, and he landed next to Sora.

"Kill them!" Xarcs shouted to his minions, all of them rushing inward at once.

"Simba!" Sora shouted.

"Together!" He replied.

Sora dismissed the Keyblade (to the surprise and confusion of their enemies). In perfect unison, Simba and Sora stomped the ground beneath them when they landed. At the exact moment their eight feet touched the ground, giant, thick stalagmites erupted from the ground all around them.

Some of the hyenas were unlucky, and were standing over the exact spot where one of the pillars shot up from. The pillars crashed into their sensitive underbellies, sending them flying high into the air in excruciating pain. One of the pillars stretched _just_ high enough to take out one of the Aerial Knockers.

Xarcs, however was able to weave in and out around the earthen pillars, except for one, which managed to graze one of his hind legs. But this didn't worry Sora or Simba very much, their Limit wasn't done yet.

Sora sprinted at the nearest hyena, and when he was less than two feet from him, sprang directly at him. He gathered energy from all around him, and started spinning in the air, going at the hyena like a large, furry drill.

He plowed into the hyena's chest, knocking the air from his lungs and leaving a large black, blue, and purple bruise that wouldn't fade away any time soon. He landed on the ground, and repeated the attack on a hovering Aerial Knocker, leaping nearly vertically into the air.

When he landed again (in between a pair of hyenas, and Xarcs), Simba was there to assist him. He jumped into the area next to his younger friend. Sora jumped into the air, as Simba spun in a circle, all sets of claws glowing. He spun, fiercely cutting at the enemies around them.

The force of the attack even threw Xarcs back. Then, Simba and Sora leapt at the lion Nobody, both of them tucking into balls, with their claws still extended in front of them. They did something of an airborne summersault, slashing at Xarcs repeatedly, while still staying above the ground.

They mixed up these highly effective attacks, repeating them over and over for the next few minutes, until Xarcs was the only one left of the initial group that had attacked them.

They landed on the ground next to each other at the same time, just one meter in front of Xarcs. Together they shouted, "Back off!"

They raised their heads to the sky, and let out twin roars that made the earth tremble in ways that Xarcs couldn't even imagine. All of their built-up energy was released in that roar, building a solid wall of sound that expanded all around them, ramming into Xarcs, and sending him flying backwards over a hundred feet in the opposite direction of the main fighting.

He landed uncomfortably, kicking up dust, and a bit of newly formed mud as he did so. It actually took him several seconds to get back to his feet, and he did so slowly. He was quite clearly aching all over.

Simba and Sora were running toward him as fast as their four legs (times two) could carry them.

So, he thought he'd settle on the better side of valor, and chose to retreat. He opened up a corridor of Darkness to his left. As he began to limp toward it (apparently, they had damaged his leg) Sora summoned the Keyblade back to his mouth. He jerked his head upward, calling down bolts of lightning onto Xarcs.

Xarcs buckled under the attack, and was tossed limply several feet away. He got back to his feet as fast as possible and glared at his approaching foes. He stamped one of his paws, and suddenly all four of them were encased in earth.

Amazingly, he was able to turn the earth around to move around his paws, and seemed to skate with it off in the other direction away from them.

They kept following him, leaving the battle to be finished by their friends.

It had completely slipped everyone's minds that the corridor of Darkness Xarcs had tried to use was still open, waiting for somebody to step through it, and follow it to wherever it would lead.

Soon after, unnoticed by anyone else, somebody did.

!

Xarcs knew good and well that his forces were going to lose this battle. Looking back, it probably would have been best if he had simply turned them all into Heartless. At least they'd have been a bit more competent, then.

So he 'skated' away from the battle as fast as possible, hoping to put some serious distance between himself and his enemies before he opened another corridor to Pax Pacis.

Knowing that he'd probably regret it, he turned his head to look over his shoulder, and saw Simba and Sora approaching at unreasonably high speeds, increasing their speed by digging their claws into the ground and propelling themselves forward.

Growling to himself, he quickened his pace, shooting across the Outlands at high speed. He was more than half-way to the Pride Lands when he discovered that Simba was close enough to bite his tail if he had wanted.

It was time to make a stand. And what better place than the very gorge where Mufasa had fallen to his death? He was a big fan of delicious irony.

He brought a pillar of earth up underneath him, standing on it as he rose high into the air. Simba and Sora stopped just short of the pillar, and looked up. Xarcs looked down at them from over the rim.

"It is time to die, Simba." He called. "Time to take your place in 'the Circle of Life.' You'll be seeing daddy again very soon."

All three lions roared at the top of their lungs at the same time, and Xarcs shot down the side of his rock pillar, keeping his paws connected to the pillar by the earth from it.

Simba dove out of the way of a powerful slash aimed at his head (Xarcs had released that paw's grip on the rock). Sora stepped in, and drove the Keyblade directly at his attacker, but he had already vacated that space, and Sora hit nothing but rock.

Xarcs was behind him now, and immediately clamped his teeth down on Sora's neck. This was a fairly effective attack among battling lions, as they would begin thrashing back and forth in an attempt to snap their opponent's neck like a twig.

This could have worked on Sora, because almost immediately, Xarcs started the 'thrashing back and forth' part. But Sora quickly cast a Firaga spell, sending ribbons of flame all around his body, throwing him back, wiping the embers off his muzzle.

Simba rammed into Xarcs, bashing every inch of him with his claws. He struck at his legs, and then delivered an uppercut into his jaw, knocking him backwards. Sora jumped over Simba, landing in front of his monarch friend. He struck upward, catching Xarcs in the chin yet again.

Xarcs backed away quickly, avoiding the follow-up strike at his legs. He stomped the ground in front of him with his front paws, and suddenly, his forelegs were totally covered with a layer of thick rock almost like boxing gloves. One of those glove-covered paws lashed out at Sora.

The young lion brought up his blade vertically to catch the blow. He knew that he was going to have some serious neck pain after this fight. Xarcs reared his other paw back to strike at him, but the blow was caught by Simba.

At a stalemate, Xarcs roared, bringing up a pillar of earth from below them. Sora was unprepared for it, and was tossed backwards off the rapidly rising pillar. He bounced across it's side as he came down, before landing painfully on the ground.

Fifty feet in the air on the top of the pillar, Simba and Xarcs became engaged in a classic lion combat move, standing on two hind legs, trying to push the other over. And at nose-bleed heights, this was particularly dangerous. Before Scar's fall, this would have been an easier contest for Simba to win. But now, Xarcs was extra-sized, and was larger than him.

The larger lion was pushing Simba back toward the edge of the pillar, and no amount of force Simba could muster could stop his advance. He was able to hold him off just for a matter of seconds, before his back legs slipped over the edge. He began to fall, but was able to grasp the edge with his front paws.

For all the good that would do him in the next few seconds.

Xarcs bent down on his haunches, and dug his claws into his front paws. He smiled his familiar toothy smirk, and looked Simba in the eye. "Had any good dreams lately, Simba?" At his look of surprise, the smile widened. "Oh yes, I know. Not that it will matter in a few seconds, of course."

He was about to toss Simba off the pillar, and into the gorge, flying over two-hundred feet to a messy death that wouldn't leave enough pieces laying around even for a proper funeral. Then suddenly there was a small, furry mass of slashing claws and chomping teeth on Xarcs's head.

"Get away from my dad!" Kiara shouted between her biting. She was soon joined by Kovu, who commenced biting and tearing at his 'father's' legs. The Nobody had soon let go of Simba's paws and began concentrating on these new distractions.

"Get _off_ me you little brats!" He reached up as far as he could (with the paw that wasn't under attack) to grab Kiara. After several failed attempts, he was able to get a grip on the scruff of her neck, paralyzing her. He raised her above his head, as if to throw her off the pillar into the gorge.

"Don't you touch her!" Kovu roared. And it was a surprisingly impressive roar. The cub leapt at his arm, and sunk his teeth into that arm as deeply as possible. A few wisps of dark smoke seeped up from the bite marks.

Xarcs howled in pain, dropping Kiara, and falling off the pillar altogether. He fell a full fifty feet, crashing into the ground, where he lay still. Fortunately, Kovu had landed on top of him, but the impact of Xarcs's fall was enough to knock him clear of the crash site, and send him spiralling ten feet away.

Sora (who was responsible for their arrival at the top of the pillar via Keywhip) dismissed his weapon, and walked over the inert cub. He nudged Kovu gently with his muzzle, trying to prompt some kind of response from him. He got none.

He started to get worried, and it wasn't until Simba and Kiara were able to work their way down (very carefully) from the pillar a few minutes later that he got something. Kovu made a nearly unnoticeable groaning noise, and twitched his head. He continued nudging him until finally, one bleary eye opened, and peered up at him.

His eye flickered from Sora, to Simba, and then finally rested on Kiara, who looked the most concerned. He croaked, "That really hurt."

Overjoyed that he was still well enough to speak, Kiara emitted a kind of high-pitched squeal, and pounced playfully onto him. His eyes bulged half-way out of his sockets when she licked his cheek.

Identical grins appeared on the faces of Sora and Simba. But they were soon replaced by expressions of shock, when there was a loud roar from behind them, echoed by a thunder clap above them.

Apparently, Xarcs wasn't _quite_ beaten yet.

Sora recalled the Keywhip, swinging it around over his head. He lashed out with it, and it shot toward Xarcs. Unfortunately, he caught the end with his teeth, and tugged hard. It flew from Sora's mouth, and across the desert landscape.

The Nobody covered the space between him and Sora in a few great bounds in about two seconds. He slashed at him horizontally, knocking him off his feet. Simba leapt into the space he had just vacated, and repeated the gesture across his face, nearly knocking him to the ground.

But he was able to stay on his feet, and pounced at Simba, digging his claws into his shoulder blades, and attempting to clamp his jaw shut around his throat. He nearly succeeded, but Kovu leapt up at him, slashing him across the face.

The lion Nobody howled in pain, having a new horizontal scar above his right eye to go with the vertical one over the left. He quickly threw Simba to the ground, but instead of trying to finish him, he jumped _over_ him at Kovu with a roar of fury, creating an even louder blast of thunder.

One clean swipe of his claw marked young Kovu for life; branding him with a striking scar over his left eye identical to the very one his assailant wore.

He let out a little howl of pain, and fell to the ground. Xarcs wore an expression of satisfaction as he raised his paw to finish him. But when he brought it down, it only connected with the cold metal of Oblivion.

Sora pushed his claw away, and struck the Keyblade into his chest, winding him. Simba roared, and charged from his other side. He leapt onto his back, pinning him to the ground.

Huge stalagmites shot up from the ground around him. One caught Simba in the hip, sending him reeling through the air.

Xarcs got back to his feet and swiped at Sora. The Keybearer dodged out of his way, and used his blade to block the next two strikes. He back stepped, and fired a large shard of ice at him, which was simply crunched in between his huge teeth.

As the rain continued to pour (sticking all their manes to their necks, shoulders, or foreheads) Xarcs roared to the sky. A huge bolt of lightning speared the ground where Sora had been not a millisecond before. Chunks of earth flew into the air.

Sora ran toward Xarcs again, swinging vertically down on his head. But he weaved around the attack, stepping to the side of the blade, and then pouncing at Sora.

He pinned his shoulders to the ground, and was about to take a bite out of his face, when Kiara leapt at him, slashing at his face as hard as she could, drawing some of the dark smoke that served as his blood.

Her distraction allowed Sora to get out from under him, and for Simba to sink his claws into his back. He threw him as far away as he could, sending him crashing into the ground, kicking up mud.

Just as he was getting back to his feet, Simba slashed his claws across the side of his face. Black mist emerged in a large puff off of it. Before he could even begin to recover from this attack, he was slashed across the chest with the Keyblade, cutting deep.

Xarcs roared again, but this time it was one of agonizing pain.

Before either Sora or Simba could do anything else, Xarcs collapsed, hitting the ground with a thud. All was still, and the only sounds were those of the falling rain (which had lessened to a great degree) and the Nobody's shallow breathing.

He gazed up at them with a dull hatred in his eyes, rather like Xayn Shu had glared at Mulan before his death.

"You think you've won." Xarcs coughed out. Dark mist was seeping from his skin, evaporating as it rose into the air. "But this isn't the end. He will have Kingdom Hearts... And he will reward me for what I've done, surely. You'll not stop him."

"He can send all the Heartless and Nobodies he wants." Sora said defiantly, dismissing the Keyblade. "But he won't get Kingdom Hearts."

And amazingly, Xarcs smiled and chuckled. "So you say now, you foolish child. But he can't be stopped. He's far too powerful to be beaten by a handful of Light-hearted fools." He chuckled again, and looked directly at Sora. "If only you had known then... what would happen."

"Known what?"

But he would get no answer. Xarcs rolled over with the last of the strength, falling over the edge of the cliff into the gorge. And as Scar's Nobody finally faded away, he was laughing.

Now it was totally silent. The rain had stopped falling with Xarcs's demise, and the dark clouds were slowly beginning to roll away. Simba and Sora just looked at each other for a few seconds, before they heard a stifled groan, and a hiss of pain behind them.

They walked over to Kovu, who had Kiara hovering around him nervously. He had one paw covering his left eye, and there was a thin trickle of blood flowing from under it.

Gently, Sora moved his paw away, and saw that Kovu had his eye clamped tightly shut. The teenager held up his own paw, green energy enveloping it. "Curaga." He said quietly.

Tendrils of the healing green energy flowed from his paw toward Kovu's eye. It briefly covered half of his face, cleaning away the blood there, and doing what it could to patch up the damage Xarcs had done to his face.

When the light faded, Kovu's eye was just fine. But the scar was still there, much paler now, but still easily noticeable. Kovu lifted a paw to feel the area around his eye, clearly amazed.

"Thanks." He said. "But, uh... Can't you get rid of it completely?"

"I'm sorry. But that's the most I can do. You're going to have to live with it."

"Well that won't be _so_ bad." Kiara said, smiling a little. And to everyone's amazement, she leaned against Kovu in the human equivalent of an affectionate hug. "I think it makes you look kind of _cute_."

The slightly worried, nervous look on Simba's face was enough to make Sora laugh.

!

A while later, everyone had assembled back at Pride Rock. The moment that the first Keybearer arrived there, the largest Keyhole yet appeared on the front of the massive rock formation.

Riku summoned Way to Dawn, and orange light gathered at the tip, shooting out into the Keyhole. The light blinded them all for a few seconds before it faded, and the Keyhole disappeared.

The former Outlanders had come back with the Pride Landers to Pride Rock.

After witnessing the extreme lengths Zira had gone to simply to avenge Scar (who hadn't been a very good ruler anyway, they realized now) they had all surrendered, and pleaded for Simba's mercy and forgiveness. After a bit of persuasion from Kiara and his off-world friends (and a bit of 'encouragement' from Rafiki and his stick) he had agreed, and welcomed them back to the Pride Lands with open arms.

But as for Zira herself, there was no sign.

"I saw the old bat run into a corridor of Darkness before the fighting stopped." Axel said. "I don't know where it came from or where it went, but she's long gone by now."

Naturally, none of them were very enthusiastic when they heard this news, but it was too late to do anything about it now. Zira was still out there, but they all knew they'd have the opportunity to deal with her later.

"It is the Circle of Life." Rafiki had told Sora. "All things in your journey are connected, young one. You will see your journey through to the end, whatever should happen along the way."

"That reminds me of something an old wizard told me once." Sora remembered Yen Sid's words still.

"_Everything in your journey Sora, is connected."_

"Bah!" Rafiki hit Sora with his stick. "Rafiki uses his own material only!"

Near him, Riku laughed, and received a whack himself.

"You must continue your fight, young Keyblade Master." Rafiki continued. "And in the end, you will perhaps finally find your peace. You have earned it, after all. Now GO!"

He swung his staff. But this time, Sora saw it coming. He dodged out of the way, and grabbed it with his teeth. He smiled around the stick, and Rafiki laughed, beaming with pride.

!

_And so it ends. I hope you've enjoyed the Pride Lands! If you have any suggestions on what I should have done, well too late._

_Please review!_


	80. Chapter 79: A WinWin Situation

_As of the twenty-sixth, I am officially an adult! I can vote, I can see R-rated movies… If I knock off a convenience store, I can be tried as an adult!_

_Marluxia: "Do you plan to knock of a convenience store?"_

_No, I'm just making a point. You see, unlike some people, I am honest._

_Marluxia: "You know how else you could go to jail? Copyright infringement. As such, I will not be giving a disclaimer." (Leaves)_

_(Sigh) Well, I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, or Square Enix. But, I own some of the OCs in this chapter. Takuya and Mina belong to Shinku Ryuuga._

_!_

Chapter 79: A Win-Win Situation

"How did you survive without me during your other adventures?" Kairi asked cheekily.

They'd been back on the _Unity_ for hours, and Sora's neck and shoulder muscles were killing him. It was an unfortunate side effect of fighting with a weapon in your mouth. Kairi had offered to massage his sore muscles after he had mentioned it to her. He had thought she was joking until she had crept up behind him on the bed and started rubbing his shoulders.

He felt like he was melting under her gentle, but firm touch. All the aching and tension in his muscles slowly vanished under her fingers.

"Honestly, I don't know." He answered her.

"Did Donald rub your back after every fight?" She asked jokingly.

Sora processed this image in his head, and then made an exaggerated gagging noise, causing Kairi to laugh. "You just put a horrible image in my head, girl!"

She giggled a little. "Maybe this will help." She stopped rubbing his shoulders for a moment, and moved to his side. She took his face in her hands, and kissed him softly. She held him there for what felt like hours before finally pulling away with a smile.

"Yeah, that helped."

She giggled again, and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. They both fell back onto the bed in each other's arms, kissing again.

Eventually, they fell asleep in each other's arms, Zira and the Brotherhood the farthest things from their minds.(1)

!

When a single lioness arrived at Pax Pacis in the place of Xarcs, everyone knew that there could only be one explanation: The Keybearers had been at the Pride Lands.

The lioness now stood in the meeting room. There were others there, as well. The Horned King stood in the room, near the center of the table. On the other side, standing behind Zira, was Sephiroth. Leaning against the wall near the head of the room was Ruxik.

And the Darkness at the head of the room was still there.

Projected magically on the table was an image of the late Xayn Shu, which stared absently ahead at nothing in particular. Presently, one of Xarcs joined it on the table, wearing the same expression.

Zira eyed it with a mixture of sorrow and anger.

"So another of our number has fallen." Said the voice that she now knew as Serndask, from the mass of dark clouds in front of her.

"Yes." She hissed out, stretching out the 'S', and sounding more like a snake than a lion at that moment. She bore her teeth at a mental image of Simba, Kovu, and Sora. "And I'll do whatever it takes to avenge him."

"Very well." The voice said. It directed its next question to the Horned King. "See that she is prepared for service here, and then begin your own mission."

"At once." The skeletal man replied. He beckoned to Zira, who followed him out the only door of the room, her claws clacking across the tile floor. That left Serndask, Sephiroth, and Ruxik alone in the room. The image on the table had turned once more back into one of the Door to Darkness.

"What did you want _me_ here for?" Sephiroth finally asked, not even bothering to use the same respectful tone that others used when addressing Serndask.

"Sephiroth, I want you to summon Marluxia. Now."

"And Marluxia is?"

"The Absent Silhouette I assigned you."

"Right." He said dismissively. He reached into his coat pocket, and pulled out a card marked with the number 'XI.' He idly tossed it to the ground a few feet in front of him.

Nothing happened for a few seconds, and then a violet sort of portal opened up over it. It lingered for a moment, before fading away to reveal a man in a black Organization coat. He had shoulder-length, partially spiked pink hair, and blue eyes.

Marluxia, the traitor of Organization XIII, the Graceful Assassin, and one of the most powerful Nobodies ever 'born.'

He eyed the room and its occupants with a raised eyebrow, though he didn't seem at all surprised about suddenly being alive again. He simply looked mildly curious. His eyes finally settled on the Darkness in which Serndask resided.

Everyone was dead silent for a moment. Sephiroth was looking at the pink hair with something between resentment, and amusement.

"I have a task for you Marluxia." Serndask finally said.

"And why should I do it?" He replied, dryly.

Orange eyes flashed within the depths of the Darkness. And for a moment, something seemed to flash in Marluxia's blue ones, as well. The Darkness in which Serndask resided seemed to bulge outward briefly, as if to swallow Marluxia.

The Nobody noted this display of power.

"Impressive."

"You'll listen to me, or the Darkness will engulf you again." Serndask said. His eyes had faded back into the blackness. "And I assure you, this time there will no return for you."

"Very well. I'll listen."

_For now._ His eyes said.

"There is a resistance movement in the remains of this city. You are to find its headquarters, and destroy every last being inside." Serndask said without preamble. "Use anything necessary. Heartless, Nobodies, I don't care. Just destroy them."

"Why not send _me_, then?" Sephiroth interjected.

"Perhaps because he knows I'll get the job done." Marluxia responded, half-turning to smirk horribly at the swordsman. But Sephiroth didn't rise to the challenge.

"I have another assignment for you, Sephiroth: He is a powerful alien creature living on a swamp world. I'll give you the specifics later."

"So when do I take my leave?" Marluxia asked dryly.

"Immediately. Now go."

Marluxia half-bowed, and turned around completely. He gave Sephiroth a smirk as he walked past, opened the door, and walked out.

Ruxik had watched all of this transpire. And the moment Marluxia had made his appearance, he had felt something like worry. He could now feel Serndask's gaze on him. And he also felt the smile that must have surely been there. A smile that said, 'We have a secret, don't we?'

!

The Headquarters of the self-named 'Pax Pacis Resistance Movement' weren't particularly impressive.

It was located just underground, beneath what had once been a town meeting center. Very few had ever known that a secret tunnel network existed below the city streets. The Heartless had passed over this place several times. And despite the fact that they could sense where hearts were, they simply never seemed to go down there.

The Resistance utilized these tunnels, keeping about eight hundred refugees safe beneath the surface of the world. This relatively small number of humans lived farther beneath the actual 'Headquarters' which was just beneath the town center.

As has been said, the Headquarters weren't particularly impressive. It was a thirty-by-fifteen foot rectangular room with four stone walls. They were engraved with various ancient characters that very few people ever studied. An educated person would be able to read the phrase 'Safety and Peace' written on the walls.

Three sturdy, wooden, rectangular tables were arranged around the room. These tables were strewn with parchments with various bits of writing on them, blueprints, and a few weapons of varying designs.

There were currently seven people in the room. And despite a great amount of time apart from them, Nehrut would have known them all in a heartbeat.

Prince Essej (though no longer in any position of power) had not, in fact, died when Xaynew's lightning bolt struck him. He now had a large burn scar on his back, but he was still very much alive. He had traded in his emerald robes of royalty for more practical clothing: a dark green leather jacket and shirt with black jeans.

Liz was standing right next to his chair, still clad in identical clothing from that fateful day three years previous. She had hardly changed, but her hair had grown a bit longer, and she had dark bags under her eyes as a result of having little sleep. She hadn't died when Xaynew had stabbed her. His blade had missed any major organs, and cauterized the wound immediately.

Mina was also present. She hadn't fallen to Xaynew's blade either. Her black and violet hair had lengthened quite a bit, and she now had it tied back into a pony-tail.

Takuya (the only one present who had fought Xaynew and come out totally unscathed) was standing behind her seat with his hands on both of her shoulders. His trench coat was tattered and torn in some places, and caked with dirt and dust near the bottom. The only thing on him that wasn't even slightly dirty or damaged was his sword and its sheath.

Altair Ibn La'Ahad was in attendance. He had perished with many others as the heart of Pax Pacis was consumed by Darkness. But he had come back with the others to the soon-to-be ruined city when a certain boy restored the worlds. His white cloak was caked with dry dirt, and his hood was down, showing a hard set, stubbled, slightly scarred face.

Cryptosporidium 137 (now known simply as 'Crypto' by everyone present) had also vanished and reappeared along with the world. He was the only person in the room who had completely withstood the test of time, not looking any different after three years.

The seventh person sitting at the table was neither native to the world, nor was he ever an official delegate to it. He was a teenager who wore a dark red, long-sleeved shirt. Over it, he wore a long, thick, black vest with several pouches in it. He wore a pair of jeans, and a thick leather belt. A pair of sunglasses was perched on his head, the lenses pointed upward toward the ceiling at the moment. But, these weren't what somebody first noticed about this person.

The _first_ thing one noticed was that he was a dog-person. In fact, he hailed from Disney Castle: Goofy's teenage son, Max.

Sitting on the table in front of Max was a bronze long sword. The blade had a thin scarlet line painted down its length. The hilt had red bandages wrapped tightly around it, with one end hanging off stylistically.

"Well, we know what we need to do..." Max said, thinking very hard.

"We just don't know how to do it." Takuya finished.

"So that means that we are going _nowhere_!" Crypto shouted, firing a shot into the ceiling out of frustration. He wasn't the kind of alien who liked sitting around inside. He'd rather be outside blowing things to Kingdom Come.

"Peace..." Altair cautioned. "The last thing we need right now is for the roof to cave in."

"It's protected by _magic_. It's not going anywhere." To reinforce his point, he blasted the same spot in the roof another three times.

"Would you please stop that?" Liz said, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Let's just go over what we know again."

"We've gotten the rough layout of the castle from Altair's recons." Essej said, bending over a set of rough blueprints that they had drawn up indicating what the rooms were being used for. "The gummi hanger is on the third level. But it's been under really heavy guard ever since that prisoner broke out."

"What defenses exactly?" Max asked.

"There are at least fifty Nobodies inside the primary hanger at any time." Takuya elaborated. "And the outer doors are patrolled by Invisibles and Darkballs."

"If anyone would just listen to _me_..." Crypto began.

"We are not going to go in there blasting everything!" Mina shouted. "We have to think ahead!"

"So it's a few Heartless!" He shouted back. "We shoot them, we kill them, we get the ships and my saucer and blow this joint! It's simple!"

"Crypto, could you please just shut up for about three seconds!" Takuya interrupted.

"We need to get a dark matter warp engine attachment out of here before we do anything else." Max said. "Escaping this place will be pointless if nobody has a way to get back here later.

"Yeah yeah. Get the engine part, get it to your buddies. They're a bunch of freaking teenagers, for crying out loud!"

"So are we." Liz answered calmly. "And in case you haven't noticed, we've done pretty well so far."

"Agreed." Altair said, nodding his head. "Age is irrelevant. We need to get the part to these 'Keybearers', otherwise we are lost."

"That reminds me." Max said, a smile beginning to come to his face. "Hey, Essej, I forgot to tell you something kind of important."

"That being?"

"Before I left the castle, I heard that your old pal, Nehrut was traveling with the Keybearers."

There were a few seconds of silence after this statement. Essej, Liz, Mina, and Takuya all looked at each other, and then their faces broke out into huge grins.

"No way!" Mina exclaimed.

"The guy's still alive!" Takuya did a cliched fist pumping gesture. "Unbelievable!"

"How did he survive?" Essej asked the room.

"We helped him escape." Altair answered, gesturing toward Crypto as he did so.

"We did?" Crypto searched his memory. "Oh, yeah. The kid with the cool sword, right."

"If he's still alive," Essej said mostly to himself, "And he still has Presul..." He shared a significant look with Liz.

"The crystal?"

He was a second away from responding, when there was a loud explosion, and the whole room began to shake.

"Never fails!" Crypto picked up his weapon from the table and rushed out of the room through one of the doors in the room that lead to the surface. Three others led farther underground to the refugee quarters.

Altair pulled his hood back up, checked that his saber was still in its sheath on his belt, and followed him. Takuya, Mina, and Max ran immediately after him, weapons already in hand.

Essej and Liz looked at each other, silently agreeing that the discovery that they had just made would have to wait. He got to his feet, and softly kissed her on the lips, just in case it was his last opportunity to do so.

He walked over to one of the other tables in the room, and picked up a long, five-foot long staff from it. The staff was made from a strange, dark blue wood; two long pieces of it twisting around each other over and over. At the head of the staff was a large, spherical, silver jewel, which seemed to glow from the inside. Engraved into the jewel were runes similar to those on the walls. An educated person would have been able to read its name in them: 'Licentia' meaning 'Freedom.'

_A sadly rare commodity on Pax Pacis these days._

Liz put on a pair of fingerless gloves, and the two ran after Max and the others, closing the door behind them.

!

The seven of them emerged from a trap door that had been hidden under a large speaking platform at the head of the meeting hall, which was a large building with only one room. All the windows had been broken to varying degrees, and the front wall had been almost entirely blown away. The debris of several chairs and other things were still strewn all around the room. Crypto was out first, and he was also the first attacked.

A pair of Shadows leapt at him the second his head poked out of the trap door. He brought his weapon to bear immediately, firing bluish electricity through the first one, out its back, and into the other one.

He boosted the rest of the way out of the trap door with his jetpack. Takuya was following right after him. He leapt out of the trap door, and ran directly at a Large Body walking toward him. The Heartless lifted a hand to smack him away, but he leapt entirely over it, landing on its other side.

He drew his black katana from its sheath, and stabbed behind him into the Large Body's vulnerable back. He cut a Neoshadow in half when it charged at him, and then did the same thing with its partner.

An arrow flew over his head, catching yet another Large Body in its throat. A Crimson Jazz floated into the room, moving toward Max. As it moved, fiery red and gold basketball-sized orbs appeared all around him.

Max slashed upward at one of the orbs, destroying it. He spun around like a top, destroying three more orbs in one swing. Then he gripped his sword with both hands, and swung it like a baseball bat, taking out the last two.

The same Heartless continued toward him. Max took up a fighting stance that looked slightly reminiscent of a baseball player getting ready to swing his bat. But before he was even able to make a move, there was the sound of a spell being calmly uttered back near the trap door.

"_Congelo Inimicus_."

An icy gale blew across the room, it was cold enough to stop every Heartless in the building in its tracks, yet somehow it didn't affect the non-Heartless.

Takuya smiled toothily, and turned his head. He saw Essej standing by the trap door with Liz. He was holding his staff out in front of him with the gem pointing outward. It was glowing light blue.

He spun it over his head, and the gem changed color from blue to a deep reddish-brown. "_Motus-us_!" He slammed the end of the staff into the stone floor. The whole ground shook, and huge stalagmites burst up from under each of the Heartless, wiping them all out instantly.

And just like that, the room was empty again, but no one put away their weapons. They knew good and well that there was more to come. As the stalagmites sank back into the ground, Altair spotted a black-garbed figure standing on top of a ruined building.

Without hesitation, he pulled a long, throwing knife from an inside pocket of his cloak. He took careful aim (and by his standards, taking careful aim took only about one and a half seconds), and threw the knife at the figure.

His actions attracted the attention of the others, who followed their eyes to the direction he had thrown the knife. They noticed the figure, and immediately Crypto started firing. Mina loaded another arrow, and let it fly.

But the figure vanished from the top of the building just as the projectiles were about to strike. Everything was silent, the only sound being the quiet pitter-patter of the drizzling rain now striking the ground.

They were all still as statues, weapons at the ready, just waiting for some sign of the cloaked figure.

But then, there was a warping of space in front of them, something like a corridor of Darkness, but there was something unique about this particular portal, it was tinged with a deep red color, almost like fresh blood.

Or certain rose petals.

From this portal stepped the black-cloaked man, this time with his hood lowered, showing off pink hair and blue eyes.

"Organization XIII..." Max said to himself. Among the group he was the only one who knew the whole story of the Organization, though he had told the others the gist of it.

The man heard him. "Yes, Organization XIII. Though we are now only a shell of what we once were, it seems." He said this without any tone of regret or sadness in his voice, his tone was merely conversational.

"What do you want?" Essej stepped to the head of the group.

"Quite simply, I'm here to kill you." Once again, a conversational tone.

"Well, thanks for being straightforward with us, at least." Mina took careful aim between his eyes, closing one eye.

"You're welcome. Now there are two ways we can do this: You can fight, and I'll kill you painfully. Or, you can stand down now, and your death will be… _relatively_ painless."

"Gee, thanks for letting us choose, mister!" Crypto said. "_But_, I think I'm just gonna kill ya anyway." His blaster had changed into a bulkier weapon, which let off a red glow from its ammunition cartridge. He leveled his weapon, and launched a glowing red grenade-like projectile at Marluxia.

But before it detonated, Marluxia simply kicked it directly into the air without moving any other part of his body but his leg. The ion detonator flew ten feet into the air, before exploding harmlessly above them.

"Well then..." Marluxia said, his lips curling into a smile. He slowly raised his right arm straight up into the air, palm up. A single flower petal (it could have been a cherry blossom, or a rose, it was hard to tell) appeared a few feet above his head. It floated gently down for a few agonizingly slow seconds, before landing in his palm.

There was a brief flash of light in a long section across his open palm and over his head. Black, thorn like patterns appeared there in that brief amount of time. Then finally, the form of a large scythe appeared there with a burst of sakura petals. The handle was long and green, and slightly curved. The blade itself was pink, with a gold Nobody emblem on it. The whole weapon looked a bit like a huge, deadly flower petal.

"You've sealed your fate." He said, swinging the weapon down to hold it behind him, into a fighting stance. He snapped his fingers in his free hand.

The area behind him was suddenly filled with Heartless. There were two Behemoths flanking him, and a huge mass of Neoshadows and Armored Knights. Around a dozen Invisibles floated above him. A handful of Dusk, Samurai, and Assassin Nobodies prowled around the space by Marluxia.

"Take no prisoners!" Marluxia shouted. He swung his scythe in a wide arc, and a large, red-rimmed disk of dark energy shot from it at the group of defenders.

"_Defendo Amicus_!"

The head of Essej's staff turned violet, and a near-transparent shield of the same color appeared in front of the seven of them. The disk exploded against it, but caused no harm to anything but the pavement in front of it.

"Spread you wings, Ryuumaru!" Takuya cried out while the shield was still up. His katana extended into the cleaver-like sword 'Ryuumaru.' It had been a long time since he'd done it, but it still felt comfortable in his hands.

"Dragon Lightning Strike!" Green lightning gathered around his hand. He clenched his fist and punched the air, sending bolts of green electricity into the sky. They came back down seconds later, striking dozens of Heartless and leaving small craters in the ground.

But Marluxia saved himself by lifting his scythe, and blocking the electricity.

Crypto and Mina opened fire on the Heartless as they began to advance, cutting down most of them before they got near enough to do any sort of damage. Max, Liz, and Altair rushed into them, attacks flying all over the place and taking them out before they could even touch them.

Takuya and Essej went for Marluxia himself.

The swordsman struck down at Marluxia's head. The Silhouette raised his scythe and blocked the attack with the handle just below the blade. He disengaged, and struck at his chest.

Marluxia vanished in a shower of flower petals, which all disappeared the second they touched the ground. He reappeared on the back of one of the Behemoths. That Behemoth lowered its head as Takuya ran toward it. Electricity crackled in between its horn and two tusks, connecting and forming a ball of dark energy in front of its head.

Takuya stopped in his tracks, looking at the crackling energy which was now only feet away from him. The Behemoth let out a roar as it released all of its energy toward him.

The swordsman jumped as high as he possibly could, and was just able to get out of the blast range. But he was still pushed into the air by the force of the blast exploding against the ground.

As he spiraled through the air, Essej ran through the battle, beating Heartless away with the head of his staff. He stopped in front of the Behemoth. "_Procella_!"

The jewel of the staff shone gold, and a broad bolt of lightning shot from it at the Behemoth's mouth.

And to his utter horror, the massive Heartless simply opened its mouth. The lightning flew down its throat with absolutely no negative effects. On its back, Marluxia laughed.

Nearby, Max swept his blade through the side of an Armored Knight. He saw the prince's look of shock, and understood why it was there. "Aim for the horn!" He shouted over the noise of the battle, blocking the twin attack of a Samurai Nobody. He pushed the blades off with his, and drove it through its chest.

"What!" Essej asked over the sounds of battle, leaping aside from one of the Behemoth's massive, striking hooves, and smashing his staff into the head of a Neoshadow.

"He said aim for the horn!" Liz shouted. She kicked a Shadow in the face, and caught the descending blade of an Armored Knight in between her hands. She kicked upward into its crotch area (though for a Heartless, this wasn't a particularly sensitive spot). The Heartless backed off.

"What!" He still didn't get the message.

"They're saying to aim for the horn you deaf moron!" Crypto was taking pot shots at the floating Invisibles. He stepped back from a leaping Neoshadow, and blasted its face at point blank range.

"What!"

"For crying out loud, _I'll_ do it!" Crypto juked around the Heartless, running toward Essej and the Behemoth. He took careful aim, and launched an ion detonator at the horn in the center of the creature's head. It bounced on the top of its head for a moment, before exploding in a flash of bright red light.

The blast was enough to shred its horn to bits, which soon after dissolved into dark wisps of smoke. The Behemoth let out one final bellow, before it collapsed. Its front legs buckled, and it keeled forward. Its huge form lingered there like a massive dead animal, before fading away almost a full minute later.

But Marluxia wasn't there.

"Where'd he go?" Essej asked.

He hadn't expected a response from right behind him. "Right here."

He ran forward, the scythe missing his ankle by a margin of centimeters. The weapon was embedded in the pavement, but the Nobody was able to rip it free easily, and advanced toward Essej immediately.

He swung wide, nearly decapitating the prince. Essej backed away, but blocked the strike with his staff, which -surprisingly- didn't break, bend, or splinter under the attack. He backed away, blocking two more consecutive attacks. When he thought he saw a break in his defense, he stretched his staff out toward him. The jewel turned scarlet.

"_Flamma_!"(2)

A great, roaring, stream of flame shot from it towards Marluxia. The former Organization member back flipped away from the fire, just beyond its range (though it did roast a few Heartless). When he landed, he reeled back, and fired another dark red disk at the prince.

The attack was a few feet away from him, when Takuya shot down like a bullet, and landed directly in front of it. Ryuumaru came up in a defensive position. The attack smashed into the blade, pushing its wielder back a few inches, but not hurting him.

He turned his head to address Essej. "Let me take care of this punk."

"Always showing off, huh?" he responded with a grin, but he rushed off into the battle.

Takuya turned to face Marluxia again, and smiled at him past his blade. They stared each other down for a moment, before Takuya swung his blade vertically. "Hell Shock!"

As he swung the blade, energy formed on its edge. When it hit the ground, all of this energy was released in the form of a huge arc of green energy, outlined in blood red. It tore across the pavement, and cleaved any unfortunate Heartless that were in the way in half.

Marluxia's eyes widened and he dodged to the right of the blast as it came at him, though it still clipped off part of his coat.

He gazed at Takuya for a few moments, amazed (as much as a Nobody can be) at such a degree of power. He was then showered by a cloud of dirt and debris. He turned his head slightly, and saw the small building behind him come completely crashing to the ground, crushing some Heartless.

It had been unstable already, but holding. The attack aimed for him had been the straw that broke the camel's back and pushed it over the edge, to ruin.

He turned back to Takuya, just in time to raise his scythe and block an attack that would have cut him in two. He looked him in the eye. "I suppose I'm obligated to ask you to switch sides."

"Well, _I'm_ obligated to turn you down."

He pushed the scythe off of him, and came in with a flurry of very fast and powerful attacks. Now it was Marluxia who was giving ground fast, expending huge amounts of energy just blocking the attacks.

_Amazing strength..._

Finally, he slipped up. Marluxia had room to escape, and ran past Takuya, tripping him with the butt end of his weapon as he passed. It may have seemed cowardly, (and indeed, Marluxia was the first to admit it) but it was a life and death situation. He knew that if he continued to fight that kid much longer, he'd lose.

So he chose instead someone who looked like an easier target: Altair.

The assassin was currently occupied fencing with an Invisible floating just above the ground. The assassin's fast, agile strikes and thrusts seemed to be more successful than its wide, though more powerful swings.

After a while of dueling (and a few cut down Shadows, here and there) Altair had stabbed it through the chest in the place a heart would have been on a normal human. Two Neoshadows converged on him, and pounced at the same time.

He pulled a short blade from the scabbard on his back, and swept it through the first one, while cutting the other in half with his saber. He appeared not to notice Marluxia running up from behind him, weapon raised.

But assassins _always_ seemed to know.

Altair released a thin hidden blade from within his left gauntlet. It slid into place neatly where his ring finger had been amputated. A single glint of light was all the warning that Marluxia had, and it didn't even register with him.

The blade slashed across Marluxia's face, leaving a long scar stretching from his lower right side of his chin, to the top left side of his temple. A burst of the dark smoke that was like a Nobody's blood immediately burst from the new opening in his face. He let out a shout of pain and shock, and staggered backwards…

Directly into Takuya's outstretched blade.

Marluxia let out a choked, gasping noise as Darkness began to seep from the gaps between his flesh and the blade. He looked down at it for a moment, and his scythe slipped from his hands, hit the ground, and vanished in a burst of flower petals.

_This isn't over yet... If the Heartless can just-_

But the Heartless had abandoned him, it seemed. Just as the blade had pierced his stomach, they had vanished through corridors of Darkness, leaving for who-knew-where. And Marluxia knew good and well that they could have, and _would_ have stayed. His condition wouldn't stop that unless he ordered it.

Somebody else had ordered them to retreat.

"Let this be a warning to your buddy, Serndask!" Takuya said. The edges of his sword began to burn with green fire, and for a second, it seemed that his eyes had turned to slits. "Whatever he throws at us, we can deal with it!"

He released all the flames at once into Marluxia's body, not just horribly burning him, but throwing him hundreds of feet through the air, over buildings, to finally land painfully two streets away.

The former Organization member lay there spread-eagle on the ground for what felt like an agonizingly long time, but was actually only a matter of seconds. Darkness seeped from his body as it dissolved.

"Why...?" Was all he said.

"You fool."

The voice had come from nowhere, yet everywhere at the same time. Marluxia craned his neck in every direction in an attempt to see its source, but couldn't for a long time. But finally, through the rain splashing into his eyes, he saw what appeared to be a thick cloud of pure Darkness approaching him from down the street.

He struggled in vain to get to his feet, or even to move at all. Serndask was coming for him.

The cloud stopped in front of him, but Marluxia still couldn't see a face inside of it. He stared up into it for a long time, feeling something like terror, before Serndask finally spoke.

"I know of your traitorous thoughts, you pathetic fool. Did you honestly expect that I would let you live?"

"What...?"

"I could have simply eliminated the Resistance myself had I wanted. Why do you think I sent you instead?"

He laughed. "This was a trap, Marluxia. Whether or not you succeeded in destroying them didn't matter to me. No matter the outcome, _I_ would win."

And for just a moment, the Darkness of the cloud seemed to solidify into a face. Marluxia's breath caught in his throat, before a blast of unbelievable Darkness came at him, scattering whatever was left of Marluxia all over the street, until nothing remained but flower petals falling to the ground.

Soon, those were gone, as well.

!

_Well, this was a fun chapter for me. What did you think?_

_(1) Yes, it's a pointless scene. But you know me, I couldn't help myself!_

_(2) All in Latin. Don't know why I did this exactly, but why not?_

_Please leave a review!_


	81. Chapter 80: The Ball

_I'll be leaving for about two weeks tomorrow, so consider this my parting gift to you._

_Kairi: "It's the usual heaping of senseless fluff before things go crazy."_

_Thank you Kairi…_

_Kairi: "Anytime! DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix or anything else he feels like using."_

_!_

Chapter 80: The Ball

The team appeared in a lush, thick forest. From what Sora could see beyond the canopy overhead, it was night time. He moved a little farther into the clearing they had landed in, and a glance up into a break in the trees confirmed his suspicion.

It was a peaceful little scene. Nearby, a dirt path wove through the forest, and Sora thought he knew where it led.

"Beautiful place." Kairi commented, linking her hand with Sora's. It was such a habit by now that she barely even realized that she had done it.

"Yeah, trees, nice." Axel commented absently on the other side of the clearing, lighting a small twig on fire out of boredom.

"Can't you ever just appreciate the silence?" Riku asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm a pyromaniac. Got it memorized?"

Goofy leaned in toward Sora and whispered, "Maybe we should get going to the castle."

"Before Axel sets half the forest on fire!" Donald added.

"C'mon guys!" Sora told the group at large. "Let's get going, it looks like it might rain." And indeed, there were a few clouds, but he didn't honestly believe that they would prove to be a problem.

So the ten of them left the clearing, and set off down the dirt path that Sora had noticed. He only had a general idea of where they were going, but Donald and Goofy agreed with him that they were going in the right direction of the castle.

So naturally, they got lost, and arrived at the castle gates fifteen minutes _after_ Kairi turned them around.

The Beast's castle looked much different from when Sora, Donald, and Goofy had last seen it. Its dimensions and general architecture looked the same, but the outside was totally different. The black and grey stones had turned to pure white, and the roof tiles were a pleasant shade of red. The gargoyles had been replaced with angels, cherubs, and other similar statues.

There were two plausible explanations: The first was that the Beast had called in a new personal decorator, but Sora doubted that.

"The curse was lifted!" Donald voiced Sora's thoughts.

"Sweet!" Sora punched the air. The Beast had become the Prince again.

In front of the castle gates were a few carriages, their owners absent, and their horses still bridled there, braying lazily. The castle was all lit up tonight, warm lights shone from almost every window, and the large oaken doors were ajar, spilling more warm light into the courtyard.

"Is there a party going on or something?" Riku asked, gazing up at the castle.

"I can sense plenty of people in there." Nehrut said. "Must be."

"Why is it that we always get here at these times?" Sora asked Donald and Goofy with an edge of irritation in his voice. The last time, they had accidently walked in on Beast and Belle's private dance party.

"This will be fun then!" Kairi said, beaming. She looked at Sora. "You know, we never really did have a proper first date."

It was true enough. In the month after they had gotten together, they had never gone to a movie, dinner, or anything totally alone. The closest they had gotten to a date was the quiet time they had spent alone together on the islands (more often than not, at their beach where they had spent so much time as children).

But neither of them minded this at all. They had each other, and that was more than enough for them.

"Sora dancing..." Nehrut pondered this. "You know, somehow I can't picture it."

"With good reason." Riku said, chuckling. "There was a school dance once, and when he tried to ask Kairi to dance, he _fainted_!"

"I did not!" Sora's face was beat red.

"You did, but at least you got back up before everyone could panic." Riku was enjoying this. "Then, when they actually started dancing, he was so freaked out that he stepped all over Kairi's feet and fainted _again_."

"It's not like either of you can dance any better!"

"In case you never noticed, I danced with _five_ girls that night." Yuffie raised her eyebrow questioningly, and Riku caught himself quickly. "None of which were half as beautiful or interesting as Yuffie."

"Good boy." She said, smiling, and patting him on the head as if he were her pet dog.

"And I was raised alongside _royalty_." Nehrut said. "I've been dancing since I was five. Watch me tonight and see if I'm lying."

"Who are you dancing with?" Axel smirked.

Nehrut paled, and glanced at Bariss, who was blushing brighter than Sora.

Before either Sora or Nehrut could receive any more ribbing about dancing, a single man pushed one of the castle doors open wider, and stepped out into the night. The man was holding what appeared to be a clipboard in one hand.

He was very thin looking, but was by no means unhealthy. He had ginger-colored hair, tied back into a pony tail. He wore a brown vest over a pale yellow shirt with golden cuffs. His trousers were also gold, and he had a bright yellow neckerchief.

When he got closer, Sora finally realized that he knew the man's face. Although the last time he had seen it, it had been on the front a candle.

"I am terribly sorry, monsieurs and mademoiselles, I was under the impression that all of the guests had already arrived!" He said in a warm French accent that seemed perfect for him. He hadn't looked up from his clipboard as he spoke, and was approaching them at the gate at a rapid rate. "If I could just have your names..."

"Aw, c'mon Lumiere, don't you recognize me?" Sora asked with mock hurt in his voice, grinning.

The former candelabra maitre d' looked up immediately at the sound of the familiar voice. He beamed widely, and tossed the clipboard away. "Sora, mon ami!" He strolled quickly toward the gates, pulling a golden key from his pocket to unlock them. He opened them up wide, and immediately crushed Sora in a friendly embrace. "A pleasure as always, to see you again, my young friend!"

"Thanks! You look great."

"You are too kind." His eyes travelled across the others in the group. "And I see that you've brought more guests along with you this time!" He caught sight of Donald and Goofy and gave them both a warm hug as soon as he did.

So, Sora introduced his friends as he had on the other worlds they'd revisited, and one by one, Lumiere would either embrace the men as if they had known each other all their lives, or give the girls gentlemanly pecks on the hand. When he finally got to Kairi, a little twinkle came to his eye.

He turned around to Sora again, "So _this_ is the young lady that you've been searching for!" He turned back to Kairi, and kissed her hand. "Welcome to our humble castle, madame."

"I take it that you will be courting this young lady to our little party tonight, Sora?" He asked, putting an arm around the teenager's shoulders.

"He'd better be." Kairi said coyly, smiling at Sora flirtatiously.

"And of course, I am sure that our master would love the company of the rest of you as well!"

After some general assent, they all agreed.

"Splendid!" Lumiere said, clapping his hands together excitedly. "If you'll just follow me, I'll ensure that you all receive proper dancing garments."

"What's wrong with what we're wearing now?" Axel asked.

"That's got to be the stupidest question you've ever asked." Nehrut said, yanking the ex-Nobody's red hood over his head.

Roxas and Namine appeared, hand in hand. "Actually, he's asked stupider ones, believe me. 'How do you spell 'flower?''"

Lumiere seemed quite surprised at the sudden arrival of two new guests. "Lumiere, this is Roxas and Namine." Sora introduced.

"Hope you don't mind, but Namine and I have never had a first date, either."

They all walked into the main hall of the castle, and soon discovered that the inside had changed in similar fashion to the outside. It was brighter and considerably more cheerful in here compared to the last time that Sora had been here. He could see three other people in the hall, conversing near the center of the room.

The first was a pudgy man with scrawny arms wearing a brown suit and pants. The ends of the sleeves and the suit jacket were gold. Hanging from his neck was a white neckerchief and a gold pocket watch. He had a large face, and small eyes. He had reddish-brown hair, and a very long, thin mustache.

The second was an older woman with a kind face, and white hair topped with a pink bonnet. Her dress was the same color, but was covered by a long, white cooking apron tied at the back.

And the final person stood much shorter than the other two. He was a small boy that was probably only around the age of seven. He had messy blonde hair that refused to stay combed as is custom with all little boys. Whenever his lips parted, one could see that he had a chipped tooth.

The butler, Cogsworth turned around when he noticed that Lumiere had returned with the late arrivals. "Ah! Sora, it's a pleasure to see you again, as always!"

"Mrs. Potts!" Lumiere ushered the woman over to his side. "Would you please see to it that our lady guests are adequately dressed for tonight's events?"

"Oh I'd be delighted! Right this way, dearies..." When only Kairi, Yuffie, and Bariss followed her in the direction of the east wing, she tittered and looked at the transparent Namine. "Oh come on dearie, don't be shy now!"

Namine looked a bit uncomfortable. "Um, I can't exactly change into anything else."

Roxas gave her hand a gentle squeeze. Not for the first time, Sora's heart went out to the two Nobodies who deserved so much more than what they had now.

So, the boys and girls were separated into two groups momentarily, with the boys being ushered into a nearby room by Lumiere. Almost immediately, the maitre d' was piling different suits on top of them to try and wear, and shoving them into side rooms for a bit of privacy. Everyone was soon decked out in new clothing except for Mickey, Donald, and Goofy, for which the castle staff had no sizes.

Neither of them were particularly put off by this though, and assured him that they would be able to survive a ball without new clothing.

After trying on several different suits, tuxedos, and shirts, they were finally set. It had taken nearly fifteen minutes with all of Axel's complaints.

"I don't know why you're complaining." Sora said, aggravated, tugging nervously at his dark red cuffs. "You can actually pull off the suit look."

"Yeah, I _do_ make this look good." He admitted, admiring one of his scarlet cuffs. "But this stupid neckercheif is too much." He pulled it out of its place and put it into his inside pocket.

"Well, it is not necessary anyhow. And in any case, that is a cravat." Lumiere waved it off. "But the point is that now you are all perfectly dressed for a night of dinner, dancing," He put a hand on Sora's shoulder and winked, "And for some of us, _amour_."

Sora gulped nervously, and adjusted the neckerchief –cravat-, suddenly not being able to breathe so well.

Lumiere led him, Axel, Riku, and Nehrut back into the hall, with all of them except Axel looking a bit nervous. Despite the fact that Riku and Nehrut were both good dancers, the prospect of dancing with Yuffie had made the older Keybearer nervous. And the prospect of _possibly_ dancing with Bariss was had brought back those familiar bees that the latter had first known at Christmas Town.

Roxas was grinning at them, and trying to restrain his laughter at their expressions. Namine had a similar grin. "_Relax_, guys. You look just fine."

This only did a little bit to encourage them, but now it was too late. Mrs. Potts was finally ushering the three girls into the hall. The guys' jaws dropped.

Kairi was in a long, pink dress with a front that cut off around the knees, showing the front bottom part of her legs. It hugged her body in all the right places, emphasizing her swaying hips. She was wearing heels for the first time in Sora's memory. The dress's sleeves were long, and cut in two where one could see the outer part of her arm. A small, silver headband adorned her brow.

Yuffie wore a slinky black sleeveless dress with a v-shaped neckline. It had open seams about ten inches below the waist, (tastefully) exposing the outer skin of her legs. She wore a thin, short black shawl on her shoulders, with a silver flower pattern on one shoulder. Riku noticed that she still had her black headband on. Apparently Mrs. Potts hadn't been able to get it off. She had a rose in her hair, tucked behind her ear, and that brought a smile to his face.

Bariss was still wearing dark green. Her dress was longer than the other girls' and brushed across the floor. It had only one left sleeve, which actually went past her hand. On her upper right arm, there was now a shiny green and gold armlet she had apparently just gotten. Her hair had been pulled down into a long braid.

Neither of their guys realized they had been staring with drool pouring from their open mouths until they were right in front of them.

Kairi smiled at Sora. "How do I look?"

He had to take a few moments to catch his breath, and peel his eyes away from her dress to her face. "You look..." And he suddenly realized that 'beautiful' wouldn't even begin to cover what he was thinking right now. He had just fallen in love with her all over again. After searching his vocabulary for something that could even come close, he finally decided on, "Angelic."

Apparently, Kairi was happy with this choice of words, because she reached up and kissed him gently, caressing his cheek with her hand. So he returned the favor, and placed his hand on the small of her back. He was momentarily surprised when he felt Kairi's tongue probing at his lips. He allowed her entrance immediately.

Riku was unaware of this, his aquamarine eyes were caught in Yuffie's brown ones. She had asked him the same question that Kairi had asked Sora, and was waiting patiently for a response, with a playful smile on her face. At last, he said, "You look amazing."

"Is that all?"

He gulped, and quickly changed the word to, "Stunning."

"That's better." She said, smiling wider. She pulled his face down to her level, and placed a quick peck on his lips. But he wouldn't settle for just that, and the quick peck became a full-blown kiss.

Bariss had stopped in front of Nehrut, not really knowing what to expect, though secretly hoping that she would receive a similar compliment.

Perhaps he had sensed it, because after a few frozen moments, where they just stared at each other, he finally said, "You look great."

The second the words left his mouth, he was blushing, but not quite as bright as Bariss was. Both of them failed miserably to hide it, which made Mickey and the bachelors in the room chuckle.

"Thanks." She said, her eyes focused on the floor.

"This way, please." Cogsworth said, ushering them up the flight of stairs that led to the grand ballroom. He cracked the doors open, and took a quick peek inside, and then looked back at them. "When I announce you, would the four couples please come in in pairs?"

Nehrut was about to voice that there were only three couples present, when he realized that Bariss was right next to him. They glanced at each other, and Nehrut awkwardly offered her his hand. She smiled shyly, and took it.

Cogsworth walked through the doors, and they heard his voice soon after. "Announcing Keyblade Master Sora, Princess Kairi, and guests!"

"'Guests?'" Riku repeated, but they were already walking through the doors, which Lumiere and Cogsworth had opened.

"Enjoy the party!" Lumiere whispered to them as they passed.

The ballroom was a gigantic room about the size of the audience chamber at Disney Castle, but roughly oval-shaped. It was all gold. There were rows of columns along the sides of the room, with blue banners stretched across them. They stopped at the far side of the room, where more than a dozen tall windows stretched high to the ceiling. The nighttime landscape could be seen far and wide through those windows. A painting of what could have been Heaven was painted on the ceiling, from which a gigantic, gold chandelier hung.

It was exactly as Sora remembered it, and it brought a smile to his face.

The ballroom was filled with a few dozen people, either dancing or talking. But every eye had turned toward the newcomers when Cogsworth announced their arrival. A few applauded (the few who actually knew any of them by reputation), but most simply went back to their business.

They walked inside, and Cogsworth shut the doors behind them. They were soon all approached by a smiling couple that Sora actually knew.

The woman was very thin, with red-brown hair that was partially in a bun. The rest spilled down over her shoulders. She had bright, hazel eyes. She wore a yellow dress with a full skirt made for dancing, and long dress gloves of the same color.

The man escorting her was about a head taller than her. He had a handsome face, and long light red hair which had been tied back into a pony-tail. Sora wasn't familiar with either of these features, but he easily recognized his bright blue eyes, and the re-tailored blue and gold suit the man was wearing.

"Sora!" The former Beast greeted him in a voice that wasn't even recognizable. He walked directly toward him, and crushed him in a tight hug which Sora returned with one arm (the other was still wrapped around Kairi's).

Belle walked up to the Prince's side, and embraced him, as well, though this time Kairi was also a part of it.

"How are you guys?" The Prince asked, looking Sora up and down.

"Doing okay, Prince..." It suddenly occurred to Sora that he didn't know the Prince's real name, and shocked him that he had never even asked. He cast a glance over at Donald and Goofy, who also appeared to be drawing a blank.

"Adam." The Prince said, catching onto their train of thought, and smiling a bit. "My name is Adam."

"I knew that."

Adam laughed, and it was such a heart-warming sound that the depressed, brooding Beast Sora had met at Hollow Bastion wasn't at all visible in him at that moment. Sora noticed Belle glance at him lovingly.

"Well, we're very happy to have you all here." She said, beaming at them. "Just make yourselves at home, dance a little!"

"We can get down to business later, can't we, Your Majesty?" Sora asked Mickey hopefully.

The mouse looked a bit uncomfortable for a few seconds, before finally giving in, and saying with a smile, "Oh alright. You guys have earned a bit of a treat after all this time."

"Glad to hear it. I'll be over at the food table for the rest of the night trying to chat up some ladies." Axel said casually, and walked in the direction of a long table adorned with some delicious looking food at one side of the room.

"That's the spirit." Roxas said, rolling his eyes. As Mrs. Potts began to play a slow tune on the piano in the corner of the room, he squeezed Namine's hand, and smiled at her. "Care to dance, milady?"

She rolled her eyes at him, and walked with him to the center of the room. A few of the other guests seemed surprised to see a pair of informally dressed, semi-transparent teenagers dancing in their midst, but said nothing.

Without a word, Kairi pulled Sora to the center of the room, and Sora's nerves began to return to him as they reached a spot near Roxas and Namine, who were dancing with a surprising amount of grace to the music.

Kairi apparently sensed his nerves, because she turned her head and smiled at him reassuringly. And just like that, he wasn't nervous anymore.

They stopped near the center of the room, and Kairi turned back around to face him fully. She took his left hand, and placed it on her waist. She put her own hand over it. Then she took his right hand in her left. Sora was surprised to find that his nerves had completely disappeared. He was in good hands, and he knew it.

And so, they danced.

Unlike the unfortunate school dance that Riku had so kindly brought up, they were both completely comfortable. Kairi steered, guiding Sora around the dance floor. They moved very little at first, while Sora got used to the beat of the song, and the rhythm of the dancing.

Then, they were moving more. Their movements were wider, more graceful, and beautiful. Before long, they were both comfortable with the dance, circling slowly across the dance floor in time to the music.

All the while, they smiled at each other, paying absolutely no attention to anything else around them. They were lost in each other, as though they were the only ones in the ballroom. Kairi leaned in to Sora, and brushed her lips against his.

They were falling in love all over again.

"So how am I doing?" He asked her.

"Not bad... But then again, you do have somebody to make you look good."

"That _hurts_, Kairi. That really hurts." He said, with mock sadness in his voice.

She giggled. "Well, let me make it up to you." She pressed her lips against his, and the two stopped their dance as the song came to its close.

Over on the side of the main dance floor, King Mickey sighed, and smiled at the two young lovers.

"To be that young again, huh guys?" He looked at Donald and Goofy.

"They sure do look happy over there, huh?" Goofy hyucked. "Good for them."

Mrs. Potts started playing another song with a slightly slower tempo. Riku and Yuffie joined Sora and Kairi on the dance floor accompanied by Adam and Belle.

Axel was still at the food table, holding a glass of wine in one hand and leaning against one of the columns. He looked over at Nehrut and Bariss, who were standing with each other not far away from him. Both looked slightly uncomfortable.

The former Nobody sighed in exasperation. He held up his free hand, and snapped his fingers.

Nehrut's shoe began to smoke slightly. Nobody else noticed, but it was enough to get his attention. The psychic did a little spastic sort of leap backwards, and turned around to glare at Axel.

The pyro nodded meaningfully toward Bariss, who had her hands folded behind her back, and was looking a little lonely. Nehrut looked at her back, and gulped. All of his confidence he had felt earlier seemed a distant memory now. But he nodded to himself, and walked toward her.

Axel smiled in satisfaction, and Mickey caught his eye. "Sometimes you've gotta drop a hint or two."

The King nodded in agreement.

Nehrut tapped Bariss gently on the shoulder. When she turned around, he held out his hand. "May I have this dance?"

Bariss smiled. But this time, it wasn't exactly her usual shy, slightly embarrassed smile that usually came up in these kinds of situations. It was slightly...

_Flirty?_

Whatever it was, she took his hand, and said, "I'd love to."

He squeezed her hand gently, and led her onto the dance floor. He tentatively placed a hand on her waist, and took her free hand in his own. He gave it a gentle squeeze as they started dancing.

As they danced, Bariss kept looking uncomfortably at her own feet. Catching the hint, Nehrut slowed down their dancing, allowing her to become totally comfortable. "I've never really danced before." She admitted, embarrassed.

"You're doing great."

"Why do I get the feeling that you're only saying that because I could snap your neck like a tooth pick right now?"

"I'm not, and you wouldn't do that."

"Nah." Perhaps intentionally, perhaps not, she moved closer to Nehrut, to where they were only about an inch apart. "It'd be a shame to ruin that tux..."

Nehrut chuckled.

Back near the food table where the King and his friends were congregated, Lumiere smiled. "Ah... _amour_." Perfectly timed, one of the castle's maids (a slim, dark haired young woman named Babette) walked right past him holding a feather-duster. She tickled the end of his nose with it as she walked past, sending him a suggestive smile over her shoulder.

A lustful look and a big grin appeared on his face, and he ran after her.

Yes, it was all good fun. But less than an hour later, the party would come to a sudden, unexpected end.

!

_Heh… Well, I'll see you at the end of July!_

_Please review!_


	82. Chapter 81: Party Crashers

_I have returned from deepest, darkest Minnessota! Naturally, it started pouring down rain around here to herald my arrival home. But enough about me, how is everyone?_

_Nehrut: "You done, yet?"_

_Pretty much. Anyway, next chapter!_

_Nehrut: "DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else at all. But he does own a fedora that he bought on a whim while he was on vacation."_

_You done yet?_

_Nehrut: "Pretty much."_

_!_

Chapter 81: Party Crashers

Outside the castle, nearly a mile into the woods, all was quiet.

Suddenly, there was burst of fire, which set fire to a small bush nearby. Once the smoke from the flames had cleared, a figure garbed in a red cloak was revealed.

The Horned King took a few moments to observe his surroundings. He noticed the bush, and lifted his hand. The fire spread to cover the whole bush, before simply burning out all at once, leaving the charred, leafless remains of the shrubbery behind.

The sorcerer made familiar patterns with his hands, making swirling patterns through the air. There was a flash of bright red light, and the Black Cauldron appeared, scorching the ground where it appeared.

"Time to get to work." The Horned King said to himself. Without making a single movement, he summoned a handful of Heartless and Nobodies to him. He directly addressed the Assassin standing in front of him. "You and your fellows are to create a diversion. Distract the Keybearers and their allies. Keep them occupied, and out of the west wing of the castle."

The Assassin made a kind of hissing noise, and shot around the Horned King, all of its forces going after it.

!

The party was still in full swing. Mrs. Potts was playing a very slow song clearly intended for lovers. There were about a dozen couples on the dance floor, including Sora and Kairi, who hadn't left since the first song had started.

Kairi had rested her head on Sora's shoulder, her eyes half-closed contentedly. The two swayed back and forth across the floor, lost in each other. Sora ran his fingers through her hair, intoxicated by the smell of her shampoo.

Riku and Yuffie danced past them, and as they did, Riku shot a wink at his best friend. Yuffie had her arms wrapped tightly around him, letting him lead. Dancing wasn't her thing, apparently.

Namine had her head tucked under Roxas's chin while they danced. He was mirroring his other, by running his fingers absent-mindedly through her hair. He had a stupid grin on his face as he kissed the top of her head.

They nearly danced right through Nehrut and Bariss, who were definitely feeling the effects of the other's close proximity. They were close enough to breath in each other's air. They simply stared at each other for a long time, with slightly dazed and vaguely confused looks on their faces.

Seeing and feeling Bariss so close to him, in a beautiful dress, her eyes boring into his, and lips slightly parted was driving Nehrut slowly insane in the best way possible. And he was suddenly struck with the great urge to stop thinking all together, and kiss her.

This urge came out of nowhere, and it surprised him. But really, who was he to deny it? He began to lean his face down toward hers. As if she knew what he had in mind, Bariss began to stretch up to meet him, her eyelids fluttering closed.

Their faces were centimeters apart when their attackers appeared.

A woman's scream pierced the air, and just a second later, most of the guests in the ballroom were running as fast as possible toward the doors at the back of the room, pushing others out of the way, and more often than not, screaming their heads off.

The four Keybearers and Axel summoned their weapons to their hands immediately. The others started to do the same, before they realized that their weapons weren't on them at the moment.

"Shoot!" A Dusk charged at Nehrut and Bariss. He stretched out his hand, and the Dusk flew backwards into the wall as if hit by a wrecking ball.

Riku stood protectively in front of Yuffie, Way to Dawn in his hand. He was about to send a blast of Dawn into the Large Body running toward them, when a kunai flew through the air into its face, destroying it.

Riku looked at Yuffie, surprised. "Where were you keeping that?"

She shook her hips once suggestively, and winked at him slyly. Riku's face turned roughly the shade of a tomato.

"Newsflash: I'm a ninja! I always have concealed weapons on me!"(1)

"Donald!" Mickey shouted to his friend as he cut a Neoshadow in half.

"I got it!" The mage shouted as he ran away from a handful of Heartless coming at him. He waved his arms through the air in complicated patterns, his feathery fingers glowing with a faint blue light. After a moment, he leapt into the air, raising his arms high.

Everyone's weapons of choice came to their hands in flashes of blue light.

Donald stopped running when Save the Queen came to his hand. He twisted around (looking extremely proud of himself) and blasted the Heartless chasing him with bolts of sizzling electricity from the tip of his staff.

"That's more like it." Nehrut said, looking Presul over once before running it through the chest of a Lance Soldier. Bariss swung Rose Thorn in a wide arc, destroying three Heartless at once. She pulled out her shield (which was suddenly on her back, and still hadn't been re-named) and blocked the fist of a Large Body. Goofy's flying shield struck it in the back, bringing it to its knees where she could finish it.

"Cogsworth! Lumiere!" Adam shouted over the noise. Donald had conjured up a saber for him to use. While he wasn't particularly adept at using it, he was nevertheless holding the enemies at bay. "Get Belle and the guests out of here as fast as possible!"

"Oui!" Lumiere complied, running fearlessly toward the doors among the mob of people. He even punched a Shadow in the face. Cogsworth, on the other hand was a little more reluctant to comply.

He was hiding under the food table with two other guests, hoping that they would go unnoticed.

"Cogsworth! If you don't listen to me, you're fired!"

"Yes master!" While his voice was shaky, he got out from under his hiding place, pulling the two guests with him by the arms and toward the doors, through which Lumiere was already hurriedly ushering the guests.

"Get them to their carriages as fast as you can!" Adam shouted, parrying a strike from a Lance Soldier, and pressing its weapon to the ground. He quickly brought his blade up, slashing its head vertically in two.

"I think we should cover their escape." Kairi said with a sidelong glance at Sora. She brought her Keyblade up to defend herself from an Armored Knight's attack. She thrust her palm out, blasting a hole through its chest with Light. She was starting to regret that she was wearing heels and kicked them off (ironically, straight into the face of a Shadow).

"Yeah." Sora agreed. "Let's move."

He sidestepped a scarlet arrow-like projectile that a new breed of Heartless had fired at him. The Hunter Heartless were fairly large creatures that were roughly Adam's height. They had heavily muscled bodies, and carried weapons that looked like bows. There were quivers on their backs, which never seemed to be empty of arrows. Their chests were covered by a layer of scarlet.(2)

This particular one loaded three arrows into its bow, and let them all fly at once, directly at Sora. He dodged to the side again, and sliced down on the arrows, cutting them all in two. He then engulfed his blade in fire, and released it all at the Heartless. The flames exploded against its broad chest, destroying it.

The two Keybearers ran across the room, sidestepping the larger Heartless as they made their way to the evacuees trying to escape the room. As the Heartless closed in on the civilians who had the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, Sora leapt, destroying a Large Body, and distracting the rest of them.

The Heartless closed in on them, homing in on the Keyblades. They stood back to back, moving their blades to intercept any blows, including the ones that the other missed. But they were grossly outnumbered.

"Time for an intervention." Sora said, reaching into his suit pocket, searching frantically. "Please tell me it's here... Hah!"

He tossed his newest Summon charm into the air, the one with the lower case 'I' on it. He shouted, "Mr. Incredible!"

_A man sat at his desk in his study with only a single lamp illuminating the room. He was possibly in his forties, with pale blonde hair. He was looking over a stack of papers from a company named, 'Insuricare' when suddenly there was a beeping noise from a manila folder on his desk._

_He hurriedly opened the top flap, dumping a small, perfectly flat screen onto the desk. He picked it up, and looked inside, seeing none other than the Keybearer who was calling for his help._

_He spun around in his rolling chair, until he faced a tall glass case on the other side of the room. Inside was a manikin. It was wearing a small black mask that would cover the area around the eyes. It also wore a bright red and black costume, with that same lower-case 'I' on it._

_Seconds later, he had replaced his suit for the costume in the case. He slipped the mask over his eyes with a smile._

"Showtime!"(3)

Mr. Incredible dropped from the ceiling seemingly out of nowhere, landing right next to Sora. He got into a classic boxer's fighting position. When the first Lance Soldier lunged at him, ready to spear him, he simply grabbed the lance, and swung it, freeing it from the Heartless' grip. Then, he threw the lance directly into its chest as it began to get off the floor.

Two Shadows leapt at his back, but Sora leapt as well, taking out the both of them in midair. He landed easily on the other side of the 'super', taking out a Soldier with ease the second he touched down. He blocked a strike from an Armored Knight, taking it out a moment later, before dodging a Hunter's arrow.

Mr. Incredible charged at the same Heartless with more force than a rhino could hope to muster. He crashed into it, knocking it off its feet. He hoisted it up into the air, and smashed it down into a few smaller Heartless, destroying them all. A Dusk launched itself at him, but he simply reached out, and grabbed its scrawny neck, before smashing its head into the ground.

Sora was inspired by this show of brute strength, and let his Keyblade turn into the Keyfist. He rushed toward a Hunter, leaping over an arrow, and smashing his new weapon into its face. When he landed, he charged into an advancing Berserker Nobody, sidestepping its falling claymore, and sending a devastating uppercut into its chin.

The super ran into two Dancer Nobodies that seemed to slide towards him. He grabbed them around their necks, then fell backwards, smashing their faces into the floor. He leapt back into a standing position in time to punch an Armored Knight in its face, and then elbow a Dusk in its chest.

The Keybearer soon found out that his newer key-based weapons could channel magical energy just as well as their blade counterparts. He thrust out his hand, and a large ball of fire flew from it into the chest of a Hunter. The explosion on impact took out the weaker creatures nearest it.

Mr. Incredible swept the feet out from underneath an Armored Knight, then stomped on its chest when it hit the ground. He sent some quick jabs into the chest of a Hunter, then round-house punched a Dancer.

He and Sora then moved toward the center of the room. The Heartless and Nobodies were still surging toward them, but there was no doubt that there were significantly less than before. They looked at each other, and nodded.

Sora jumped into the air, and landed in Mr. Incredible's palmed hands. He tossed him high into the air, more than half-way to the ceiling.

The Keyfist began to gather energy to itself, shining so bright that it was blinding.

When the Keybearer was about one inch away from the extravagant chandelier, he began to fall back toward the ground. He raised his fist high, and let out a loud shout, as he plowed it into the ground just before he himself touched down.

A massive shockwave erupted from the place his fist struck the ground. Golden energy shot from that place, spreading and annihilating every last Heartless and Nobody in the room, yet leaving his super-strong ally unscathed.

When the light cleared, there wasn't a single trace of their enemies left.

Sora dismissed the Keyfist, and casually straightened his suit jacket. "Thanks, Mr. Incredible."

The superhero smiled at him, and patted a large hand on his shoulder. "Give me a call if you ever need help, huh?" And he vanished.

Now back in the room, his friends congregated around him. "Well, so much for our night off." Riku said, irritated.

"Seems like we're always on the clock nowadays, aren't we?" Sora agreed.

"Why did they stop coming, I wonder?" Mickey wondered aloud.

"Huh?"

"Think about it, they just stormed the party and fought us for a while." Mickey said. "They could have kept coming, though, if they had wanted to, anyway."

"A diversion." Sora suddenly blurted out. All eyes were on him again. "Xaldin sent Nobodies here last time so he could steal the rose..."

Everyone suddenly looked at Adam, who was now looking a bit pale.

"Is the rose...?"

"Still here." Adam said. "I kept it, but it's not really important anymore."

"Well, what's the worst that could happen?" Axel asked.

"You realize that whenever somebody asks that question, something goes horribly wrong, don't you?" Nehrut looked at him.

"Nice going, Axel!" Donald quacked, pointing an accusing finger at him.

"What! Calm down, alright? We don't even know if the thing is missing."

Belle took a few tentative steps back into the ballroom from outside, closing the door behind her. She walked toward the group, looking a very worried. Adam immediately went over to her and took her hands. "Lumiere, Cogsworth, and Mrs. Potts are getting the guests into their carriages right now. Everyone seems alright. What's happened?"

"The Brotherhood of the Dark is on this world." Mickey said. "And we think that this attack was a diversion, like last time."

"Um..." She was biting her lower lip.

"Do you know something, Belle?" Kairi asked her.

"I was out there a few moments ago," She explained, gesturing to the doors, "While I was farther away, I saw a red light from one of the rooms in the west wing... It almost looked like fire."

"Go on..." Riku encouraged.

"Then, there was somebody there, wearing a hood and cloak." She said. "It was only there for a moment. But then it turned around, and I saw it holding something in its hand."

"Who wants to bet that the rose will be gone when we get up to the room?" Nehrut asked.

Adam immediately sprinted toward the doors to the hall, Sora and Mickey right behind him. He rushed right through the doors, took a right, dashed up the stairs, and entered the west wing.

He was moving so quickly that even Sora was having a hard time keeping up with him.

Eventually, they found themselves in one long, straight hallway lined with portraits. Sora was vaguely able to recognize this hallway as the one that led to the former Beast's room. Adam threw open the doors, and stepped inside. Sora saw him stop dead.

When he finally was level with him, he saw why. The glass case that had once held the enchanted rose the Beast had practically obsessed over lay on the ground, empty. The rest of the noticeably cleaner room was untouched, except for what appeared to be scorch marks on the rug in front of the case.

The whole group (including Belle, who had finally kicked off her heels in frustration somewhere down the hall) walked into the room. Belle placed her hand on Adam's shoulder.

"Good work, Axel." Kairi murmured.

"I don't understand." Adam said. "The rose's last petal fell weeks ago. Only the stem was left."

"But not without value." came a chilling voice. Everyone spun around, searching for the source of the voice.

"Horned King!" Sora shouted. "Show yourself!"

"Step outside a moment, my boy. I have something you and your beastly friend will want to see." Sora complied, despite what his better judgment was telling him. Adam followed, not enjoying being called, 'beastly.' They stepped onto the balcony past the table the rose had stood on.

The doors slammed shut behind them. Kairi and Riku immediately ran at the doors from the other side, but they refused to break or budge. There was a magical barrier blocking them off.

Sora and Adam looked over the side of the railing of the balcony to the courtyard below.

Far below them stood the Horned King, standing behind the black cauldron that Sora recognized from Halloween Town. It was filled with bubbling, deep violet liquid, and vapors of the same color were rising from its surface.

The Horned King held up a small object that the two could just barely see in the pale light. It appeared to be a card. More specifically, it was one of the Absent Silhouette cards.

It was marked with the number III.

The sorcerer dropped it into the liquid, which flashed, and shifted color from violet to jet black.

"Come down here a moment, won't you?" The Horned King said, as if inviting them to look at something very interesting he had just discovered.

Sora had no idea how he had done it, but he and Adam were suddenly on the ground at the courtyard, not three feet from the cauldron. For some reason, they felt out of breath, and they realized that the Horned King's teleportation magic wasn't limited to just himself and the cauldron.

Sora immediately summoned Oblivion as Adam brandished his new saber.

The Horned King merely reached into his robe, and pulled out what was left of the enchanted rose. He held it up as if examining it by the moonlight. "To think, Prince..." He said. "This rose once decided your fate. Now it will seal it."

He dropped it into the cauldron. The moment it touched the surface, the cauldron started belching pitch black smoke, which rose to the sky, obscuring the Horned King from view. But they still heard his voice.

"Show me your _true_ form, Beast."

Something seemed to be floating above the cauldron in the midst of the smoke. And Sora saw the outline of a man wearing a black coat. He didn't even have to look at the face to know that he would see black dreadlocks, sideburns, and blue eyes. But he did anyway, and saw the Whirlwind Lancer Xaldin smiling horribly down at him.

Then, he too was obscured by the smoke, as it all began to migrate toward Prince Adam.

Adam dropped his sword and began to back away from it, but it hit him all at once. It seeped into his skin, flew into his nostrils and open mouth, and even his ears and eyes. For a moment, it seemed that this had done nothing, until he started to thrash around, dropping to his knees, clutching his head tightly.

"Adam!" Sora's voice was full of worry, he started toward him, but Adam held out his hand.

"Get back!" He ordered. But it wasn't his voice.

Sora backed away in shock, as he witnessed something horrifying. He thought later that if werewolves existed (they did, on some worlds), this was what one would look like when it transformed.

His hair was changing from light red to dark brown, and lengthening. His muscles were growing. His upper body was bulging out of his suit, and the seams were starting to tear. Through the new tears in his suit, a thick layer of dark brown fur could be seen. His entire face was growing the same thick brown hair, and small, sharp, goat-like horns were growing from the side of his head. Fangs were protruding from his mouth. His hands were becoming paws.

And in less than thirty seconds, the Beast let out a roar of anger.

!

_Why did I do it? Because the story is so much more interesting this way._

_1) Kindly remove your minds from the gutter, because it was only strapped to her leg._

_2) This is as close as I will ever come to mentioning Gaston in this story, because I absolutely, positively _cannot_ stand him._

_3) Some people have suggested that I should have used Jack Jack instead. Maybe they were right…_

_Well, I hope you liked it. Please leave a review!_


	83. Chapter 82: The Curse Renewed

_And so we return to the angsty goodness that is the Beast. Let's watch…_

_Beast "Who asked you about my angst?"_

_Terrific… Terrific._

_Cogsworth: "Master, please! Compose yourse-"_

_SHUT UP! That was the most annoying part of the series._

_Cogsworth: "What!"_

_I don't own anything, now hurry and start reading before he starts talking again!_

_!_

Chapter 82: The Curse Renewed

The Beast stared at his newly regrown claws in a mixture of shock and horror. He raised them to his face, and felt his shaggy fur, hoping beyond hope that he was hallucinating, that he hadn't really become a beast again.

He soon discovered that no, he was not hallucinating, and yes, he had become a beast again.

His eyes clamped shut, and he began to tremble with anger. He let a low growl escape his throat, before finally releasing it as a deafening roar into the night sky, ripping what was left of his suit to shreds.

"What did you do to me!" He shouted at the Horned King, his eyes widened when he saw Xaldin standing behind the sorcerer. "You!"

"Yes me, Beast." Xaldin replied, arms crossed in front of him, smiling. "How have you been?"

"What did you do?" Sora asked, repeating the Beast's unanswered question.

"I simply reactivated his curse." The Horned King replied. "It's quite a fascinating spell that was placed upon him, I must say. This enchantress was undoubtedly brilliant."

"Lift it." Sora pointed the Keyblade directly at him. "_Now_."

"The curse can only be lifted one way, I'm afraid." But he didn't have an ounce of regret in his voice. In fact, he sounded very proud of himself. "You'll have to destroy Xaldin, here. The curse is bound to his body."

"With pleasure!" Beast rushed toward them with a roar, running on all fours, and covering the distance between them in not even five seconds.

Unfortunately, neither of them were there by the time that the Beast reached the correct spot. What _was_ there was a massive Heartless.

The Cursed Thorn was a huge creature with four 'legs.' It was roughly lizard-shaped, and stood on all fours. Its body looked to be composed of thick, constantly slithering black and green-striped vines. Some of the vines stretched from the main body to form four thick appendages, and a long tail. The rear legs were thicker, and more powerful. It had four huge, sharp claws for each limb that looked like they were made of a dirty, blood red wood. It had long, sharp horns and teeth that looked the same way. It had large, yellow, glowing eyes. It was at least fifty feet tall when on all fours.

The Heartless lifted one clawed 'hand', and smacked Beast away like a rag doll. He landed roughly on his back about fifty feet away by the front doors.

It uttered a soft, menacing hissing noise, and began to advance on Sora. He backed away slowly, searching its body for some kind of weak point. When he found none, he did what he always did: Attacked whatever part of it he could reach.

He ran toward it with his blade held high, and struck at its front leg. A few of the vines that seemed to make up its whole body fell away, hitting the ground with disgusting wet noises, before they faded away.

_Wait, that's too easy..._

The severed vines regrew, growing to their original length, and restoring themselves. The Cursed Thorn lifted its claw, sending Sora flying across the courtyard to land painfully by the winded Beast.

Beast got up first, and lifted Sora easily up by the arm. "This time, we'll do it together."

"I was about to say that."

They ran (together) toward the giant Heartless, but discovered that this wasn't going to make much of a difference anyway. The Cursed Thorn plunged one of its claws into the ground, breaking through the stone pathway.

There was a faint rumbling noise, and then several of its vines sprouted from the ground all around them, breaking through the dirt and stone to reach out and grab them. One wrapped around the Beast's ankle, tripping him. It was soon accompanied by a second, which wrapped around his opposite wrist.

Before a third one could fully wrap around his neck, Sora brought his blade down like an axe, cutting it off. He did it again with the one around his ankle, before one coiled around his waist, lifting the Keybearer into the air.

Beast managed to rip free of the vine holding his wrist, and got back to his feet. Hardly believing what he was doing, he grabbed the vine holding Sora, and bit down into it as hard as he could.

The vine vanished, and Sora fell into Beast's waiting arms. He set him back down on his feet, and ran toward the Heartless. Sora followed after him, and shot a ball of flame from the tip of his blade into the Cursed Thorn's face. It hit it dead on, exploding. The flames licked away at its constantly moving face.

It finally showed a sign of pain when it let out a shrieking noise. Encouraged by this, Sora fired another shot at its leg, as the Beast ripped at the vines that composed it. The fire struck its foreleg, but this time with less effect. The Heartless lifted its leg in an attempt to knock Beast away, but he was prepared this time, and grabbed hold of the vines, crawling up its leg and onto it's back.

Beast dug his claws into what appeared to be the base of its neck, ripping and tearing at the vines there fiercely. The Heartless shrieked again, and tried to shake it off. When it was unsuccessful, its long tail unraveled into what appeared to be hundreds of individual vines.

They stretched toward the Beast, and wrapped all around him. He tried to fight them off, but there were simply too many wrapping around every part of his body. Then, they began to squeeze.

And they continued to tighten against his body until he felt that he'd surely be cut to pieces.

Suddenly, the pressure was released, as Sora tossed his Keyblade with one extremely hard throw, cutting through the vines with only limited difficulty. He climbed onto its back the same way Beast had, roughly embedding his blade into its neck.

It shrieked again, and reared its back. It was able to throw the two of them off, but they were still able to land on their feet. The Cursed Thorn turned its head at them, and opened its gaping mouth wide. From deep down in what should have been the throat on an animal, still more vines came. These were oozing Dark smoke.

Instead of slowly creeping toward them like the other vines had done, these shot directly at them, closing the distance between them and it's gaping maw in about two seconds.

Beast leapt out of their path, but apparently he wasn't the intended target. Every vine went shooting toward Sora.

He wasn't prepared for it, and they constricted around him like so many boa constrictors. But it seemed that the Cursed Thorn wouldn't be satisfied with merely crushing him. The vines began to pull him back toward its mouth.

Sora thrashed around in its grip, the first traces of panic beginning to seep into him. But the vines must have been as tough as steel cables, and he wasn't budging at all. He thought quickly, and realized that he didn't know how to get out of its clutches.

The Cursed Thorn pulled him even closer, until he was in between its giant jaws. He braced himself for what he was sure would be extreme pain, when he felt something. He wasn't exactly sure how to describe it, but it was as if there was something inside of him that wasn't there before.

Like something had just entered his heart.

It was a strange feeling, but it wasn't by any means an uncomfortable one. Now his mind's eye was filled with a new image: a memory that wasn't his.

He could see that he was hovering directly over a giant whirlpool in a stormy ocean. There was one arm closed around her neck, and something pointy against his temple. He heard a voice that he recognized as Xigbar's say, "You're coming with me..."

"Am I?"

He had said it aloud just as he heard Kairi's voice saying the same thing in his mind. His body began to shine silver, even through the vines holding him, which were now starting to sizzle. The vines stopped, and immediately started to draw away from him, as if the Heartless knew what was about to happen. "Purifying Pulse!"

Too late, Light exploded from Sora, radiating out in all directions. It struck the insides of the Heartless' mouth, tearing through the countless dark vines that composed it. And it didn't stop there, blasting completely through its head.

It uttered one final shriek of pain. Its knees buckled, and its headless body fell forward. The vines that were composing it writhed wildly, before its remains finally faded away into Darkness.

Sora landed easily on the ground, and dismissed his Keyblade. Beast got to his feet, clutching his shoulder in pain, and Sora could see stream of dark fluid seeping from underneath his hand.

The Keybearer walked up to him. "Let me help." He removed his hand from his shoulder, and observed the fairly deep cut there that was slowly oozing blood. He had no idea when Beast had sustained this injury.

But, he still retained some of his old pride. "It's nothing."

"Yeah, right." Sora held up his hand, which was now enveloped with the familiar, soothing green light of curing magic. "Curaga."

The light flowed into the cut, curing it in an amazingly short time.

"Thank you." Beast responded, but his thoughts were obviously elsewhere. He looked at his paw for a moment, an expression of utmost sadness on his face. He sighed, and put it down. "It's happened again. It's happened, and this time it's permanent."

"Don't talk like that." Sora was feeling a sense of déjà vu. The last time Beast had been like this, he had had to give him a pep talk to get him back on his feet. "It isn't permanent. You heard the Horned King, we just have to get Xaldin."

"And how do you know he wasn't lying?"

"Because I know how he thinks now. He likes games. That means that he _wasn't_ lying, and that he and Xaldin are still around here."

"Perhaps." He looked a little reassured, but his voice didn't show it.

The front doors opened, and the rest of their group rushed out into the ravaged courtyard. Belle was in the lead. Beast immediately looked away, as if that would prevent her from seeing his new condition.

Of course, it didn't work. Belle looked at him with a shocked expression. She approached him slowly, mouth agape. "Adam?"

Beast lowered his head, and turned completely around, still trying to hide his face from her view. But it was completely obvious what had happened to him. He seemed to have forgotten that his hairy upper body was bare.

Belle walked toward him, and placed one gloved hand on his back. He flinched away from her gentle touch, as if it burned him. But Belle kept her hand there for a few seconds in silence. Finally, she said, "Turn around."

Reluctantly, it seemed, Beast complied. He turned to face her, but refused to look directly into her eyes. He seemed to look everywhere else; Sora's shoes, the scar on Axel's forehead, a half-destroyed cherub lying on the ground, Bariss's armlet, and back to Sora's shoes again.

Belle sighed, and took his large face in both hands, raising it to where his eyes were level with hers. She looked into his eyes, and said without a trace of doubt, "This doesn't change anything."

Sora glanced at Riku, who shrugged. No one was entirely sure what this meant, and finally, Sora asked the question.

"Change what?"

Belle and Beast were silent for a moment, but then Belle answered (without looking away from Beast), "We're getting married."

"Ouch..." Roxas muttered into Sora's head.

_Hush._

"...Um... Congratulations?" Nehrut said, immediately putting his foot in his mouth.

"Smooth." Axel said, hitting him in the back of the head.

Beast closed his eyes and bowed his head as if in mourning. "Yes." Then he opened his eyes again. "But Belle. I can't let you go through with it. Not with me like this."

"I _said_ it doesn't change anything."

"Belle,"

"It _doesn't_ change anything."

He looked at her closely, as if skeptic. Belle sighed in frustration, and leaned in. To Beast's great surprise, she kissed him right on his fur-covered lips.

"Adam, if that's not love, I don't know what is." Mickey commented.

When Belle removed her lips from the Beast's, she smiled. "Now, what have we got to do to get you right again?"

!

_Well… There it is. I'm not totally sure how much I like this chapter, but I had fun with the boss fight._

_Please review!_


	84. Chapter 83: The Hunt for the Sorceror

_Wow, look how long it's been. I've started college, so sorry for the long break. I've been understandably busy. But, I've got some more chapters ready to update at a moment's notice now, so let's get back to it! Our now English-speaking friend from Birth By Sleep is here to do the disclaimer._

_Terra: "DarthKingdom does not own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything at all for that matter. In fact, he doesn't even own a PSP."_

_Which means that I have to watch YouTube for the whole Kingdom Hearts story. Oh well. Enjoy!_

_!_

Chapter 83: The Hunt for the Sorcerer

"Search the woods', he says." Axel muttered to himself, following along the dirt path a few paces behind King Mickey and Riku. They had since changed out of their formal clothing. "Oh, no problem, Your Majesty! We'll search a few hundred miles of dark forest for a single evil sorcerer! No problem."

"Axel," Mickey said irritably from ahead of him, not breaking stride, "When one verbally abuses someone, one should wait until that someone isn't _five feet away from them_."

"You really need to lighten up, man." Riku said over his shoulder. "Relax, enjoy the scenery, focus on not setting something on fire..."

"Fighting those giant dudes." Axel added, pointing in front of them. Three Hunters stood there, their bows were aimed directly at them.

"Of course." Riku summoned Way to Dawn, and rushed at the first one, summoning the Guardian behind him.

As the Hunters fired, Riku leapt over the arrows, allowing the Guardian to hang back and defend the others from them. The second he touched the ground again, he took the head off of the first one, then blasted the second in the chest with a blast of Dawn.

The other one aimed its bow at the back of his head. It was a millisecond away from firing, when its arm was crushed in a large, orange fist. The Guardian ripped it off entirely, and then bashed it in the face with it.

There were a few moments of total stillness, until they all heard the tiny footsteps of the Dusks creeping through the trees with their eerie walk. As if on wordless agreement, the three went in opposite directions to combat them.

Axel swept through a pair of Dusks with a clean sweep of his chakrams. He stopped in his tracks, and twisted around, throwing one at another one.

He jumped high into the air, as an Assassin Nobody emerged from the ground beneath him, its spiked arms slashing. He back flipped in midair, and threw his other chakram at it. But, it sank back into the ground, to safety.

It then reappeared behind him, leaping from the ground, and slashing him across the back. The ex-Nobody let out a grunt of pain, and spun around, taking it out with one chakram.

"I used to be your boss!" Then, a sparkle came to Axel's eyes. "Hey..."

A second Assassin shot from the ground in front of him, and aimed a slash at his head. Axel ducked under its strike, and then straightened up to look it directly in the 'eye'. The Nobody was totally still for a moment, its blade-covered arm an inch from Axel's throat.

Then, unbelievably, the Nobody lowered its arm, and knelt down on one knee in front of him.

It then spoke, in a low, respectful voice, "What is your bidding, my liege?"

"That's better." Axel said, trying to hide his immense relief that his ridiculous idea had actually worked. "You and your fellow Assassins are to stop attacking me and my friends, and go after the Heartless and different Nobodies. You are also to stop taking orders from the Brotherhood of the Dark. You're listening to me now."

"As you wish, my liege."(1)

The Assassin sank back into the ground. About three seconds later, two Dusks that had been advancing toward Mickey had fallen to its blades. Axel smiled to himself. "Life is good."

Riku and Mickey soon caught on to the fact that the Assassins had suddenly defected to their side, but their former allies seemed a bit slow on the uptake. And after a full five minutes of stupidly not fighting back, half of their number had fallen to the rogue Nobodies.

Mickey back flipped over a Dusk (which met its end about two seconds later by an Assassin), and sliced one in half when he touched down again. He took his blade with both hands, and fired a ball of Light forward, where it exploded amongst a group of Nobodies.

Three more Hunters ran into the clearing they had entered, and fired at Riku from three different angles. He leapt straight up into the air, over the arrows. One struck a Nobody, and the others struck two trees.

The Guardian rushed at one of them, grabbing it around its throat and smashing its head into a tree with enough force to go entirely through it. Splinters from the tree bounced off its skin as it twisted its body around. It shot at a second one, and punched completely through its stomach.

Riku himself ran directly at the third one. He sidestepped a Dusk as he did so, cutting it in half almost casually as he ran by it. He deflected a second arrow, and punched out his hand, sending a blast of Dawn directly at its face, blowing it apart.

He ducked under one of Axel's flying chakrams, which took out a Dusk a few feet from him. It boomeranged back to it's owner, who set it on fire, and used it to cut another in half.

Creepers soon crept into the area to back up the Dusks, along with a few Dragoons. Mickey ran at the first Dragoon he saw, and struck horizontally at its waist. The hovering Nobody blocked the strike with its lance, and knocked the King away. It followed up with a stab aimed at his head.

Mickey ducked under the attack, and struck upward, knocking the lance from its grip. It flew in an arc through the air, where the Guardian caught it with one large hand. It then plunged it into the chest of a Hunter.

It then picked up Mickey by the scruff of his neck, and threw him at another Dragoon. He shot all the way through it with his blade in midair. His feet connected with a tree, and he jumped off the side of it, running his blade through a Creeper.

He landed by Riku, directly facing a pair of Hunters. As the two Heartless took careful aim at them, an Assassin emerged from the ground behind them. It leapt at one, taking its head off.

The other one turned its attention to it, only to lose the arm holding its bow. The Assassin extended both of its long arms to its sides, and stood still for just a moment. Then, it rushed at the disarmed Hunter with both its arms slashing repeatedly into its broad chest.

They all gathered into the center of the clearing, with only a few Nobodies left around them. Their enemies were standing mostly still, as if actually scared to make any further move against them.

One creeper took a step toward them. Axel threw one burning chakram at it, cutting it in half down the middle. He summoned it back to him with a flourish of his hand.

And then, they all vanished. Turned tail, and fled into corridors of Darkness.

The survivors were silent for a moment, before they dismissed their weapons. "That'll do boys, thanks." Axel said to the apparent 'Head Assassin' which he had first addressed. "Go on and take a breather."

"As you wish, my liege." The Assassin bowed, and vanished along with all of its fellows.

"That was too easy." Mickey said.

"So, of course that means that something big and dangerous is going to come through those trees." Riku pointed ahead of him. "Right... _now_!"

"Um... other way." Axel muttered.

Riku and Mickey turned around to the direction Axel was facing.

The trees nearest them were shaking. But it wasn't as if in an earthquake. The trees themselves were moving. They seemed to be shifting back and forth, like they were trying to get free of the earth. Their thick roots were starting to wrench themselves free of the ground. Huge clumps of leaves and branches were falling from their limbs.

Two sections of bark at the front of each tree suddenly cracked open, revealing two bright, glowing yellow Heartless eyes. The sides suddenly cracked open, and out came two muscular black arms that stretched down to the ground.

They dug their arms into the ground, and yank themselves forward, completely out of the ground.

About a dozen of the trees came to life, and moved toward them. They were soon joined by another dozen from the team's other side.

"This looks like something out of a bad horror movie!" Axel growled in frustration, summoning his chakrams.

"Axel?" Mickey summoned Kingdom Crown.

"Yeah?"

"Do you remember earlier when we told you not to set half the woods on fire?"

"Yeah."

"Set half the woods on fire, please."

"BURN, BABY!" Axel stretched out his arms, and shot huge balls of flame at the trees ahead of them. One of them hit it dead on, but to his horror, the other one raised one of its fists to block the attack, brushing it off easily.

And the tree that had been hit with the attack soon recovered from the attack. The bark that had been struck by the fire crumbled off as ash, leaving a large black burned patch on it. But it continued jerking toward them with its roots pulling it forward, seemingly unharmed by the fire.

Riku summoned as much Dawn energy as he could to his hand, and released it all at the burnt creature. The orange energy punched all the way through it, sending scorched splinters of wood flying all over. The blast continued into a second tree, with the same result.

But this time, Riku saw a black, smoky ball with glowing yellow eyes and a wide, red mouth float up from the stump of what had been the first tree.

"Possessor Heartless!" He reported, pointing up at it, before it faded away.(2)

"That would explain it." Mickey said. He tossed his Keyblade as hard as he could at another one. It stuck into its trunk just below its pair of eyes. Mickey ran at the tree, jumping over one of its fists which came at him, and took hold of the Keyblade's hilt with both hands. He pumped Light energy into it, which was enough to blow it to bits from the inside.

While Mickey was cut in a few places by flying splinters, but was otherwise unharmed. With his newly freed blade, he landed lightly on the ground, and sidestepped the descending fist of another Fiend-Forest.

Axel's two chakram's flew over the King's head, cutting its arm. Dark smoke leaked from it, before Mickey took it off altogether. He rushed up to its side, and plunged his blade into the empty stump of its arm.

Riku finished it with a blast of Dawn in between its eyes.

The two Keybearers stood back-to-back in the center of the clearing. These possessed trees were slow, but they were also very, very durable.

Riku looked over his shoulder, and down to look Mickey in the eye. "Mickey..."

"Got it!"

Both of them dismissed their Keyblades, and stretched out their hands. Mickey's were enveloped in Light energy, while Riku's were covered in Dawn. The pair's feet left the ground, and fired basketball-sized blasts of Light and Dawn, while spinning in place (maintaining their floating back-to-back position).

The blasts exploded on impact with the Fiend-Forests, ripping them to shreds, sending burning pieces of wood and bursts of black smoke flying everywhere. At least five of the Possessors were expelled from their temporary bodies, and sent back to the Darkness from which they had come.

Mickey and Riku stopped spinning, and fell lightly back to the ground. Light and Dawn pooled beneath their feet, and they rose just a few inches into the air, floating on top of it.

"Nice..." Riku said, admiring this interesting new Limit they were doing.

He and Mickey summoned their Keyblades back to them. Surfing on the Dawn and Light respectively, they began to attack. It was slightly reminiscent of Sora's well-used Wisdom drive form.

Riku pointed Way to Dawn at a Fiend-Forest as he surfed by it. Bullets of Dawn energy shot from the tip of the blade. One hit it directly in its eye, which seemed to explode in a burst of yellow light. Darkness seeped out of the now empty socket, and transformed into its Possessor (which then disappeared).

Mickey 'jumped' over the swiping arm of a Fiend-Forest. He back flipped in the air, and shot a few Light bullets into its face. He landed easily back on his Light, and fired off a few more shots at its face, which was enough to destroy it.

He then cruised directly at the face of another one, sending seven bullets in between it's eyes at point-blank range.

Riku fired a few blasts almost casually behind his shoulder, blowing holes through the arm of a possessed tree. Mickey blasted the roots off of another one.

They met at the center of the clearing, and touched their glowing blades together. "Together now!" Mickey said encouragingly to the younger Keybearer.

The two hovered in the air, completely still for a moment. Both of them were enveloped in a pinkish light the color of the sunset, and for a moment, everything was completely still.

Then, they vanished. No corridor of Darkness, no fading away, they simply vanished.

Suddenly, from one edge of the clearing there was a burst of that same pinkish light. Riku burst from that area, his blade held directly out in front of him, and still surrounded by that unfamiliar light.

He shot through three unsuspecting Fiend-Forests without losing any speed. The rest turned to face him, and two more of them suffered the same fate. Before any of them could even comprehend striking back at him, he reached the opposite end of the clearing, and disappeared in a flash of pinkish light.

The millisecond he was out of sight, another flash came from the ground. Mickey shot directly up with his blade held high above his head. The blade ripped apart the front half of a tree. When he was about fifteen feet in the air, he vanished just as Riku had.

But not one second later, he reappeared at the same height near the other side of the clearing. This time he was rocketing straight down. He tore through the top of one tree, and went all the way through to the ground, disappearing again. The shredded remains of the tree fell apart, crashing to the ground with a _thud_.

But immediately, Riku shot horizontally out of nowhere again, tearing through more Fiend-Forests, and vanishing again before any of them could do anything about it.

Then, Mickey shot up again, and came blasting back down at them one second later. They kept repeating this attack process for about a minute, until there were only three Fiend-Forests left in the clearing.

Riku and Mickey both shot horizontally from either side of the clearing, holding both Keyblades in their right hands. When they met at the center of the clearing, they swung very hard, and their blades connected, issuing a massive blast of pinkish light, which radiated outward, destroying the rest of the possessed trees.

"Awesome!" Riku shouted to the night sky, feeling exhilarated.(3)

!

"Alright..." Nehrut began, sounding annoyed, "Let's see what's behind door number four-hundred and eight." Bariss and Yuffie stood to either side of him, and Donald and Goofy were behind them.

He walked down a long hallway with a deep red rug, and a pair of cherubs nearby. They moved to the high, arched doorway at the end of the hall. He gave one of the golden handles a light tug, and the door slid open easily.

His jaw couldn't help but drop.

Inside was the most magnificent library that he had ever set eyes on. The high walls were painted a light bluish-green. There was a bronze lining all across the room. The windows were slightly parted, with dark green drapes. An elegant fireplace was at the far side of the room. There were cushy armchairs and polished desks and tables set at places around the shining tile floor. And nearly every square-inch of wall was covered by books and bookshelves. Two winding staircases with bronze banisters allowed access to the higher volumes.

"Woah..." Was all he could say, walking into the room. He'd never seen this many books in his entire life. And he had been a frequent visitor to Disney Castle, and Pax Pacis' royal palace. Add that to the fact that Liz had been a major bookworm, and this was saying something.

"Even Radiant Garden didn't have this many books..." Bariss said, every bit as awestruck as he was. She walked over to a nearby table and picked up a small book that showed signs of frequent reading. Ironically, the title on the cover read, '_The Beauty and the Beast_.' "Huh, there's a song on the last page."

"This must be Belle's favorite room." Donald said, picking up a much larger volume from the same table, and examining it. He cracked it open and read a bookmarked paragraph, "_This thin man stepped out of the cauldron, staring at Harry... and Harry stared back into the face that had haunted his nightmares for three years. Whiter than a skull, with wide, livid scarlet eyes and a nose that was flat as a snake's with slits for nostrils..."_

"Wait! I haven't gotten that far!" Yuffie plucked the book (Nehrut didn't catch the title, but there was a dark-haired kid with glasses on the front) from out of his hands. "What happens next...?"

"_Lord Voldemort had returned._" A voice quoted from above her.

Everyone looked up at the landing above them. Standing there, with one hand on the railing, stood the Horned King, holding a large book from one of the shelves open in the other hand.

"Some rather impressive volumes here." He said casually, snapping the book closed and returning it to its place on the shelf. "You were correct on this being Belle's favorite room, by the way."

He snapped his fingers once, and near him there was a burst of fire. Once the flames died away, there were five people floating there, bound in sets of magic chains. One set around their wrists, one around their ankles, and another around their mouths.

Belle, Lumiere, Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts, and Chip looked terrified.

"Leave them out of this!" Nehrut demanded, placing one hand on the hilt of his blade. "This is our fight. They're not a part of it."

"My poor, naïve, boy," The Horned King replied, with no trace of pity, "Civilians are as much a part of any battle as the soldiers are." He pointed at the book he had just been holding. "Perhaps you should read '_The Art of War_.'"

He snapped his fingers again, and Belle and the others disappeared.

"What did you do with them!" Donald asked, brandishing his staff.

"I merely sent them to Xaldin." He answered. "Perhaps seeing them slowly tortured will finally be enough to drive the Beast over the edge."

"You're every bit the monster that you look." Nehrut finally unsheathed Presul, its blue light illuminating the room.

He sighed. "Think what you will. In either case, I cannot allow you to leave this room." He waved his hand, and a magical barrier covered every wall, door, and window.

The Horned King shot out his hand. What resembled pure, dark wind blasted from him, his robes billowing around him as if in a gale. It struck the five of them, and they were blown off their feet to the other side of the room.

Nehrut landed roughly in an arm chair, and he was surprised that he hadn't broken it in half with the force of the attack. He barely had time to comprehend what had happened, when he saw the Horned King shooting at him, gliding over the floor.

He leapt out of the chair, and gripped his blade with both hands. He sidestepped the sorcerer, and cut down into his waist as he passed by.

He fell into two pieces, which struck the ground with two dull, wet _thuds_. Then both halves dissipated, and became red smoke.

"Um... Okay?"

"You didn't think it would be that easy did you?" came a voice from right by his ear.

He spun around, and there was suddenly a vise-like grip on his throat. The real Horned King lifted him into the air, squeezing his windpipe shut. The edges of the psychic's vision were already starting to go black within seconds.

A bolt of lightning struck the Horned King in the chest, and he dropped Nehrut.

The psychic silently thanked Donald as he struggled to catch his breath. Yuffie leapt over him, and ran toward the Horned King, twirling her shuriken.

"This is for spoiling my book!"

She aimed a slash at his head, but somehow, he weaved under it. With one upward swipe of his hand, he knocked the weapon flying from her grasp across the room. He then shot his hand forward (palm open) and it connected with her stomach, sending her flying back into the wall.

But then, in her place was Bariss, flying at the Horned King with her sai aimed at his throat. He seemed to almost float backward away from her blade, and landed lightly several feet away. He flourished his hands, down at his sides, and both were suddenly covered in flames.

So when Goofy and Donald charged toward him next with both weapons brandished, he walked forward to meet them. He almost casually smacked Donald aside like an irritating fly. Then he brought his other flaming fist down on Goofy's raised shield. The force of the blow made Goofy's knees buckle.

He was going to strike again, when Nehrut blasted him backwards, directly into the huge fireplace.

Donald took careful aim, and lit the logs inside on fire. The Horned King's robes caught fire, and looked to be smoldering very quickly. Flames were licking at his rotted skin, and he didn't move.

"That was still too easy." Yuffie said, looking at him in the fireplace.

"Yes it was, wasn't it?" came the Horned King's voice.

Everyone twisted around, expecting to see him standing directly behind them. But, the place was still empty. They all turned slowly around to look back at the fireplace. To their shock and horror, the burning figure inside began to move.

The Horned King propped himself up on his arms, and pushed himself up. He stood inside the fireplace, and bent his head to walk out into the main room. He stood there for a moment, looking like a Halloween decoration gone horribly wrong.

He then grasped the front of his robe, and gave it a firm tug as if adjusting it. The flames all over his body were immediately snuffed out. He smiled at their shocked expressions.

"You children have no idea who you're dealing with." He walked slowly toward Nehrut.

Goofy threw his shield as hard as possible at the Horned King, who effortlessly caught it with one hand. He used it to block the Blizzard spell Donald fired at him, and then threw it incredibly hard at Bariss, who dove aside just before it hit.

The shield embedded itself in the far wall not an inch from Yuffie's head. She pulled three kunai from her pockets, and threw them at the Horned King one after another. Time seemed to move in slow motion as the sorcerer drew ever nearer.

He simply moved just out of the path of the first two projectiles without breaking stride. He actually plucked the third one from out of thin air. When time seemed to move normally again, Bariss ran toward him with her sai stabbing at his neck.

The Horned King moved to intercept the attack with the knife Yuffie had thrown. He parried her attack with the skill of an expert knife fighter, and stabbed at her face.

The kunai was knocked from her grasp by an unseen force. It soared through the air, and landed harmlessly several feet away. Nehrut soared at the sorcerer's back, with his blade aimed in between his shoulder blades. He and Bariss struck from different directions at the same time.

The Horned King shot out his hands in either direction. To their surprise, he gripped the blade ends of both weapons. He let out a small hiss that might have been of pain, and tossed both of them as hard as possible at the wall. Their weapons fell from their hands, and they hit their heads hard on the bookshelf.

Several books fell on top of them. Unfortunately, they were hard-covered, which didn't help Nehrut's splitting headache.

_Okay, we might be in a bit of trouble._

Goofy had reclaimed his shield, and was attempting the simple, but typically effective method of smacking him with it. But the undead sorcerer was turning aside the blows effortlessly. Finally, he yanked it from his grip, and hit him with it, knocking him to the floor.

The Horned King then threw it at the approaching Donald, hitting him in the head, and knocking him to the ground, unconscious.

Yuffie leapt at him from behind, only for the back of his hand to connect with her face, and send her flying back into a bookshelf. She upset a few more books, which fell in a heap around her.

And suddenly, an idea that was both ridiculous and brilliant came to Nehrut.

He rose to his feet, rubbing the bump on the back of his head. The Horned King turned to face him, wearing an expression that might have been amusement. He engulfed both of his hands in fire again.

"You don't know when to quit, do you?" He began to walk slowly toward him.

"I'm afraid that it's one of my worst habits. You see, I'm a very sore loser." He raised both of his hands. "Tell me, have you ever heard that old phrase 'Knowledge is power?'"

Slowly, every single book on the shelves slid out of place, and floated just in front of their spots. For the first time since the fight had begun, the Horned King looked a little nervous. Nehrut clapped his outstretched hands together.

Every single volume shot from the shelves at the sorcerer in the middle of the room. The Horned King had no room to avoid them, and was first hit in the face with a heavy volume with a soldier on the front. Another hit him in the back of the head, then the small of his back, and the back of his knee.

Just a few books wouldn't have been anything to worry about, but as Nehrut and Bariss had both noticed, there were thousands of books in the library, all of them hard-covered and several leather-bound.

The Horned King waved his hands about, knocking several books away by both magical and physical means. But the staggering number of books in the room was simply too much.

They piled on top of him over the next few minutes, smashing into all parts of his body, leaving no area of skin unbruised. He let out a shout of pain whenever a heavy volume struck him, and after almost a full five minutes of getting bashed repeatedly with books, he was totally covered in them.

Nehrut exhaled loudly, and let his arms fall to his sides. His friends seemed to have regained consciousness for the most part, and they all warily approached the huge pile of books in the center of the room.

Red smoke began to seep from the gaps between the books, rising to the high ceiling. Everyone prepared themselves for whatever might come next, but then they heard the Horned King's voice as soon as the smoke stopped coming from underneath the books.

He actually sounded tired, and pained. "Don't think that this is over, children. We will come for you..."

The smoke at the ceiling all converged into one spot as if sucked there by a vacuum. There was a flash of fire, and it was all gone. But the Horned King's voice still lingered.

"Later..."

!

_My apologies if I spoiled anything from 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire' for you. But if you're into the series, and you still haven't read the fourth book, you're way far behind._

_Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. There wasn't much to it, but still._

_1) Not sure why I did this…_

_2) These things made me nervous to walk around a corner in that freaking castle._

_3) 'Twilight Aura'_

_Please review!_


	85. Chapter 84: The Lancer's Comeback

_Raise your hand if you hate any form of math class!_

_(hands slowly rise into the air)_

_Alright, we're good. Anyway, here's the last chapter of Beast's Castle. Not quite sure why I finished it the way I did, but it's there now._

_Sora: "Trust me, Darth. Everybody probably saw it coming."_

…_yeah._

_Sora: "DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else."_

_!_

Chapter 84: The Lancer's Comeback

Xaldin paced back and forth calmly across the path of his prisoners, his arms folded behind his back. He had relocated to the ballroom, and now stood on the landing over the door that ringed the entire room.

Belle and the four captured servants never stopped glaring at him. Chip was straining against his dark chains, even though he was floating about six inches above the ground. Xaldin grabbed a handful of his straw-colored hair, and pulled him up to where his now terrified face was level with his.

"Stop struggling, teacup. You're not going anywhere."

Mrs. Potts looked like he was about to tear him apart just for touching her son.

"And you may as well save your breath, old woman." Xaldin added. He walked over to her (leaving Chip now floating a tad higher than before) and pulled her bonnet down over her eyes. "The chains binding you all will stay until I desire them gone."

The ballroom doors creaked open below them. When Xaldin heard the familiar voices floating up to him, he smiled.

"It's time to start the party."

!

"Would either of them actually be in here?" Sora asked.

"We've checked everywhere else, Sora." Kairi reminded him. "This is all we have left."

Beast went inside first out of the three of them. He had removed the shreds of his suit, and had put on a long red cape that had been in his room. He lifted his shaggy head, and sniffed the air for a second. Then, his eyes widened. "Belle?"

He ran into the ballroom, and stopped near its center. Sora and Kairi ran in after him.

"Well Beast, you finally found me." came a voice from the landing behind them over the door. They twisted around and saw the incredibly smug Xaldin. "I was starting to grow impatient."

Beast growled, and his eyes settled on Belle and the servants bound in chains behind him. His growl became a roar. "Let them GO!"

"With pleasure." He answered. "But you should probably choose your words with greater care, next time."

Xaldin raised his hand, and the far glass doors that led out to a large balcony flew open with a gust of wind. The wind was almost enough to knock Sora and Kairi off their feet. The glass doors cracked from the force of it.

Xaldin moved his hand forward, and his five prisoners floated out of the door. He chuckled to himself, and dropped them over the edge of the balcony.

"BELLE!" Beast shouted in terror.

"I've got it!" Kairi twisted around, and ran full break toward the doors, leaping over the edge of the balcony after them.

Sora began to follow her, when the doors slammed shut, shaking huge shards of broken glass loose from their panes. Three grey and violet six-foot long lances speared the ground directly in front of him, cracking the smooth tile.

Xaldin leapt from the railing of the landing. He used the air currents in the room to soar across the room, and land easily on the floor on the other side of the lances. "Beware the winds of despair."(1)

He summoned another three lances, and called the others back to him. He held three of the weapons in his hands, while the others hovered near him in the air. He stood totally still, with the wind around him tossing his hair about, and causing his coat to billow around him.

Then, without warning, the three lances hovering around him shot directly at Sora and Beast (who was now standing right next to him). Sora threw himself to the side of the blades, successfully avoiding them. Beast moved in the other direction.

Xaldin made a sweeping gesture with his arm, and the three lances suddenly swung at Beast, sending him flying across the ballroom.

Sora leapt at Xaldin as he did this, with Oblivion held high. He brought it down on the Nobody's head, only for the strike to be blocked by two lances held in his hand. His free hand shot out, and he almost impaled Sora with the other lance.

The Keybearer dropped low to the ground, and struck upward at the lance, sending it skewing far off-target. Xaldin stabbed forward with the other two lances, and Sora had to throw himself backwards several feet to avoid them.

The Beast charged from the other side of the Nobody, clutching one of his other three lances in his hand. At the last moment, Xaldin spun around, and swiped the weapon from his hand. Now holding four lances, he stabbed at Beast.

He was able to move far enough out of the way of the attack to avoid a fatal blow, but was slashed in the shoulder by the four weapons. He let out a howl of pain and clutched his shoulder, as blood splattered to the tiled floor.

Behind him, the other two lances appeared. Both shot at him point first, intent on running through his back.

Sora seemed to come out of nowhere, leaping over Xaldin and his lances, and smacking the two floating ones away with a wide slash of the Keyblade. He landed next to Beast and performed a quick Cure spell for his shoulder.

Xaldin called all six lances back to him, smiling. "This is simply too fun."

!

Kairi shot straight down over the balcony. Far, far below her she could make out the shapes of the rapidly falling Belle, Lumiere, Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts, and Chip.

The Keybearer increased her speed, aiming directly for them. She was about level with them in a few seconds, and they were about half-way down the mountain that Adam's Castle stood on.

She was briefly able to make eye contact with Belle, and then conjured a platform of Light for her to land on, just beneath her. When she came to a stop on the Light, Kairi shot down a bit farther, and grabbed Chip around his waist.

She kept shooting down, and summoned a Light platform like she had with Belle to catch Lumiere and Cogsworth. To her horror, Mrs. Potts looked as if she were about to bash herself against the mountain-face. And at the speed that she was going, that wouldn't end well.

Kairi moved over to her (while still holding the woman's son beneath her arm), and gripped the dark chains bound around her wrists, trying to stabilize her in midair. But she instinctively jerked her hand away, when she realized that the chains _burned_.

Mrs. Potts fell a bit further down, and Kairi (though already expanding a large amount of energy maintaining the others) conjured up another Light platform beneath her.

Trying to maintain her concentration, she gently lowered all of them down to the ground. They were so high up that it took nearly five minutes to do it safely. About two feet above the ground in the forest, Kairi dispersed the platforms on which Belle and the servants lay.

She set Chip down against a tree, and tried to remove the chains wrapping around his head to cover his mouth. Unfortunately, these chains burned her, too. She let out a hiss of pain, and summoned Destiny's Light to her other hand.

Chip's eyes bulged, and Kairi couldn't help but laugh just a little. "Don't worry, Chip. Just hold still."

She gently touched the tip of the blade to the chains on his ankles. But to her continued surprise, the blade shot backwards as if the Darkness of those chains was repelling it.

Kairi dismissed the blade, and gazed at the chains for a moment, perplexed. Then, an idea came to her. She raised both hands slightly, and enveloped them in soft glowing Light. Her eyes began to glow with that same light.

Slowly, carefully, she placed her hands on the chains around his head. This time, they didn't burn her skin, and dark smoke seeped up from the chains between her fingers. She tightened her grip, and the chains melted away completely, dissolving into black smoke.

Chip coughed a few times, as if the dark chains had left a bad taste in his mouth. Then he smiled at Kairi, "Thanks!"

She smiled back, but looked a bit creepy with her eyes still glowing silver. "No problem." She pulled away the chains around his wrist and ankles, before moving on to the rest of them.

In a few minutes, they were all back on their feet, and free of the dark chains Xaldin and the Horned King had bound them in.

"Mademoiselle," Lumiere said, kissing her hand repeatedly, "Thank you! We are now forever in your debt."

"Uh, yes. Anytime." She replied, slightly embarrassed. There was a loud crashing noise coming from the general direction of the castle. And they were a few miles below it, so if it was that loud, it wasn't a good sign.

"Okay, listen closely." She said to those assembled. "You guys have to stay away from the fighting at all costs. Try and find some of the others if you can, but just let us handle things."

Without waiting for a response, she shot up into the sky, back toward the castle.

!

The crash that Kairi had heard was the sound of the ballroom doors being bashed open. Xaldin had tossed Beast through the doors with enough force to knock them open, and send him flying into the main hall.

He bounced once, twice, three times, and skidded to a stop.

Xaldin rushed through the ballroom doors, intent on delivering a killing blow while he was still down. But Sora was right behind him, sprinting at his back with Keyblade poised to strike.

When Xaldin was about half-way to Beast, Sora leapt, and aimed his blade at his back. But the Silhouette twisted about, and blocked the strike with two lances. Using the other four that were floating around him, he stabbed up at Sora.

The Keybearer was just barely able to keep away from the sharp blades, and land on Xaldin's other side, where the winded Beast was just getting to his feet.

All six of Xaldin's lances shot at them with enough force to pierce their bodies completely if they had struck home. Beast had grabbed Sora roughly by his arm, and yanked them both backwards, avoiding the very tips of the lances by a matter of centimeters.

Still holding Sora by the arm, Beast swung him around, gathering force. He released him after the third spin directly at Xaldin, who had let his guard down. Sora smashed into him, slashing horizontally across his chest as he made impact.

Xaldin flew backwards, and Sora landed directly in front of him. He slashed upward, hitting him beneath the chin, and knocking him onto his back.

He raised his blade to deliver a final blow, but he was shot backwards by a powerful blast of wind. It was so strong, that he was blown off his feet towards the ceiling. His back collided with it with a thud, and he came crashing down. The Keyblade fell from his grasp, and he began to fade into unconsciousness.

Luckily for him, he landed in Beast's arms. He set him down carefully, and charged at Xaldin on all fours. He called his lances back to him, and took hold of one of them with both hands.

Beast grabbed hold of it when he reached him, and snarled at Xaldin past it.

"Whether or not you can actually defeat me, Beast," Xaldin muttered, looking at him with a slightly manic gleam in his eye. "know that you will _always_ be a beast. And no magic in the worlds will ever change it."

He'd finally pushed it a bit too far. Beast let out the loudest, most ferocious roar ever heard, and ripped the lance free of Xaldin's grip. Using it like a club, he smashed it into the side of Xaldin's head, sending him flying into one of the hall's pillars.

But amazingly, Xaldin got back to his feet, smirking. "It seems I've touched a nerve."

"He's not the beast here, Xaldin." The slightly dazed Sora got back to his feet. He rubbed the sizable lump on his head, and summoned Oblivion back to him. "You are."

Xaldin chuckled as he brandished all his lances. "Well, you're right about one thing."

He launched one lance at Sora. The Keybearer sidestepped it almost casually, and began to run toward the Nobody. Another lance shot at him, and he jumped over it. For one almost comical instant, he seemed to run across the weapon at Xaldin.

The lancer fired his third weapon, starting to look a little worried. Sora rolled under it, and swiped up at the lance as he passed. It went up into the air, and Beast came out of nowhere, grabbing he center of the weapon, and running at Xaldin with it. Sora fell into step beside him.

Xaldin shot the fourth lance at Beast, who smacked it aside with the lance he had snatched out of the air. Another lance flew just past Sora's head (taking off the very tip of one of his hair spikes).

With only one lance left, Xaldin took careful aim in between Beast's eyes, and fired.

Unfortunately for him, Sora intervened. He pointed his blade at the speeding lance, and shouted, "Blizzaga!"

Icy wind blasted from the tip of the blade, immediately freezing the water in the air around it. The icy chunk shot at the lance, and practically exploded against it, shattering into tiny shards on impact. But it still threw it far enough off course to miss Beast entirely.

Sora sliced the now weaponless Xaldin across the leg, while Beast smacked the side of the stolen lance into his face. Sora delivered an upward slash into the Silhouette's chin, sending him high into the air.

"Adam!"

Beast growled, and stood behind Sora, holding one end of his cape around the both of them. "Get OUT!" He shouted at the airbourne Xaldin.

He let go of the cape, and raised his head. He opened his mouth, roared. Silvery light shot from his toothy mouth, and exploded around them, scarring the pillars, the floor, and Xaldin, who had just landed on all fours on the ground in front of them. The energy from the Beast's roar threw him spinning backwards.

Sora rushed toward Xaldin, holding Oblivion in one hand. Rather than striking Xaldin directly, he buried the head of the Keyblade into the ground not one inch from his head (removing one of his dreadlocks). Pure energy exploded from that spot, tossing Xaldin back with a smoldering coat.

Beast came right after him, leaping into the air, and then smashing both claws into the ground. The resulting shockwave threw him back still farther, and cracked the pillar nearest them.

Sora and Beast repeated this process of smashing the ground with explosive energy four more times, until finally Xaldin was knocked back into the ballroom.

The two ran into the room after him. Sora was the first one to stop, just a few feet away from him. Beast stopped with his back to him. He seemed to dwarf the young Keybearer, who then shouted, "Give me strength!"

He placed one large, fur-covered arm on his relatively scrawny shoulder. They nodded to each other over their shoulders.

Then, they raised their faces to the sky, and roared. It shook the massive chandelier, rattles the glass panes in the windows, and cracked tiles. The earth itself seemed to shake. Xaldin was thrown to the ceiling with such force that he left an imprint.

He fell over fifty feet to the ground, and was still.

"We did it!" Sora said, panting.

"So you may think." came a voice that was horribly familiar by now.

The Horned King appeared by Xaldin's inert form in a burst of flames. He looked slightly bruised, as if he had recently taken a beating.

Almost pitifully, Xaldin reached up with one arm, and clutched at the end of the sorcerer's crimson robe.

The Horned King looked down at the dying Nobody without an ounce of pity in his dark 'eyes.' He knelt down, and did something that seemed even to Beast and Sora to be unnaturally cruel.

He plunged his hand into Xaldin's chest. A large plume of black smoke emerged, and Xaldin was completely still. Slowly, the Horned King pulled out the dead stem of the enchanted rose. Xaldin faded away all at once as it was pulled from him.

The Horned King held the stem in his flat palm for a moment. It was enveloped in a reddish smoke, and seemed to sink into his skin.

"What are you doing!" Beast shouted. The curse should have been newly lifted.

"Changing the rules of the game." He replied. "I do believe that I'll be your new target now, Beast."

Wordlessly, Beast charged at the creature, only for him to vanish at the last moment.

"But not today!" Came his voice. And everything was finally still.

Beast let out a weak howl of anguish, and sank to his knees. He bashed his fist into the ground a few times, and was totally still.

Sora had hardly ever seen a more pathetic sight. He walked toward him, and placed a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. Beast made a small grunt that might have been appreciative. It was hard to tell.

"We'll find him, Adam."

He thought for a moment that he wouldn't reply, but then, "I'm sure you will... Just... make it fast, could you?"

Sora smiled, and patted his shoulder.

Behind him, there was the sound of soft, tentative footsteps. They both turned, and saw their entire party approaching them from across the damaged ballroom. Belle was at their head, and Beast immediately ran to her.

He took her hands, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, thanks to Kairi." She answered with a smile.

"Sora? What happened?" Mickey asked quietly.

"We beat Xaldin, but I think the Horned King took the curse into him. He got away."

Mickey looked sympathetically at Beast in much the same way that Sora had. "I promise, Adam, we'll find him."

"Thank you." He turned his attention back to Belle. "But, Belle-"

She put a finger to his lips. "How many times do I have to say this? This doesn't change anything."

A tiny smile came to Beast's face. And strangely, for that moment, he looked more like Prince Adam.

A light came to Belle's face, and she let go of him for a moment. She took Mrs. Potts by the hand, and whispered something into her ear that nobody else could make out. The older woman suddenly grinned.

"You are a clever girl, dearie." She patted her face, and walked over to the piano still sitting at the other end of the room. She flexed her fingers, and began to play.

The tune was slow, and sweet, and Sora thought for just a moment that he recognized it from somewhere. But, looking around, he knew for sure that Belle and Adam knew it. He was beaming at her.

Nehrut and Bariss apparently knew it, as well. The telepath nudged her a little bit, and whispered something. She blushed, and shook her head. But, after a little prompting, she sang the first verse to the song. Sora was right, he had recognized it. He chuckled, and offered his hand to Kairi as Bariss began.

"_Tale as old as time,_

_True as it can be,_

_Barely even friends,_

_Then somebody bends,_

_Unexpectedly."_

Belle smiled at Adam (for indeed, that was who he was now) and led him toward the center of the dance floor. The two slowly began their dance, as Nehrut began the next verse:

"_Just a little change,_

_Small to say the least,_

_Both a little scared,_

_Neither one prepared,_

_Beauty and the Beast."_

Lumiere nudged Cogsworth in a brotherly manner, as Sora and Kairi walked onto the dance floor together to join Adam and Belle. Both Nehrut and Bariss sang the next verse.

"_Ever just the same,_

_Ever a surprise,_

_Ever as before,_

_Never just as sure,_

_As the sun will rise."_

Now Riku and Yuffie were dancing as well. Nehrut smiled at Bariss. She leaned toward him and whispered, "If you ever make me sing again, I'll kill you."

Nehrut had enough time to chuckle at her before the next verse came.

"_Tale as old as time,_

_Tune as old as song,_

_Bittersweet and strange,_

_Finding you can change,_

_Learning you were wrong."_

They alternated lines for the rest of the song.

Nobody but Mickey noticed, but the world's Keyhole had appeared below the magnificent chandelier. He summoned Kingdom Crown, and closed the opening as quickly and subtly as possible, hoping not to ruin the moment. But if anything, it only aided the ambiance. What looked like glowing, golden dust drifted down from the chandelier, and spread across the room, making it glow.

"_Certain as the sun,_

_Rising in the east,_

_Tale as old as time,_

_Song as old as rhyme,_

_Beauty and the Beast."_

With the end of the song coming, the music softened, as well as their voices. They smiled at the dancing couples.

"_Tale as old as time,"_

"_Song as old as rhyme,_

"_Beauty and the Beast."_

_!_

_Aww….. Well, my sappy impulses got the better of me. And this is the best song in any animated movie._

_1) I later learned that the actual quote from the boss battle was, 'You'll wear the face of despair.' … Annunciate, Xaldin!_

_Please review!_


	86. Chapter 85: New Recruits

_So, I only own one character in this chapter. The two OCs I'm introducing belong to other writers. The first, you'll probably recognize from Shire Folk's _Annals of Darkness_. And the other belongs to Spirit Okami._

_Roxas: "He's probably been waiting for this intro for a while, hasn't he? But you update soooo slowly."_

_I'm aware of that, Roxas. Now just do the disclaimer._

_Roxas: "A bit touchy today? DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else, including these new characters."_

_!_

Chapter 85: New Recruits

Castle Oblivion was just as it always had been.

A huge, dark, eerie structure in a realm where little else existed at all, its bronze walls were as imposing-looking as they had ever been, and its great towers stretched defiantly into the grey oblivion all around it.

Lights still shone faintly from the few windows of the castle, despite that fact that the Chasers and Organization XIII had abandoned it so long ago.

Nothing should have been there. And yet, there was someone.

Serndask moved calmly toward the castle along the white sort of walkway leading to it. He made no noise as he passed over the powdery white substance covering it. It had been a long time since he'd seen this place.

As he approached the gates, he pondered a few things to himself. The loss of the Assassin Nobodies had forced him to reevaluate his plans somewhat. The Brotherhood of the Dark needed to grow its ranks to increase its chances of victory against the Keybearers.

That had been nearly two days ago. By a measure of chance, Klaxam (who, apart from Sephiroth seemed to be the only one not to have disappointed him within the recent months) had been able to recruit another new member to their cause. Ironically, this same member was positioned at the apparent next stop for the Keybearers.

So, he had come to think of recruiting somebody else. Somebody of sizable power rested within the halls of Castle Oblivion, and it was time for him to wake up.

When he was about level with the gates (still obscured in that fog of Darkness that always seemed to linger around him) something truly rare occurred.

The space directly in front of the castle gates rippled, as if in a heat haze. Next, small amounts of Darkness seemed to gather to that area. Silvery sparkles appeared inside, and started to take on a specific shape. After a few mesmerizing minutes, there was a bright flash of silver light.

And then, kneeled down before him was the form of a woman. She was of about average height, and had vivid blue hair. She was wearing a set of dark blue armor that seemed like it could take some punishment, but still be comfortably form-fitting. She had a metal combat skirt that stretched to just past her knees. She was wearing metal gauntlets, and fingerless black gloves. She wore a metal headband-like headpiece with the Nobody crest on it, and the same went for her metal neckband.

Serndask smiled to himself, scarcely believing his luck.

The woman got to her feet, and looked warily about. When she noticed him, she dropped immediately into a well-used fighting stance. Two impressive, gleaming silver battle axes appeared in her hands.

But Serndask wasn't at all afraid of this woman; this newly-born Nobody hadn't a chance against him. Yet he could feel a great deal of power emanating from her. She'd definitely prove useful.

So he came closer to her. "You feel nothing."

The woman seemed surprised that he knew this, but of course it was a ruse. She could feel nothing, after all. There was a sudden emptiness where her heart had once been.

And it was already tearing her apart.

As a look of uncertainty came to her face, Serndask smiled to himself. He had her already, but he had to play the part.

"Do you want a purpose?"

She looked at him, still not totally trusting him. Her axes were still in hand, and he had to respect that. One should never trust too easily. But she seemed interested.

"I can give your new life meaning."

The woman looked at him closely, and then finally dismissed her weapons. She knelt down in front of him in the fashion that any knight may have.

"Do you swear your service to me? For as long as you draw breath?"

"Yes." She finally said. Her voice sounded much too mature to be coming from the lips of one so young. This might have been one woman who had been forced by circumstance to grow up far too fast. She was rather like the young Keybearers, in some respects.

Not that Serndask particularly cared about these details. Sympathy was for the weak of heart.

He lifted his hand. In front of the woman's face appeared a set of floating, bluish, transparent letters. They formed a name.

At a gesture from Serndask, the letters began to spin in orbit around the woman's head. They moved faster and faster, until they became a blur that resembled a shining ring around her.

Serndask stuck out his hand. A large, golden letter 'X' appeared among the letters, abruptly stopping the others in midair.

The words now formed a brand new name. 'C-O-S-S-E-X'

The Nobody looked at her new name as if in a trance, and repeated it to herself in a voice just above a whisper. "Cossex..." As soon as she did, the letters turned a vivid scarlet.

"A brand new you." Serndask said with a smile.

He walked past her to the front gates of the castle. The newly-dubbed Cossex followed right behind him. With a gesture, the gates eased open with a loud creaking noise.

They walked into the huge entrance hall, Cossex following slightly behind Serndask. In the pure white hallways, the black fog surrounding him stood out like a sore thumb. He walked purposefully to the other end in silence. The heavy doors behind them closed when they were half-way across.

When Serndask reached the doors leading to the next floor, Cossex finally spoke. "What am I?"

She would learn from somebody sooner or later. So, Serndask thought he might as well inform her himself. "You are a Nobody. Your heart has been taken by the great Darkness. And without your heart, you can feel nothing."

"You reside in neither Light nor Darkness, and so you do not exist."

And so, the bombshell had been dropped. It was a hard truth, but she'd just have to live with it if she wanted to continue her existence.

"And what exactly are _you_?" She asked. In her voice, there was nothing to betray the horrible feeling that she no longer mattered.

It wasn't a question that Serndask had been asked in a while. "I'm not something that you meet very often."

He left it at that.

It took them nearly thirty minutes to reach the top floor of Castle Oblivion.

_Not far now._

Serndask walked to the far end of the pure white room. At the end was the last doorway they'd need to pass through. Serndask placed one hand on each door. Tendrills of Darkness spread to cover each of them.

Slowly, the doors hissed open.

"What's in there?" Cossex asked.

Serndask was quiet before saying, in a voice of barely concealed excitement "The Room of Awakening."

_Xemnas never thought to look right in here. It's almost funny._

The two walked into the final room of Castle Oblivion, and into a strange area. The ceiling and walls could no longer be seen. Instead, there were nothing but grey clouds everywhere. They stood on a circular area of highly polished white and grey stone with elaborate patterns. There were four tall pillars bordering it.(1)

Serndask walked into its center, knowing that this was the very area where Marluxia had met his end the first time. He folded his hands together, and Darkness came to them. He raised his hands, and Darkness spread to cover the entire platform they stood on.

For seconds, there was nothing, and then the Darkness cleared away to reveal totally new scenery. There looked to be only clouds of various shades of blue, with patches of pitch black. He and Cossex appeared to be standing in the center of an array of huge, spinning grey rings. They felt like they stood on something solid, but there was nothing there that they could see.

He observed the rings with mild curiosity. The patterns engraved into them seemed to be pulsing very faintly with white light.

"Xyran!" He summoned.

Those rings suddenly began spinning much faster. The glowing coming from the patterns grew brighter and brighter. This continued for several minutes, before the rings stopped without warning.

The white light blasted from the rings into the center of the room directly in front of Serndask. Gradually, the light faded away. Lying on his back directly in front of Serndask was a teenage boy.

He had slightly spiked blonde hair that would look slightly familiar to anybody that knew Cloud Strife. He was wearing a black jacket with a hood. He had a grey shirt on with an emblem on it that resembled a silver cross with blue spirals around it. It was repeated on the shoulder of his jacket. He had blue jeans with another silver cross on it.

His eyes eased open, and they were dark blue.

"Hello there, Xyran." Serndask greeted calmly, as the rings all around them began to spin slowly again.

Suddenly, the boy named Xyran was gone. He reappeared several feet away, and he was holding a familiar weapon.

Clutched in his right hand was Lexeaus's massive tomahawk. It was almost half his size, and yet he was holding it as if it were only the weight of a baseball bat.

Perhaps out of an obligation to protect her new master, Cossex summoned her twin axes, and leapt in front of Serndask, landing in a steady fighting stance. He didn't bother telling her to stand down, though he seriously doubted that Xyran would prove a danger to him in his current state.

_Maybe I'm in for a little show..._

Xyran rushed at Cossex, actually spinning the heavy tomahawk around his head as he approached her. He delivered a downward slash at her head, which she blocked with one of her axes.

Despite her deceptively frail-looking appearance, she was able to catch the blow fairly easily, it seemed. Using her free weapon, she aimed a slash at his waist, but he wasn't there any longer. He'd teleported around her, and this time was holding Saix's claymore in his left hand.

Still without any visible strain on himself, he aimed a horizontal slash at her legs with the claymore, which she leapt over easily. Cossex took a few nimble steps backwards away from the descending tomahawk, and then leapt forward with one axe aimed at his throat.

He teleported away from the attack at the last instant, reappearing high above her. He had Xigbar's two guns in his hands. He fired down at her, spraying energy bullets down onto her.

Cossex ran out of the path of the projectiles, agilely avoiding them, and then leaping up at Xyran. Serndask was pleasantly surprised to discover that she was flying.

The boy dismissed his guns, and summoned what appeared to be Vexen's (though now Bariss') shield. He caught each of the blows she aimed at him with the shield in his right hand. In his free hand appeared one of Axel's chakrams.

Once her stream of attacks had lessened slightly, he slashed at her face. But, she displayed her continued agility by snapping her head backwards to avoid it.

Xyran backed away quickly, and dismissed both weapons. He shot out his hands, blasting her several feet back with a sudden gale of wind from nowhere. Cossex tumbled out of control for a moment, and finally regained her balance. She landed on one of the rings that was still moving silently around them. Serndask noted that the patterns that had been on them were now gone.

She only had a moment to get her bearings, when she saw Xyran shoot at her again. She kicked off of her temporaty perch as hard as possible, and back towards the 'ground.' Xyran landed where she had stood moments before.

He was now holding a strange-looking spear that hadn't belonged to any of Organization XIII. The blade alone was almost two feet long, made of black metal. It seemed to be seeping a dark bluish mist. The four-foot long handle was made of what seemed to be a shining black metal. The end opposite the blade was also slightly spiked. The weapon's name was engraved into the handle in dark blue, written in a language that few in all the worlds knew. 'Edge of the Storm.'

Xyran spun the spear in front of him for a moment, and it crackled with white-hot electricity. He pushed himself off the edge toward her, and swept at her midsection with a powerful, two-handed blow.

She hurriedly leapt back from it, narrowly blocking the follow-up strike. She slashed at his head using both weapons, only for it to be caught by his spear. Xyran threw her weapons off of his, and stabbed at her stomach.

Cossex weaved aside from the blow, and pinned his weapon to the 'ground' with hers. Displaying acrobatic flexibility, she kicked at his face with one booted foot. He fell backwards with a red mark on his forehead.

Cossex took one step forward with both axes raised, but then received a strong bolt of electricity to her chest from the tip of the spear.

She was thrown back nearly fifty feet, her weapons falling from her grasp. Xyran got back to his feet, and ran toward her, gripping his spear tightly in both hands. She had barely enough time to get back into a kneeling position, call her weapons to her, and block the downward strike.

Xyran pulled his spear away quickly, and struck horizontally at the two axes with enough force to knock them from her grip again. He pulled his spear back, ready for the killing blow.

Then something curious happened.

Cossex shot out her hands, and shouted, "Mind Crush!"

The effect was instantaneous. Xyran dropped his weapon, and clutched at his head, feeling suddenly as if his brain was going to crawl out of his skull. He fell to the ground, trying to hold back his scream behind his lips.

As he was thrashing about on the ground in unbelievable pain, Cossex picked up her fallen weapons, and walked towards him to deliver the strike that would finish him.

A long black tendril of Darkness shot out, grabbing her wrist. She followed its source back to the black mist in which Serndask resided.

"That will do, Cossex. Now release him."

She nodded, and released the hold that she'd had over Xyran. His convulsions abruptly stopped, and he lay there for a moment, gasping for breath. Serndask stood over him again.

"That was a very impressive display, both of you." He said. "But now perhaps you'll listen to my offer Xyran?"

Xyran got up off the ground, and grabbed his spear. Though this time, he made no effort to fight him. "So you're not here to kill me..." He shrugged. "Thanks for setting me free, but what do you want?"

"It's quite simple. I want you to join my Brotherhood."

"Thanks, but no thanks pal." He walked past him without looking back.

This wasn't unexpected, so Serndask didn't even turn around when he said, "Running away? Just like you ran from Organization XIII?"

Xyran stopped cold in his tracks. "I don't know what you're talking about, man."

"Don't _lie_ to me, boy." Now Serndask walked toward him. "I always know. I know for a fact that you were the Organization's apprentice."

Xyran turned his head just a fraction of an inch. "And I have need for your unique talents."

"If you know that I was with the Organization, then you know why I left." He kept walking. "I'm leaving."

"Oh, I know why you left... But what if I can give you your heart back?"

"The Organization promised as much, and things didn't work out so well with them. Whatever happened to them while I was gone, anyway?"

"Dead now. Thanks to the Keyblade Master."

"Well, I'll have to send him a thank-you card later, then. That whole bunch of rejects was willing to tear every last world apart to achieve their own ends. Axel was the only decent one out of the bunch."

"I'm partially inclined to agree. But I can grant you what they couldn't."

"Yeah, yeah. Return my heart. Buddy, I told you, I've heard it all before."

"I know that you have a very specific reason for wanting your heart back, Xyran."

He had been walking away again, but then he stopped in his tracks. Cossex noted that his hand began to stray toward his jacket pocket. When he spoke again, his voice was dangerously low. "If you touch one hair on her head..."

"You'll do what?" Serndask smiled to himself. He had him now. "Join me, or your pretty little friend dies a painful death."

The air in the Room of Awakening was suddenly much hotter. Xyran's pure imitated anger was heating the place to tropical temperatures.

"Fine."

"I knew you'd come around to my way of thinking eventually Xyran." A large corridor of Darkness opened behind Serndask. He turned around and walked through. "Come with me."

Xyran turned around, and grudgingly walked toward the corridor. He would have felt surprise when Cossex placed her hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her, and was met with sympathetic eyes.

He sighed. "I've just made the biggest mistake of my life, huh?"

Cossex squeezed his shoulder. "It's always darkest before the dawn."

Enemies no longer, they walked through the corridor.

!

_I like these guys. And as you can see, they have a lot more story left in them. Stay tuned!_

_(1) Okay, so this probably isn't the actual room, and Ven may not be in there, but I wrote this way before Birth By Sleep came out._

_And please leave a review._


	87. Chapter 86: Under the Sea

_Well, it's been a while, hasn't it?_

_Mickey: "You should be ashamed of yourself."_

_Your majesty, I-_

_Mickey: "We know about finals, we know about the pressures of college, we know about your new job, we know about the craziness around the holidays, we know about you and your beta's busy lives. But frankly, you've exhausted your excuses."_

_Okay, okay… I'll try to avoid it in the future._

_Mickey: "Good, good. Now I can do the disclaimer. DarthKingdom does now own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else."_

_!_

Chapter 86: Under the Sea

Sora (not for the first time) found himself quietly (very, _very_ quietly) singing Sebastian's song under his breath.(1)

The world of Atlantica was almost entirely ocean, ruled over for the most part my the merpeople, ruled over by King Triton from the underwater city of the same name as the world. The only dry areas of the world were a handful of islands inhabited by regular humans.

It was only common sense that they'd need to take on new forms to operate on this world.

Sora had become a merman-like being. But rather than a typical fish tail, the lower half of his body was that of a dolphin, with sleek blue skin. His crown pendant was still around his neck, which was odd, since he couldn't remember it being there last time.

From the waist down, Donald was an octopus. He had six light blue tentacles, with yellow undersides with a line of powerful suction cups. Goofy was all sea-turtle aside from his head. He had a turquoise-colored shell, and four black fins.

Kairi had a pinkish dolphin tail like Sora's. The upper half of her body was covered with a pink, clam-shell bikini top. Sora was suddenly finding it hard not to stare, and it ashamed him to a degree. She didn't seem to mind _too_ much though.

Riku looked like a more conventional merman. He had the fluked tail of a shark, with sharp, silvery scales overlapping each other. He had a shark's large dorsal fin on his lower back. On his forearms, there appeared to be another set of silver fins, which could (in theory) be used to maneuver better.

Yuffie also had a shark fin, though hers was black, and had a slightly shorter dorsal fin. She, too, was wearing a black bikini shell top that Riku was having trouble looking away from. Her black headband and wristbands were still firmly in place.

Axel had become an octopod with eight crimson tentacles sprouting from below his waist. The underside of the suction cup-lined tentacles were jet black.

Nehrut had a dark blue dolphin tail almost totally identical to Sora's. The only difference from his was that along its center was a slightly green line.

Likewise, Bariss had a greenish dolphin tail and green shell bikini. Her small dorsal fin was slightly smaller and more rounded than those that Sora, Kairi, and Nehrut were 'wearing.' And along its center was a slightly blue line.

The lower half of King Mickey's body resembled the tail of a sea horse. The curled tail was mostly red, with a few bright yellow markings. One mark on his stomach resembled his royal emblem in bright yellow.

"This is going to take some getting used to..." Riku said, looking at his new arm fins. "Anybody want to take a guess what these things are for?"

"Maneuverability?" Nehrut guessed. "They look pretty cool, though."

"I've been here for five seconds, and I already don't like it." Axel said, holding one of his tentacles, and looking at it disgustedly.

"Why not?" Yuffie asked.

"Water." He answered simply. "_Way_ too much water."

"Your fire is magic, genius." Sora said. "It'll work here."

"Doesn't mean I have to like it."

They had appeared in the sea itself, and were now in the open ocean. They were so far out that they couldn't see any trace of land, or the ocean floor miles and miles below them, for that matter.

But Sora could see activity far, far to the west of them. Sora could vaguely see what might have been the bottom of a large, wooden vessel of the same general design as the ships of Port Royal. A few specks lingering below them might have been merpeople.

"Hey guys!" Sora got their attention. "Let's check that out over there."

"I hope the merpeople aren't mad to see us..." Goofy said.

"Nah, I think we'll get a warm welcome this time. Don't you think we've earned it?"

"Let's just get out of here, huh?" Nehrut said, glancing around, slightly uncomfortable. "I uh, kind of have an irrational fear of open water."

"Oh, come on!" Bariss grabbed his hand, and swam off, dragging him along with her. Sora noticed that his nervous expression had been replaced by one of barely restrained excitement.

Sora looked at Riku and Kairi, grinning. "Bet I can beat you both there."

"You're on!" They both exclaimed.

The group of ten took off toward the gathering around the ship. Sora was slightly ahead of the group, but Riku and Kairi were following almost directly behind. As they got ever closer, Sora's earlier guess that there were merpeople hanging around the boat was confirmed.

A mixture of merpeople, and anthropomorphic sea creatures were floating and swimming around the boat. Most had their heads out of the water, as if to see the activity on deck. Sora considered this slightly odd, since last time they had visited this world, most merpeople hadn't typically associated with humans.

That seemed to have changed, however.

As their heads broke the surface of the water, they were nearly blinded by the dazzling sun over the ocean. The clear blue water was broken in a few places by the heads of dozens of merpeople, floating idly by the ship.

Sora immediately caught sight of two people he recognized near the heavy chains for the ship's anchor. He swam over to them immediately, followed soon after by Donald and Goofy. Seconds after, Kairi joined them.

Floating by the chains was a young fish. He had mostly bright yellow scales, but also had light blue stripes across his back. His wide dorsal thin was also light blue, and he had tiny fins.

The other was a small crab holding onto the chains by his two claws. His six tiny legs were constantly slipping off the chains, and he seemed to be having a hard time hanging to the chains. But he was still looking up at the ship's deck with excited eyes.

"Hey Sebastian! Flounder!" Sora greeted from inches behind them.

Sebastian the crab nearly fell off the chain in surprise, and then turned around to see who had nearly caused him to fall. He smiled almost immediately.

"Hello Sora, Donald, Goofy!" He greeted with a smile, and thick Jamaican accent. He jumped onto Flounder's head, where he was less likely to fall off. "How nice to see you all again! You're just in time!"

"For what?" Donald asked.

"Princess Ariel and her new husband have just gotten back from their honeymoon! We all thought it best to welcome them back home."

"Her new husband?" Sora asked. "Wait, Eric?"

"Of course! Who else?"

"But... Uh..." It was a slightly awkward question, seeing as Eric was a human, and Ariel was a mermaid.

Sebastian seemed to catch on to Sora's train of thought immediately, and slapped his forehead. "Ah, that's right! You had already left, hadn't you?"

"Why? What happened?"

"The good King Triton was so moved by Ariel's love for the human prince-"

"That he made her a human again so he could be with her!" Flounder interrupted, much to Sebastian's irritation.

"Aw, how sweet!" Kairi gushed. She smiled at Sora. "Do you think my dad would do that to let me be with you?"

Sora paled visibly. Kairi's adopted father (mayor of Destiny Islands) had a reputation for being a bit over-protective of his little girl. He did like Sora, but he had pulled him aside the day after learning that he and Kairi were an 'item', to use his word.

!

"Hey, is that them?" Riku interrupted, pointing up at the deck

_The mayor was a balding man with the remains of charcoal-colored hair. He was taller than Sora by a foot at least, and had an arm that looked about the size of a tree trunk. He wore a pair of bifocals that looked slightly out of place on him._

_He had ushered Sora to the backyard of his home a few moments ago with one of those tree trunk arms slung around his shoulders._

"_Okay now, Sora." He had said. "I've known you for a long time now, and I think that you're definitely a good kid. Especially after your travels..."_

_His own mother had been hell-bent on sending him to a psychiatrist over that story until he had shown her his Keyblade. It had caused quite a stir on the islands. But strangely, Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie hadn't seemed quite as surprised by their tale. Sora had never asked why._

_"Sir, I-"_

_But the mayor patted him lightly on the shoulder, and strode calmly back into the house before he could finish._

_When Sora had mentioned it to Kairi in passing one day about a week later, she had merely rolled her eyes and sighed in frustration.(2)_

_!_

Back in the present time, Kairi was laughing at Sora's expression. She knew exactly what he was thinking about, and kissed him on the cheek to snap him out of the trance he had inadvertently gotten himself into.

"Hey, is that them?" Riku interrupted, pointing at the deck of the ship.

On the deck of the ship was now a young woman with bright red hair. She wore a white and gold sun dress, and had her hair tied back into a pony tail. Ariel's bright blue eyes twinkled as she looked down at her old friends from the sea.

Next to her was a young man with dark hair and aquamarine eyes. He wore a white military uniform with gold buttons and trimmings. A saber was shiethed on his belt, and he had an arm wrapped affectionately around the waist of his new wife.

"Yes!" Sebastian answered as loudly as he could over the cheering of the mer-crowd.

A little ways behind it, something was happening. Ten helmeted, heavily-muscled mermen in gold armor were emerging from the water in two straight lines, facing each other. Each one held a short sword, which they crossed with the one in front of them. It was clear that they were forming a sort of honor guard.

From between their ranks emerged another merman.

King Triton looked exactly as Sora had last seen him. He was an older man, though one who was in surprisingly good shape. He had a long white beard, and hair that was longer still. He wore a five-pronged golden on his head, and carried a gold, three-pronged trident in both hands. He had a blue-green fin.

King Triton moved through the waters directly to the ship, and the trident began to glow. The water around him rose up around him, creating a kind of platform that carried him up to be level with the ship.

His eyes twinkling with happiness, he reached over, and hugged his youngest daughter.

It was a sweet, wonderful image of familial happiness, and Sora remembered it for the rest of his days. He found his hand unconsciously linking with Kairi's.

It all fell apart within the window of one minute.

The second King Triton released his daughter from his embrace, a long, green and black tentacle shot from the water, coiled around Ariel's waist, and yanked her under without warning.

She reappeared a second later, still in the grip of the tentacle. But now its owner could be seen, standing on top of a large Aquatank Heartless. Ariel's captor was a female octopod, like Donald, Axel, and the late Ursula. She was very thin, had a greenish skin tone, and three liver-spots on her right shoulder. Her white hair stood up on her head, giving her a slightly crazy look.

Though her crazed laughter helped.

The crowd immediately began to panic, and many of them fled back under the ocean. Sebastian nearly fell off Flounder's head.

"Who's that?" Sora asked, summoning Oblivion.

"Ursula's crazy sister!"

"Morgana!" Triton growled, as if adding on to Sebastian's statement. But so far as he could tell, the king hadn't noticed their presence, nor had Morgana or anyone on the ship.

"I didn't miss the cake and ice cream, did I?" Morgana asked rhetorically, with a voice that could have fooled one into believing she was the late Ursula herself.

Triton brought his ancient weapon to bear. Sora had never seen him so angry –and that was counting the time that Ursula had held Ariel against her will. He had to wonder what made Morgana so much worse. "Surrender my daughter or else-"

"Ah ah ah!" Morgana lifted the trapped Ariel in front of her, using her as a human shield. With her arms bound, there was nothing she could do to free herself.

Grudgingly, Triton lowered the trident.

Morgana locked her free tentacles onto the side of the ship, and slithered up. "Ursula would have simply _loved_ to come! But something came up..."

Wordlessly, Sora gestured to Riku, Kairi, and the rest of their group to be ready to intervene if things got too out of hand.

"Now, now... What was it?" Morgana continued. She sat down on the ship's railing, and a few of the other human passengers (presumably linked to Eric in some way) backed away from her cautiously.

"Oh yes! You all _shish-ka-bobbed_ her!" Morgana shouted. "One minute you're on top, the next, you're sushi!" She grabbed an older man on the ship by the front of his jacket and pulled him towards her. "Now, is that fair, gramps, I ask you?"

She leapt to one of the rope structures of the ship, grasping it with her tentacles. "But then, who said we had to play fair?" She cupped one of her hands by her mouth, chuckling. "Oh, Undertow!"

Suddenly, the water was broken by the huge, black dorsal fin of a massive tiger shark. The rest of him was soon revealed as he emerged fully from the water. He was ridiculously large. He plowed through the remaining merpeople, scattering them immediately.

"Make way, little mer-shrimp! I'm coming through!" He stopped in front of the ship, smiling, and opened his maw wide, displaying his impressive array of hundreds of razor-sharp teeth.

Morgana dangled Ariel directly over his mouth. "Now hand over the trident, or your precious daughter will be shark-chow!"

Triton was suddenly very pale, and every minute of his long lifetime was now visible in his face. "You can have anything you want! Just please, don't harm my daughter."

"This is where the fun begins." Riku said. Sora nodded to him, and they both took off.

Riku gathered Dawn energy into his fist, and delivered a fierce punch to the side of Undertow's head before he even realized he was there. The front half of the shark's body flew completely out of the water, and sank below the surface of the water several feet away.

"What the-!" Morgana started. Kairi aimed the tip of Destiny's Light at the sea-witch. She fired a concentrated ball of Light directly into her chest. It exploded on contact, sending her spinning away to the other side of the ship, and over the edge, back into the water.

Naturally, she lost her grip on Ariel due to the sudden attack, and she fell toward the water below. Sora leapt from the water, and roughly caught her bridal style. They landed as lightly as possible in the water, and Ariel looked at her rescuer in complete shock.

"Sora?"

"Sorry we missed the wedding." He replied, grinning.

Nehrut swam toward them, and lifted Ariel back up to the ship's deck telekinetically. Sora swam under the water about ten feet, and then turned himself back around. Kicking his tail fin as hard as he could, he blasted out of the water, and up to the ship's railing. He grasped it tightly, and was able to pull himself up using his arms only.

Triton and Eric looked extremely surprised to see him and the rest of the group. Sora was one second away from saying 'hello' when a few dozen Heartless appeared in the water. Any merpeople that hadn't already fled after Morgana's appearance retreated immediately at the sight of the creatures.

"Catch up with you later!" Sora said quickly, summoning Oblivion and diving into the water.

It had been such a long time since he had encountered Atlantica's unique varieties of Heartless, that Sora had nearly forgotten what they looked like. They mainly seemed to be composed of Sea Neons and the more dangerous Screwdrivers. There were a few Aquatanks, some of the Great Blacks they had met at Port Royal, and a new breed that Sora couldn't recognize at all.

They looked a great deal like large squid. They had pinkish skin, with a few black marks, and the Heartless emblem on either side of their elongated heads. Their huge eyes were glowing yellow. The suction cups on their ten tentacles were secreting some kind of clear, sticky substance that sizzled when it touched the water.

One of these Krakens reached out with its two primary tentacles at Sora. With one upward strike, he severed them. Before it had time to react, he fired a shard of ice at its main body, destroying it.

"I'm never going to be able to look at seafood the same way again." Nehrut was suddenly next to him. Presul swung, and took out a leaping Great Black before it closed its jaws on him.

Sora twisted around in the water, and stabbed his blade through a Sea Neon that had nearly wrapped its oversized arms around him. Nehrut flipped over him, and cut another one down the middle.

Not far away from them, an Aquatank was attacking Axel and Mickey. The extension on its head was crackling with electricity. With a splash, it released all the energy. The bolts of electricity bounced across the water at the two in wide arcs.

Mickey leapt out of the water, and caught the energy with his Keyblade. As he landed back in the water, he fired the captured energy into the mouth of a Great Black that was cruising toward him.

Axel was about to launch both chakrams at the Aquatank that had attacked them. But before they could leave his hands, Riku exploded from the water beneath it, driving his blade into its sensitive underside.

So, Axel switched targets over to a pair of Sea Neons approaching him. He tossed them into their jellyfish-like heads, and thrust forward with his tentacles. He yanked his weapons out of them, and continued on toward a Screwdriver.

It advanced toward him with its own silver trident held firmly in both hands. Axel parried its rather clumsy strike with one chakram, before beheading it with the other.

Goofy blocked a Kraken's attack with the shield strapped to his back. Steam rose from the area where its tentacles touched the shield. He could only imagine what that would be like against bare skin.

Donald jumped over him, shooting a fireball into its face, and splashing back into the water safely away from a striking Screwdriver. Kairi jumped over the spot where Donald went under, and ran her blade through the Heartless as she passed in the air. When she landed again, she fired a disk of Light energy that cleaved an Aquatank in two.

Bariss passed by her, and cracked her whip into the side of a Screwdriver's head. Holding her sai in the other hand, she slashed a Sea Neon in two when she decided it had gotten too close for comfort. She weaved aside from the flying tentacles of a Kraken, and slashed one of them in two.

She rushed toward it to finish the job, but Yuffie's flying shuriken took care of that before she got even close. Yuffie leapt high out of the water to reclaim her weapon, and vanished before an Aquatank's lightning bolt hit her.

She reappeared on top of it, and stabbed one of her kunai in between its eyes. She fell lightly back into the water as it faded away. She resurfaced, and threw it into the face of a Sea Neon.

The fighting had only been going for a few minutes, when Undertow reentered the picture. He looked extremely angry, and his glare was focused on Riku.

"You're going to pay for that, tiny!" He shouted. He shot directly at the Keybearer, knocking aside Heartless as if they were goldfish. Riku flourished his Keyblade and charged at him.

Then, there was a beam of bright golden light. It streaked over Riku's head, and struck Undertow full in the face. But rather than the explosion that Riku had expected, Undertow was covered head to tail in the golden energy.

It all compressed around him, and squeezed in on him. When the light faded away, Undertow had been reduced to a tiny little fish smaller than Flounder, with a comically oversized dorsal fin and eyes, and a huge under-bite.

He lingered in the air for a moment, totally still with a look of utter shock on his face, before dropping into the water making a tiny little splash.

"What have you done to me!" He shouted at somebody behind Riku, shaking his fin. He had the same voice as he had before his impromptu transformation. "Look at me! I'm an anchovy!"

Riku turned around, and saw Triton gripping his still glowing trident in both hands. He looked extremely smug.

Abruptly, the Heartless stopped their attack, and began to retreat. Sora was curious as to the reason, but then saw Morgana far out in the ocean away from the fighting. The Heartless were rushing toward her, as was Undertow.

"This isn't over, Triton!" She screamed, pointing a harsh finger back at him. She began spinning in place, her tentacles spread over the water creating an inky cloud. "It's just the beginning!"

"After her!" Triton commanded, roaring toward the sea witch in his pillar of water with the group of off-worlders following in his wake.

Too late, however, the inky waters shot up to cover her, and she (along with Undertow and the surviving Heartless) vanished in an inky cloud.

"You'll never find me! But I'll find you!" Her disembodied voice lingered, and added one thing that nobody had expected. "And your precious grandchild!"(3)

They slowly turned around, mouths agape.

Ariel smiled nervously at her father, sending him a tiny wave. "I didn't get the opportunity to tell you... I'm pregnant!"

Everything was totally still for a moment, before King Triton -mighty ruler of the seas, and holder of the powerful trident- fainted.

Sebastian's eyes rolled up into his head, and he passed out as well. He fell into the water with a tiny splash, as the rest of the group laughed.

!

_And so we begin the next world. I for one enjoyed Atlantica the first time, though the second game made it pretty cheesy. But, even so, it's back!_

_1) Anybody else do this?_

_2) People have depicted Kairi's father in many ways. Wasn't sure how I should do it. (Yes, this chapter is a bit edited here, now)_

_3) Don't ask me how she knows, because I don't have an answer._

_Please review!_


	88. Chapter 87: Concert of Two Worlds

_Thought I'd get out one more chapter before Christmas. Merry Christmas to all of my Christian readers. To my Jewish readers, Happy Belated Hannukah! To those who celebrate Kwanza, Happy Kwanza. And while I'm at it (sorry if it sounds cheap by now) to my Muslim readers, Happy belated Ramadan._

_Namine: "Oh, I love this time of year!"_

_Cheery all of a sudden, huh?As my gift to you, you can do the disclaimer for the cheesiest chapter I've ever written."_

_Namine: "Oh happy day! DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or any songs featured in this chapter."_

_!_

Chapter 87: Concert of Two Worlds

"So, you're pregnant?" Sora asked a little while after Triton had come back to his senses. The off-worlders, Triton, and Sebastian, (Flounder had gone to Atlantica to inform the people that everyone was safe) were on the deck of Eric's ship.

The merpeople had fled back to Atlantica, and most of Eric's servants were below deck.

"Well, yes." Ariel was blushing lightly.

"Well, didn't take you too long, did it, man?" Axel ribbed Eric in the shoulder, smirking. The prince looked a bit uncomfortable, as Triton hadn't said a word since he had regained consciousness.

"Daddy?" Ariel looked at Triton, who was 'sitting' against the railing of the ship. "Are you alright?"

"I just didn't expect..." He put his hand to his forehead. "So soon."

Ariel walked over to her father, and gently took his hand off his head. Then, she took the other one that was gripping the railing into her hand as well. She tilted his head up to look her in the face.

For a few moments, no one said anything. But a few unspoken words passed between father and daughter in those silent seconds.

At last, Triton smiled. He embraced his daughter, and she gladly returned it.

"You have my blessing."

"Wonderful!" Sebastian exclaimed, clapping his claws together. "Now, we can get back to business!"

"Right, the Brotherhood." Mickey said, he began to say something else, but then Sebastion sent him a look that suggested he had just sprouted a second head.

"What!" He gawked at him. "No! The concert!"

"How did I see this coming?" Nehrut muttered to himself, though nobody could hear him.

"What concert?" Sora asked.

"I arranged a special musical for the princess's return." Sebastion explained. "But this is a particularly special one! I will be entertaining humans for the first time in my career!"

"You mean the _performers_ will be entertaining humans for the first time in _their_ career." Kairi corrected.

"No, some of them are humans, as well. But that's beside the point." He waved it off. "Hundreds of humans will be journeying to Atlantica later this afternoon for a show –after being transformed, of course- and will see the show of a lifetime!"

"We'd love for you to come, guys." Eric invited.

"Huddle." Riku said.

The group of ten moved close together, and conversed in hushed tones for a few quick minutes. There were a few chuckles, some muffled complaints, and arguments, but they finally resurfaced. Most of them were smiling.

"We'd like to ask a favor..." Sora requested, grinning.

"Yes...?" Triton asked, looking slightly nervous.

"We'd like parts in the show." Kairi answered.

"I'll take Sora." Sebastian said immediately, despite the fact that Triton hadn't given his answer, yet. "I know that he, at least can sing."

"_Ahem_!" Donald quaked, arms folded across his chest.

Sebastian looked at him, and then back to the group in general. "Like I said, I know that Sora can sing."

"HEY!" Donald screamed, incredulous.

"It's a hard truth, Donald." Riku said. "Live with it."

"I believe that I could use a few of you though..." Sebastian said, putting a claw to his chin in a rather human gesture. "If you can sing..."

"Count me out of this one." Yuffie said. "Trust me, you don't want to hear my singing."

"And I'm not a singer." Axel said. "Don't expect me to get up there."

"You'd be smart to listen to him." Roxas said, appearing from Sora like he had a few days before at the castle (fully human). Namine appeared just seconds later. "He's got a singing voice that makes you want to punch a baby."

"Isn't that a little harsh?" Namine asked.

"Clearly, you've never heard him."

"But are you any better?" Sebastian asked, with an arched brow.

Roxas hiked a thumb at Sora and Kairi. "We're their Nobodies. So, if they're good, we're good. And they are _very_ good."

"Let's see what we can do with you then!" Sebastian said, looking supremely excited. He hopped up onto the railing as best he could. "If it is alright with you, of course, Your Majesty."

"I can't find any reason not to allow them to perform, Sebastian." Triton said, with a small smile. "Work your magic."

"Of course! I shall see you all at the performance!" Sebastian beckoned to the off-worlders. "Come now, we need to rehearse! Time is short!"

He leapt into the water, and the group from off-world dove in after him.

The cool water felt incredible against Sora's skin, and for one brief moment, he was back home, swimming in the ocean before he had even known the word 'Keyblade', and he'd just been an island kid.

Then, he realized that he had a fin, and that there was a half-duck, half-octopus next to him, and he actually laughed.

"This is going to be great" Kairi practically squealed next to him, surprising everyone around her. "I love this place!"

"What's with you lately?" Riku asked, surprised at her hyper activeness. They began swimming after Sebastion to the north, toward Atlantica.

"It's the water."

"Ah."

Nehrut noticed Bariss to his right, looking pale. "Are you alright?"

"I don't think I should sing."

"What?" Sora was surprised. "Why not?"

"You're a great singer, you have a beautiful voice!" Kairi added.

"I can't survive in front of a crowd." She explained, hugging herself as if hoping to protect herself from an unwelcome memory.

"You just sang at Adam's Castle." Mickey pointed out, swimming above them. "Beautifully, I might add."

"That was with Nehrut, and in front of about a dozen friends." She replied.

"What if I sang with you again?" Nehrut offered.

Bariss stopped immediately, and the rest of them stopped to look at her. Her eyes shone. "Would you?" She asked quietly.

"Of course."

She practically jumped on him, and enveloped him in a hug that could have broken his ribs if she had really wanted it to. He returned it after one shocked second where he had his arms held out to the side like an idiot.

"Thank you."

"Keep up, people!" Sebastian called back to them. "Rehearsal, rehearsal, rehearsal!"

!

After nearly seven hours of rehearsal with Sebastian, Sora, Kairi, Riku, Roxas, Namine, Nehrut, and Bariss, were as ready for their performances as they would ever be. It was decided that each of the former five would each have their own singing performances. And Nehrut and Bariss would perform a duet together.

The stage where the concert was set to take place was the same one that Sora, Donald, and Goofy had performed in with Ariel months before. There were very few changes, besides the fact that the band section now contained more modern instruments like guitars, in addition to orchestral instruments.

Merpeople were already flooding into the stands surrounding the round stage on all sides. Some, Sora noticed, looked slightly uncomfortable. He could only assume that they were naturally human, and had been transformed (perhaps by King Triton himself) to see the concert.

Next to him, Riku was breathing deeply, and calmly.

"I didn't think you'd willingly sing in front of people, Riku." He said.

"Why not?"

"Because I've known you all my life, and I've never actually _heard_ you sing before." It was a true statement. He had believed at first that Riku couldn't sing at all. But he had briefly heard him while Sebastian was working with him, and was amazed at what he had heard.

"Well, I've just never wanted to." Riku replied off-handedly.

"And you've decided that you want to now, _because_...?" Sora pushed.

He was silent for a few seconds, and Sora was starting to think that he wouldn't get an answer, until, "Yuffie likes it when I sing."

Sora didn't move a muscle for a second. Then he let out a little snort.

Riku glared at him.

Sora was still for a few more seconds, trying horribly to keep a straight face. Then, he finally gave up and burst into a loud bout of laughter.

"If you say _anything_, I'll kill you." Riku muttered.

"Too late!" He shot past him to where the rest of their performing group was congregated, just outside of the stage area, laughing his head off. Riku shot after him.

"Guys!" He called. "You're not going to believe-" but Riku caught up with him, and clapped a hand firmly over his mouth.

"What?" Namine asked. She and Roxas were the only ones in the group that still resembled humans.

But apparently, Roxas was fully aware of everything that Sora had discovered. He smiled, and started to laugh. "Riku likes to sing to Yuffie when they're alone."

They all started to laugh, and Riku groaned, releasing his grip on Sora, who continued to laugh.

"Yeah, sure. Make fun of the singing 'emo' kid." He said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

"No! Riku, it's sweet, really." Kairi consoled. "It's just that it doesn't really seem like you."

"Well, now you know. Can we drop it, now? Please?"

It was then that Triton, Ariel (now a mermaid once more) and Flounder swam up to them, sparing Riku further embarrassment.

"Are you all ready?" Ariel asked. "Sebastian's going to announce you guys soon."

"Cool." Roxas nodded. "Hey, where's Eric?"

"He had some things he needed to take care of on shore, but he said he'd meet us here." She explained. "I'm going to find him. Break a leg!" She swam off, and Flounder (naturally) followed after her.

"We don't have legs..." Sora noted.

Perfectly timed, they heard Sebastian's magnified voice. "Good evening ladies and gentlefish!"

"Have a good show." Triton winked uncharacteristically at them, and swam away in the same direction Ariel had.

"We have a magnificent show planned for you tonight to celebrate Princess Ariel, and Prince Eric's homecoming!"

The place was practically shaking from the applause and cheering. "So, it is time to bring out our first performer! Please welcome young Roxas!"

"Showtime." Roxas dusted himself off (as if he actually had an dust on him) and straightened his clothes. He kissed Namine on the cheek for luck, and swam off. He vanished in a quick burst of blue light, and reappeared center-stage to huge applause.

He rubbed the back of his head, and smiled awkwardly, suddenly not knowing what he was supposed to say. He walked up to the mic stand (_Where did that come from?_) and spoke into it.

"I have no idea what I'm doing..." He started awkwardly, and the audience laughed good-naturedly. "So, I guess I'll just sing."

Somebody began to play a synthesizer. Just as practiced, he came in after a few seconds. The song started slow.(1)

"_I don't know where I'm goin',_

_But I sure know where I've been._

_Hanging on the promises,_

_And songs of yesterday._

_And I've made up my mind._

_I ain't wasting no more time._

_Here I go again..._

_Here I go again."_

Roxas noticed Axel in the front row facing the stage, with Goofy, Donald, Mickey, and Yuffie on either side of him. He had his thumb sticking up in the air. He was swaying it back and forth to the rhythm, and it was covered in fire.

The guy was trying to imitate a spectator at a rock concert, and Roxas had to smile. He sang stronger this time.

"_Though I keep searchin' for an answer,_

_Never seem to find what I'm looking for._

_Oh Lord, I pray,_

_You give me strength to carry on._

'_Cause I know what it means,_

_To walk along the lonely street of dreams!"_

He smiled widely when the song's tempo increased. Someone hammered on the drums.

"_And here I go again, on my own._

_Goin' down the only road I've ever known!_

_Like a drifter, I was born to walk alone._

_And I've made up my mind._

_I ain't wastin' no more time."_

He took the mic off the stand, and began to walk around the stage as he sang.

"_I'm just another heart in need of rescue,_

_Waiting on love's sweet charity._

_And I'm gonna hold on,_

_For the rest of my days._

'_Cause I know what it means,_

_To walk along the lonely street of dreams!"_

"_And here I go again, on my own._

_Goin' down the only road I've ever known!_

_Like a drifter, I was born to walk alone._

_And I've made up my mind!_

_I ain't wastin' no more time!_

_But here I go again!"_

"_Here I go again!_

_Here I go again!_

_Here I go...!"_

As the electric guitar solo began, Roxas beckoned to Namine. She was floating with the rest of the performers a little ways behind the stands.

She vanished in a flash of gold light, and appeared right by his side. He took one of her hands in his, and they went directly into a semi-improvised dance.

"'_Cause I know what it means,_

_To walk along the lonely street of dreams!"_

"_And here I go again, on my own!_

_Goin' down the only road I've ever known._

_Like a drifter, I was born to walk alone._

_And I've made up my mind,_

_I ain't wastin' no more time!"_

"_And here I go again, on my own._

_Goin' down the only road, I've ever known._

_Like a drifter, I was born to walk alone._

'_Cause I know what it means,_

_To walk along the lonely street of dreams!"_

The music slowed, and he looked into Namine's eyes, smiling.

"_But here I go again..."_

The guitar slowly stopped, and faded gradually into silence, as the applause of the crowd swelled.

Roxas and Namine closed the small amount of space between them, and kissed softly, to the great delight of the crowd.

When they parted, Namine giggled a little bit. But to her embarrassment, it was directly into the mic. She jumped, and blushed. But this only increased the crowd's excitement.

Roxas moved the mic away from his mouth, and gently placed it in her hand. He whispered to her. "Good luck."

He vanished, leaving her in the center of the stage with the mic. She walked back to the stand, and placed it back in it. Sebastian announced her.

"Ladies and gentlefish: Lady Namine."

The crowd applauded as they had with Roxas. Still looking a bit embarrassed, Namine gave them a little wave.

A guitar began to play softly, and her singing was just as soft.(2)

"_He looks at me,_

_I fake a smile so he won't see._

_What I want, I need._

_And everything that we should be."_

"_I'll bet she's beautiful,_

_That girl he talks about._

_And she's got everything,_

_That I have to live without."_

Namine felt she related to this song in a huge way. She thought, as she sang, that it accurately described her early life in Castle Oblivion, with Marluxia and Larxene keeping her locked away; denying her what she wanted most.

Like Sora.

"_He talks to me,_

_I laugh 'cause it's just so funny._

_And I can't even see,_

_Anyone when he's with me."_

"_He says he's so in love,_

_He's finally got it right._

_I wonder if he knows,_

_He's all I think about at night?"_

But, as she began the chorus, and a certain someone's voice softly joined her, she smiled. Now she had somebody that completely blew Sora out the window.

"_He's the reason for the teardrops on my guitar,_

_The only reason I keep wishing on a wishing star._

_He's the song in the car I keep singing,_

_Don't know why I do."_

Roxas winked at her from the band section.

"_He walks by me._

_Can he tell that I can't breathe?_

_And there he goes, so perfectly,_

_The kind of flawless I wish I could be."_

"_She better hold him tight._

_Give him all her love._

_Look in those beautiful eyes,_

_And know she's lucky 'cause."_

"_He's the reason for the teardrops on my guitar,_

_The only reason I keep wishing on a wishing star._

_He's the song in the car I keep singing,_

_Don't know why I do."_

She gripped the mic stand with both hands, and swayed back and forth during the gentle guitar solo.

"_So I drive home alone._

_As I turn out the light,_

_I'll put his picture down,_

_And maybe get some sleep tonight!"_

"'_Cause he's the reason for the teardrops on my guitar,_

_The only one who's got enough of me to break my heart._

_He's the song in the car I keep singing,_

_Don't know why I do..."_

"_He's the time taken up, but there's never enough._

_And he's all I need to fall into."_

Namine looked down at Roxas, and smiled. One little emotional tear fell from her eye.

"_He walks by me..._

_I fake a smile so he won't see..."_

The crowd went crazy. Some were actually crying.

"Thank you." Namine said softly into the mic. She jumped lightly off the stage, and directly into Roxas's arms. She kissed him briefly.

"You're better than 'him', though." She whispered, eliciting a small chuckle from him.

!

_Yeah, cheesy. Just like I said. Anywho, Merry Christmas!_

_1) 'Here I Go Again' by Whitesnake. This was chosen mainly because I wanted a rock ballad kind of song in here. It may not have been my best choice for Roxas, but here it is._

_2) 'Teardrops on my Guitar' by Taylor Swift. Edited slightly to make it more ambiguous who she's talking about. I thought it worked quite well for Namine._

_Please leave a review!_


	89. Chapter 88: Schemes and Music

_And, we're back! Some more songs in this chapter, and I think that thet came out pretty well. Hope that you like the choices. And to a certain girl reading this right now, no there is no U2 in this, I apologize._

_Bariss: (Raises an eyebrow) "Trying to pre-empt a disappointed comment?"_

_Uh-huh._

_Bariss: "DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, any songs used in here, or anything else."_

_!_

Chapter 88: Schemes and Music

There was only one person who wasn't enjoying the show, but she was several miles away.

"'Teardrops on your guitar?'" Morgana repeated, disgusted for some reason. "For crying out loud, you've likely never played an instrument in your life, you little brat!"

She swiped a hand through the magically projected image of Namine over her shell-like cauldron, dismissing it from view. It bore a slight resemblance to the one that Ursula had once used. But that particular one was still lying in her empty lair.

The cauldron was in the center of a huge cavern at the northernmost pole of the world. Morgana's current base of operations was situated beneath a massive glacier, which was just one of many in the area. The underwater cavern had a few chunks of ice from the glacier protruding from the sides. The cauldron, and a large shell-like bed were situated on one of these.

On some of the walls were various vials filled with ingredients for magic, some of them alive, and hoping beyond hope to escape. There was also an old photograph of Ursula which had several starfish stuck to it as if they were throwing stars.

Undertow (who seemed to have been genuinely touched by the song) swam over to Morgana. "Just because _you_ don't have any taste in music..."

She growled, and swiped at him with one hand, though he was able to duck under it. "You have no idea how-"

"Am I interrupting?" A voice interjected.

They both twisted around to discover a new image hovering over the cauldron.

They saw Crucion as if he were looking through a round sort of window. He was sitting in front of a dark table, and had one arm on it. His fingers were drumming on the tabletop as if he were irritated. He looked incredibly bored, but his dull green eyes were burning.

"Ah, Crucion, my friend!" Morgana's tone changed immediately. "How are you?"

"I'm very bored, Morgana. My favorite prisoner finally died. So now, unless the master elects to let me near the rest, I've got nothing to do."

"What a shame... I'm so sorr-"

"You know this isn't a social call." He cut in. "Did you succeed in your mission?"

"Um, uh... well, you see I-"

"Your idiotic stuttering is the only answer I need." Crucion closed his eyes and growled low in his throat. "You're off the assignment."

"What!" Morgana panicked. "But this is my world! Who else could accomplish this better than me!"

"A Moogle with one leg and a mental disorder could accomplish it better than you, I believe."

Undertow snickered very quietly behind Morgana.

"I only need one more chance, Crucion!" Morgana pleaded. "I have a sure-fire way to get the trident! And I promise, I'll get the Keybearers for you, as well!"

Crucion was completely silent for a few moments, and merely continued drumming his fingers on the table. "Very well. I'm sure I can persuade Klaxam to keep you on a while longer. But-"

He summoned one of his gleaming silver daggers to his hand. "If you fail, and by some miracle the Keybearers aren't the end of you, I'll personally slice you into calamari."

On that frightening note, he cut the connection, and the image faded away.

Morgana gulped, and wrung her hands together nervously. She turned around, and moved over to her cauldron. She stared into its glowing green depths, and then at the picture of Ursula on the far wall.

She snarled. "I refuse to be second best any longer!"

!

When Namine and Roxas faded from view, and back into Sora and Kairi, Riku got ready.

He hurriedly swam to the other side of the stage from which he'd make his entrance for the crowd.

He arrived just in time. He had just enough time to catch his breath before he heard Sebastian exclaim, "That was a beautiful performance from dear Lady Namine, but now it is time for a change of pace! Ladies and gentlefish, please welcome Keyblade Bearer Riku!"

Riku burst from the area in which he had been hiding, and swam high over the crowd for a moment. They ate it up when he shot straight down to the center of the stage, covering the distance in about three seconds.

He spun into a light landing right above the stage, and swam to the mic stand while the audience clapped enthusiastically. It wasn't hard for Riku to notice Yuffie screaming at the top of her lungs from the front row, her arms up in the air.

He chuckled. "Hope you enjoy the show." Was all he said, and then an electric guitar started playing. Softly at first, but gradually getting louder.

When a second guitar joined in with the melody, Riku began.(1)

"_I walk a lonely road,_

_The only one that I have ever known._

_Don't know where it goes,_

_But it's only me,_

_And I walk alone."_

Any fangirls in the audience that knew the song immediately began to scream, and Riku smirked.

"_I walk this empty street,_

_On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams,_

_Where the city sleeps,_

_And I'm the only one,_

_And I walk alone."_

"_I walk alone_

_I walk alone."_

He gripped the mic stand tightly when he hit the chorus.

"_I walk alone,_

_I walk a-"_

"_My shadow's the only one who walks beside me._

_My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating._

_Sometimes, I wish someone out there will find me._

'_Till then, I walk alone."_

He had to restrain a laugh when he saw one girl attempt to swim out of the stands to the stage, only to be stopped by an older man that was apparently her father.

"_Ah-ah, Ah-ah, Ah-ah, Ahhh-ah._

_Ah-ah, Ah-ah, Ah-ah"_

"_I'm walking down the line,_

_That divides me somewhere in my mind._

_On the border line,_

_of the edge, and where,_

_I walk alone."_

"_Read between the lines of,_

_What's screwed up, and everything's alright._

_Check my vital signs,_

_To know I'm still alive,_

_And I walk alone."_

Riku reflected that this song better suited the old him- The one who had walked alone through Darkness for over a year, refusing all outside help.

He never forgot how lucky he was that that had changed.

"_I walk alone,_

_I walk alone."_

"_I walk alone,_

_A walk a-"_

"_My shadow's the only one that walks beside me._

_My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating._

_Sometimes I wish someone out there would find me._

'_Till then, I walk alone."_

"_Ah-ah, Ah-ah, Ah-ah, Ahhh-ah._

_Ah-ah, Ah-ah, Ah-ah._

_I walk alone,_

_I walk alone,"_

A long instrumental solo followed that last verse. And Riku had something up his nonexistent sleeve that the audience would never forget as long as they lived.

He swam into the center of the stage, and floated ten feet above it. With rapid flourishes of his hands, great, bright bursts of Dawn energy shot from the stage like the special effects at a rock show.

For every beat of the guitar, a blast of Dawn shot from the stage, lighting up an entire section of the audience each time.

And finally, on the last beat, ten gigantic pillars of Dawn shot up from the stage, more than fifty feet toward the sky.

The music stopped for a split second, and Riku went back to the mic.

"_I walk this empty street,_

_On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams,_

_Where the city sleeps,_

_And I'm the only one,_

_And I walk a-"_

"_My shadow's the only one that walks beside me._

_My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating._

_Sometimes I wish someone out there would find me._

'_Till then, I walk alone!"_

A few more strums of the electric guitar, and one more giant flash of Dawn.

Riku floated over the center of the stage with the crowd going absolutely wild around him. He held his arms up, and waved. "Thanks, everybody! Have a good evening."

He swam off the stage (past Nehrut, who was waiting his turn) and a good distance away so that the fan girls wouldn't be able to find him if any were insane enough to try and follow him.

But, he did meet a certain dark-haired ninja fan girl when he stopped, and didn't regret it for an instant.

As Yuffie pinned him against a rock with a mischievous smile on her face, she said, "I have never been more attracted to you in my life."

So, as their make-out session began, Nehrut was trying to keep Bariss from passing out.

"Relax, Bariss." He placed both hands on her shoulders, and gently shook her. "You were incredible in practice, you're just getting way too worked up."

"I'm sorry, I just can't sing in front of a crowd."

"Then sing to me."

Bariss was silent for a moment, and looked at him. "What?"

"Shut out the rest of the world, and just sing to me."

"...Okay."

"Ladies and gentlefish!" Sebastian exclaimed. "It is time for a very special duet! I give you Nehrut, and the lovely Bariss!"

"Remember, sing to me!" He whispered quickly, before swimming away.

Nehrut touched down in front of the mic stand, and waved. A guitar began to play gently, and a keyboard came in just a bit later.

Nehrut began to sing in a low voice that was mostly unlike him.(2)

"_I wanted you to know,_

_That I love the way you laugh._

_I wanna hold you high,_

_And steal your pain,_

_Away."_

"_I keep your photograph,_

_And I know it serves me well._

_I wanna hold you high,_

_And steal your pain."_

Bariss's voice floated up from behind him, and they sang the next verse together.

"'_Cause I'm broken,_

_When I'm lonesome._

_And I don't feel right,_

_When you're gone away."_

Nehrut turned slowly around, and saw Bariss swimming slowly towards him, with a mic in her hand. The audience was cheering for her, but softly enough so that they could still hear the music clearly.

He took his mic, and moved slowly toward her.

"_You've gone away._

_You don't feel me here,_

_Anymore."_

They met in the center, and the next verse belonged to Bariss. They never took their eyes off each other.

"_The worst is over now,_

_And we can breathe again._

_I wanna hold you high,_

_And steal my pain,_

_Away."_

"_There's so much left to learn,_

_And no one left to fight._

_I wanna hold you high,_

_And steal your pain."_

They took each other's free hands.

"'_Cause I'm broken,_

_When I'm open._

_And I don't feel like,_

_I am strong enough."_

"'_Cause I'm broken,_

_When I'm lonesome._

_And I don't feel right,_

_When you're gone away."_

After this verse came a long instrumental break, and Nehrut gently took Bariss's mic from her hand. He lifted both into the air, and let them float there, while he took her other hand in his.

They danced slowly, to the delight of the crowd, who was eating up what they thought was romance between a pair of lovers.

They weren't too far off.

As the music swelled, they spun together, and came to a halt, staring into each other's eyes. Without moving a muscle, Nehrut called their mics back to their hands. The two moved apart.

"'_Cause I'm broken,_

_When I'm open._

_And I don't feel like,_

_I am strong enough."_

"'_Cause I'm broken,_

_When I'm lonesome._

_And I don't feel right,_

_When you're gone away."_

"'_Cause I'm broken,_

_When I'm lonesome._

_And I don't feel right,_

_When you're gone away."_

The music slowed, and softened. Then, Nehrut pulled Bariss close to him, and softly sang,

"_You've gone away._

_You don't feel me here,_

_Anymore..."_

The audience cheered and clapped, tears leaking from their eyes. Nehrut and Bariss looked into each other's eyes for a moment longer, neither moving nor speaking. Finally, they smiled at each other.

Bariss threw her arms around his shoulders and hugged him tightly, and laughed. Nehrut hugged her back, and whispered in her ear, "You were wonderful."

She pulled back slightly, and pecked him once –very, _very_ quickly- on the lips. "Thank you." She smiled. And the two swam off-stage together.

They met Kairi almost immediately. She rushed toward them, and enveloped them both in a congratulatory hug. "Great job, guys! Bariss, could I see you for a second?"

"Um, sure."

Kairi pulled her over to the side, separating her from Nehrut for a moment. She checked to make sure that he was out of earshot before whispering to her, "Stop beating around the bush. Stop kidding yourself. And stop pretending. He's interested."

Her eyes bugged out in surprise. "What?"

"And now, please welcome Princess Kairi!" Sebastian announced.

"Wish me luck!" Kairi said, winking as if she hadn't just dropped a bombshell into her lap a few seconds ago.

Kairi swam onto the stage, her tail fin reflecting all the light shining on her. She waved to the audience in front of her, and took the mic from its stand. Without preamble, she sang. She sang softly at first, but gradually grew louder.(3)

"_I still hear your voice when you sleep next to me._

_I still feel your touch in my dreams._

_Forgive me my weakness,_

_But I don't know why,_

_Without you, it's hard to survive."_

The tempo increased, and she grinned widely.

"'_Cause every time we touch,_

_I get this feeling._

_And every time we kiss,_

_I swear, I could fly!_

_Can't you hear my heart beat fast?_

_I want this to last._

_I need you by my side."_

She looked at Sora, floating behind the stands, smiling.

"'_Cause every time we touch,_

_I feel the static._

_And every time we kiss,_

_I reach for the sky._

_Can't you hear my heart beat so?_

_I can't let you go._

_I want you in my life."_

It's one-hundred percent true, Sora. You know that, right?

And, unexpectedly, he nodded.

When the instrumental began, she swam to the center of the stage, her Light illuminating her body. Sora swam down to meet her immediately.

She swam into his arms, and he spun her around. Her Light spread to his body, as well, and they danced.

"_Your arms are my castle, your heart is my sky._

_You wipe away tears that I cry._

_The good and the bad times,_

_We've been through them all._

_You make me rise when I fall."_

Sora spun casually off the stage to applause, and Kairi went on.

"'_Cause every time we touch,_

_I get this feeling._

_And every time we kiss,_

_I swear I could fly._

_Can't you feel my heart beat fast?_

_I want this to last._

_I need you by my side."_

"'_Cause every time we touch,_

_I feel the static._

_And every time we kiss,_

_I reach for the sky._

_Can't you feel my heart beat so?_

_I can't let you go._

_I want you in my life."_

Sora came back on stage, and they went into another fast-paced dance. They danced closer this time, and their Light shone brighter than ever before, to where it was almost painful to look directly at them.

"'_Cause every time we touch,_

_I get this feeling._

_And every time we kiss,_

_I swear I could fly._

_Can't you feel my heart beat fast?_

_I want this to last._

_I need you by my side..."_

The music came to a sudden stop, and so did the dance. Sora dipped Kairi, and their lips met in a passionate kiss.

The cheering was louder than ever, and a good deal of people were literally 'leaping' from their seats.

Sora and Kairi parted. "Here's a bunch of people who don't seem to mind our PDAs..." Sora said, making Kairi laugh.

"And now, ladies and gentlefish: Somebody that I'm sure you'll love!" Sebastian was clearly very excited, wherever he was. "Please welcome the Keyblade Master Sora!"

"You're up!" She winked at him, and passed the mic over to him. She kissed him one last time, and swam away.

He watched her go before going to the mic stand, and placing it back in place. He took a deep breath, and looked up into the stands.

"Before I sing," He said, "I want to ask that everybody really _listens_ to this song, and takes it to heart."

A keyboard played softly. And as soon as Sora sang, there was a guitar.(4)

"_From underneath the trees, we watch the skies,_

_Confusing stars for satellites._

_I never dreamed that you'd be mine,_

_But here we are,_

_We're here tonight."_

"_Singing Amen I, I'm alive... I'm alive_

_Singing A-amen I, I'm alive..."_

What Sora really wanted for the audience to hear, and what he really wanted to spread came next. The chorus said it all perfectly.

"_If everyone cared,_

_And nobody cried,_

_If everyone loved,_

_And nobody lied,_

_If everyone shared,_

_And swallowed their pride,_

_Then we'd see the day..._

Pause for effect. There was total silence, until Sora finshed,

"_When nobody died."_

"_And I'm singing A-Amen I, Ame-en I, I'm alive._

_Ame-en I, Ame-en I, Ame-en I..._

_I'm alive."_

The lights shining on the stage had all gone out, save for one spotlight illuminating the young Keybearer from above. He could see Axel's burning thumb, and the natural lights of several forms of ocean-life glowing through the darkness of the stands.

"_And in the air, with fireflies,_

_Our only light in paradise,_

_We'll show the world they were wrong._

_And teach them all,_

_To sing along."_

They _were_ listening. He saw a girl in the front row wiping tears from her eyes. And even Triton, in a special box reserved only for him, looked touched.

"_Singing Amen I, I'm alive... I'm alive_

_Singing A-amen I, I'm alive."_

"_If everyone cared,_

_And nobody cried,_

_If everyone loved,_

_And nobody lied,_

_If everyone shared,_

_And swallowed their pride,_

_Then we'd see the day,_

_When nobody died."_

He took the mic off the stand, and started swimming slowly around the perimeter of the stage, waving his free arm back and forth to the music as he did. The audience repeated his actions, waving both hands.

"_If everyone cared,_

_And nobody cried,_

_If everyone loved,_

_And nobody lied,_

_If everyone shared,_

_And swallowed their pride,_

_Then we'd see the day,_

_When nobody died!"_

"_When nobody died..."_

He stretched out the final word, and let the guitar play a little longer on its own when he got back to the mic stand. The music softened considerably. He looked up toward the area where Kairi was standing, and locked eyes with her as he sang the next verse.

"_And as we lie beneath the stars,_

_We realize how small we are._

_If they could love like you and me,_

_Imagine what,_

_The world could be?"_

The tempo kicked back up.

"_If everyone cared,_

_And nobody cried,_

_If everyone loved,_

_And nobody lied,_

_If everyone shared,_

_And swallowed their pride,_

_Then we'd see the day,_

_When nobody died!"_

"_If everyone cared,_

_And nobody cried,_

_If everyone loved,_

_And nobody lied,_

_If everyone shared,_

_And swallowed their pride,_

_Then we'd see the day,_

_When nobody died!"_

One-by-one during the verse, his companions that had sang in the concert swam onto stage, and joined him in singing. First came Kairi, then Riku. Nehrut was third, and Bariss was only one second behind. Roxas and Namine reappeared in flashes of light from their others.

"_We'd see the day, we'd see the day,_

_When nobody died!_

_We'd see the day, we'd see the day,_

_When nobody died,_

_We'd see the day,_

_When nobody died..."_

The music faded away. But before it had even totally stopped, the entire crowd burst into the loudest round of applause and cheering of the evening. About half of the audience had been reduced to tears, and every last one of them was out of their seat. Sora saw Triton and Flounder up in the private box, perhaps cheering the loudest.

Sora took Kairi and Riku's hands (they were on either side of him) And in turn, they took Nehrut and Bariss'. Roxas and Namine stood to either side.

All together, they bowed.

!

_So, the concert is over! Hope you enjoyed it, but the guys will not be doing any encores just yet._

_1) 'Boulevard of Broken Dreams' by Green Day. Works for him, I thought._

_2) 'Broken' by Seether and Amy Lee. I wanted a duet here, and figured I'd use Nehrut and Bariss._

_3) 'Every time we touch' by Cascada. I like it, but had some other songs in mind as well to choose from._

_4) 'If Everyone Cared' by Nickleback. One of my favorites._

_Please review!_


	90. Chapter 89: Prince Down

_I'm too sick to say something witty, so straight into it!_

_Axel: "That's abrupt. DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else."_

_!_

Chapter 89: Prince Down

Eric was running late. He was running very, very late.

He hadn't expected preparing the future nursery would take so long that he couldn't make the performance on time. Ariel would probably be upset with him, but if he was lucky, the surprise nursery would make up for his tardiness.

His ship was ready and waiting, just as he had requested. Nobody else was around, but it was easy enough to pilot it alone. He wouldn't be able to dock it by himself, but that was alright. He wouldn't need to.

He stepped onto the deck, and within minutes, was on his way out to sea. He had changed out of his clothes marking him as royalty, and instead opted for a plain white shirt and grey pants.

After nearly twenty minutes of sailing, he got to a specific point a few miles away from Atlantica. Eric dropped anchor, and then walked over to the railing. Triton had already cast a spell on him that would allow him to breathe underwater, but he would be the only human on the ocean floor.

He prepared himself to dive in, when he noticed a dark mass below him. He couldn't make out a specific shape, but it was only there for a moment, and then it was gone.

But it was just that one moment where he could see the shape that put Eric on edge. He still had his sword hanging from his belt, and he put one hand on its hilt now. He crept slowly back to the middle of the deck, and looked all over, drawing his blade slowly.

Everything was agonizingly quiet for several seconds.

And then, there was a soft noise. It sounded like something emerging from the water very slowly. And it was coming from behind him.

Eric ran over to the other side of the ship, and brandished his sword, only to find nothing there.

He searched the waters carefully, looking for the same dark shape that he had noticed before.

The prince saw it one second too late, before it burst from the water up at him.

!

Sora and company swam out of the stage area together, handing the crowd over into the capable hands, fins, claws, and tentacles of the Atlantica Orchestra, conducted by Sebastion. Though later, everybody would agree that the beginning of the concert was the best part.

"Hey, Nehrut, Bariss." Yuffie said. "Interesting song choice."

Bariss hadn't noticed, but she'd been humming the song quietly. Nehrut glanced at her with a smile, and she blushed.

Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Axel met them moments later. "Roxas! Awesome job, dude." The pyro congratulated his old friend, despite the fact that he couldn't see him.

"Roxas says 'thanks.'" Sora conveyed. Then, he noticed Ariel, Triton, and Flounder swimming towards them. "How'd you like it?"

"It was great, Sora." Ariel said. But she looked very worried about something. "But, we've got a problem. Eric's... missing."

"What?"

"He never showed up for the show." She said, wringing her hands nervously together. "And I'm worried. It's not like him to miss anything important."

Sora traded a significant look with King Mickey. "The Brotherhood."

"We're splitting up again, aren't we?" Axel asked rhetorically.

"It _is_ a big ocean." Riku said.

!

Sora, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy swam along the ocean floor. They had a very specific destination in mind, and they weren't looking forward to what they might see when they arrived.

Several miles away from Atlantica, things began to get dark. Eventually, Kairi had to resort to lighting their way, holding Destiny's Light aloft, and illuminating the ocean floor with a soft, silvery glow.

All they saw around them were huge, dark, twisted rock formations, among which unseen things slithered and crawled and hissed. Small underwater volcanoes also existed in abundance, casting eerie reddish light into their immediate area.

As the four of them swam slowly over a huge, deep gorge, Kairi asked, "Are we getting any closer, guys? Because I don't like the look of this place."

"Just a little farther, Kairi. We'll be there soon." Sora said.

And he was right. Within one minute of his statement, they were within sight of their destination: The long-since-dead remains of a massive leviathan, balanced precariously on the side of a steep cliff.(1)

Its insides were _still_ glowing faintly with an eerie, foreboding light that illuminated its gigantic, gaping, toothy mouth from the inside-out. Even after more than a year of sitting empty.

"Ursula's lair. If Eric's been captured, this is as likely a place as any." Sora said, swimming toward it. Kairi followed after one second. They stopped when they realized Donald and Goofy weren't following them. They turned around, and saw them staring at the massive corpse with wide eyes, shaking slightly.

"What's wrong?" Sora asked, smirking. "Scared? We've been here before!"

"Yeah, but it never looked this scary!" Goofy explained, failing to keep a slight quivering out of his voice.

Kairi dismissed her blade, and extinguished her Light, casting the two of them into complete darkness.

"Sora? Kairi?" Donald's voice sounded panicked. "Come on, that's not funny!"

Two pairs of hands clamped around Donald and Goofy's throats from behind suddenly, causing them both to scream at the top of their lungs.

The water was abruptly filled with Sora and Kairi's laughter.

"Ahhh... Too easy." Sora said when he finally finished. "C'mon, let's go."

He and the still giggling Kairi swam toward the mouth of the leviathan again. This time, Donald and Goofy followed, albeit grumbling.

They swam though the entrance in the leviathan's mouth. There was no need for Kairi's Light when they entered. The sides of its mouth seemed to be glowing on their own, lighting the way down its long throat. They each kept their weapons ready for action at a moment's notice, proceeding slowly down the hallway that the creature's neck formed.

And finally, they crept into what had once been the creature's stomach, and Ursula's private chamber.

The 'walls' were purple, and fleshy, and the rib bones would be seen. At the far end of the room was what looked like a giant shell hanging from the top of the stomach. It was dark inside. An old, dirty vanity was on one side, and also a large cabinet which was slightly ajar. In the center of the room was Ursula's cauldron, black and empty. Pinkish strands of an unknown type of seaweed hung from the ceiling.

The place was completely empty.

"Be careful what you touch." Sora cautioned, creeping fully in. He swam towards the cabinet, and slowly eased it open with the end of the Keyblade. Inside were a number of old glass vials, which now sat empty.

Kairi slowly approached the shell, and lit her blade with her Light. With the silver glow illuminating the inside, she could confirm that it was as empty as it had seemed upon entry.

Donald and Goofy floated over Ursula's cauldron, looking nervously inside. Its surface was covered in a thin layer of sand. They looked at it for a moment, until Donald sneezed, kicking up all the sand in a huge cloud into both of their faces.

"Be careful what you touch!" Sora repeated.

"I _didn't_ touch it!" Donald quacked.

"Just be careful." Sora said, moving around some of the items in the cabinet again. Donald swam to the other side of the room toward Ursula's vanity, which was still littered with old bottles that had contained some kinds of makeup.

Goofy however, was squinting into the cauldron as if trying to locate something specific within its depths. "Hey fellas? Do you see something here?"

"Like what?" Kairi asked, swimming over to the cauldron. Sora and Donald came after her.

"Like a pair a' little yellow lights down there."

After a moment, Kairi saw it. "Oh! What is that?"

Donald and Sora noticed it then. Donald reached down into it, and prodded the spot where the lights were. Then, they discovered that it was a reflection.

Everybody looked up slowly, and saw two yellow dots in the 'ceiling' on one side of the spinal cord. They stared at them for a moment before realizing that they were looking at a pair of eyes.

The eyes blinked once.

Twice.

And then a massive Heartless shot out from the fleshy ceiling. It looked like a very large moray eel. It had a gaping mouth filled with long, pointed yellow teeth that curved inward. Its dorsal fin was streaked with yellow all along its back. It had long, glowing blue lines in strange patterns along its sides. It was at least twenty feet long.

The Moray Shadow stayed where it was for a moment, staring them down.

Then, it uttered a loud hiss, and lunged at Sora. The Keybearer dodged to the side, and it struck Ursula's old cabinet, shattering it. Sora swiped at its neck, creating a small gash from which Darkness leaked.

However, he hadn't been paying any attention to the other end of the Heartless. Its thick tail came flying at him, smacking him full-on, and knocking him backwards, back into the throat hallway.

"Not enough room in there!" He shouted to the others when he saw Donald and Goofy get smacked into the shell in a similar manner. "Lure it outside!"

Kairi swam towards him, harassing the Heartless with quick bursts of Light as she did. It took the bait, and followed after her. The two Keybearers swam down the throat, keeping just a few feet between them and the Heartless.

They were back outside in seconds, and the Moray Shadow was right behind them, slithering out of the leviathan's mouth after them like a massive black tongue.

In the open ocean, they had much more room to fight it with. It lashed out toward the two of them, missing them by mere inches. The two teens swam up, aiming their blades at the creature. They fired twin Blizzaga spells at it, which burst against its dark skin with little effect.

It shook the frost off of it, and turned its head toward them. It opened its mouth wide, and sprayed a purple, gooey substance at them in a thin stream.

They dodged again, but Sora wasn't quite fast enough to avoid it completely. He felt a searing pain at the tip of his fin, and looked down after a second to see a blackened, burnt patch standing out against the blue.

Ignoring the pain, Sora focused on fighting. Donald and Goofy had gotten back on their 'feet' and were back outside the leviathan. The court mage immediately began firing Thundaga spells at the Moray Shadow, which had a much more noticable effect on it. The Heartless thrashed about as the bolts coursed along its body, before it turned its attention to the new arrivals.

It shot toward them, nearly clamping its jaws down on Goofy. A quick paddle in the opposite direction was all that kept it from succeeding. A blast of Light hit it in the side of the head, knocking it into the side of a large rock.

It hissed, and retreated into the rocks when Donald fired more lightning bolts at it. It slithered into the rocks, and soon vanished from their sight.

"Stay sharp, guys." Sora said, holding his Keyblade tight in both hands. "It'll be back soon..."

They floated back-to-back-to-back-to-back, weapons bared. They stayed that way for nearly a minute, scanning the rock formations all around them for any trace of movement.

But finally, after a few agonizing seconds, Kairi shouted, "There!" and fired a disk of Light from her blade at a point below them in the crevice. Sora spotted movement below them.

The disk of Light missed the Moray Shadow by inches, but still illuminated it for a moment, for all to see where it was. Donald fired a Thundaga spell down at it, which struck it full in the face.

Sora swam down to it, Oblivion at his side. He slashed across the side of its face as it lunged at him, its narrow teeth barely missing him. He shot up over its thrashing tail, and cut it across its back.

Kairi, Donald, and Goofy swam down toward it, and the Heartless turned its attention to them. It spat another jet of its purple slime from before at them, as they approached. Goofy moved in front of the other two, his shield on his back. He allowed the slime to connect with it, and it had no effect other than pushing him backwards into Donald.

Kairi kept going, and fired quick blasts of Light at its face. They exploded against its black skin, eliciting pained hissing noises from it. It accidently rammed its head into the cliff face trying to avoid the onslaught of Light.

The two Keybearers met up, and rushed at its head, intent on finishing it. At the last second, however, it came back to its senses, and snapped its head toward them. It opened its mouth wide, its huge teeth glimmering.

It snapped its jaws shut on Sora, who was nearly cleaved in two. He saved himself by sticking the Keyblade vertically out, keeping the mouth lodged open, rather like the trick he had once tried on Cerberus in the Underworld.

Before the Moray Shadow could shake the offending piece of metal loose, it was destroyed. Kairi pooled as much Light to her hands as she could hold, forming it into a basketball-sized ball of Light hovering between her fingers, and illuminating the immediate area.

"Shining Assault!" She lobbed it as hard as she could through its open mouth, and down the throat of the Heartless. It took five seconds, but then it hit something sensitive in the stomach area, and exploded.

Holes appeared all along the Heartless' skin, and silver light shone from its mouth. Sora quickly withdrew his blade from the dying Heartless' mouth, and backed away quickly, Kairi by his side.

They watched as the Moray Shadow thrashed around in its death throes, new holes appearing in its skin, and Light bursting forth from the new openings. Finally, after a few agonizing seconds, Light burst from its mouth, ripping apart its head.

The fading remains of the Heartless fell slowly down into the crevice, and a large, pink heart rose from it soon after it faded from sight.

!

"There's the ship." Ariel said pointing, her fear and worry clear in her voice.

"It's dropped anchor." Nehrut observed. "That means that it's been stopped intentionally, and not hijacked."

"Ooohh, CSI. Real impressive." Axel said, chuckling.

"I'm just trying to help, Axel."

"Yeah, I know. But you realize that I have to rib you every once in a while since Roxas isn't as readily available."

Ariel, Nehrut, Bariss, and Axel stopped near the ship, examining what they could see of it. "I can't sense anyone on board." Nehrut said. "Let's see if we can find anything there, anyway."

He levitated the four of them out of the water, and up onto the ship's deck. It would be slightly awkward to move around on the deck with fins, rather than legs, so the telepath also kept them suspended slightly above the floor.

"See what you can find." Ariel said.

Bariss examined the railing. "Something happened here."

"And you can tell that how?" Axel asked.

"Look here." She beckoned for them to join her. "The railing is chipped here, and here." She pointed out two deep chips along the railing. "It was struck by some kind of weapon, probably a sword or dagger."

She pulled out her sai, and struck the railing unexpectedly, causing Axel and Ariel to jump slightly. When she pulled it back out, there was a similar mark. "See?"

"I don't know how you can catch this stuff, but I'm grateful." Nehrut said.

She smiled, feeling proud of herself. "So that means that somebody was fighting somebody. But briefly, or there would probably be more of these..." She added almost reluctantly, "Or a body."

Ariel looked extra worried, now. "Where is Eric?"

Bariss looked at her, sympathetic. "All that we know is that he fought somebody here, briefly. And that he isn't here anymore. So either he left safe and sound, and we've just missed him somewhere, or he was captured..."

!

"Eric!" Triton was extremely surprised. Most of the off-worlders had gone off to search for the human prince nearly an hour ago. King Mickey, Riku, and Yuffie were currently searching the city of Atlantica itself.

Yet here the prince was, standing in his throne room as if he belonged there.

"Hello, Dad." He said, addressing his father-in-law. "I'm sorry I'm late, but I ran into a bit of trouble."

!

_What could this possibly mean? Well, we'll find out next chapter._

_1) About the coolest evil lair I've ever seen._

_Review please!_


	91. Chapter 90: Deception

_I am disgusted by the shortness of this chapter. I'll try to update sooner to compensate for it._

_Riku: "Four pages… Yeah, that is short. Why is it so short?"_

_I try to break up the chapters so that they feature the more significant events. Still, this came out too short._

_Riku: "Okay, then. DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else."_

_!_

Chapter 90: Deception

Triton got up from his throne and swam toward Eric, embracing him like a long-lost son. "We were worried about you, son! Everybody went out to search for you! What happened?"

"Well, I hope I haven't become too much of an inconvenience." He said. "You see, Morgana attacked my ship on the way here."

Triton growled, and clenched his fists. "Blast that wretched sea-witch! She'll be the death of us if we don't act soon."

"I'm sure we'll find her eventually." Eric said, putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "But for now, shouldn't somebody go and get the others? I'd hate for something to happen to them on my account."

"Ah, yes of course." Triton agreed. He swam past Eric to the far side of his throne room. "Flounder, are you still there?"

A few moments later, the young Flounder swam into the throne room. His eyes lit up when he saw Eric back safe and sound. "Eric, you're back!"

"Hey, little guy."

"Flounder," Triton said, "I need you to tell the others that he's returned. Start with King Mickey's group, they're somewhere in the city right now."

"Alright, Your Highness!" He gave a funny kind of salute, and swam away.

"Now, then Eric..." Triton began, turning around. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Eric holding his trident in both hands, smirking horribly with a glint in his eye that he didn't like.

"Eric, what are you-?"

He pointed the trident at him, its three-pronged end glowing. He laughed, and fired a beam of golden energy at him.

It struck him full in the chest, sending him flying backwards across the room, and into a pillar. All the breath was knocked out of him, and sank down to the floor.

"This was completely worth the work!" Eric commented, holding the prongs of the trident up to his face. Triton started to move, and he aimed it back at him. A second beam of golden energy shot from it, and connected with Triton's chest. This time, the king was surrounded by the same golden energy.

Eric lifted him up into the air via the beam, and slammed him down into his throne forcefully.

"Guards!" Triton managed to cough out. "Guards! Subdue him!"

Moments later, six of Triton's personal guards rushed in, their short swords brandished.

"Fools." Eric said, smirking. "You can't win against the power of the seas!"

He aimed the trident again, and fired. This time, rather than the gold energy that he'd used against Triton, super-cooled ice particles burst from the end. They collided with the guard in the lead, and burst, forming a thick layer of ice around him, and trapping the one next to him, as well.

The others swam around their frozen comrades, and continued toward him. One swiped vertically at his neck. But Eric easily avoided the attack, he bent backwards to nearly a ninety degree angle, and the sword passed harmlessly over him.

Eric flourished the trident, and hit him under the chin with the blunt end. The force of the attack threw the guard flying out of the room, and who knew how far away.

Two more of the three guards charged at Eric as one. They stabbed together at his chest, but he casually side-stepped the attacks. He brought the trident up quickly, knocking the swords from their hands. With another clean swipe, he knocked both guards out cold with the blunt end of the magical weapon.

And now, only one guard was left. Eric smirked at the very pale guard. "Boo."

That did it, and the guard turned and swam away. Eric pointed the trident at him. Suddenly, a whirlpool appeared around him, and dragged him back into the throne room. The trident began to glow, and the golden energy shot out into the merman's face, throwing him into a pillar.

Eric gazed into the glowing light of the trident, and laughed. "This is going to be fun!" He turned around, and looked at the semiconscious Triton. "Later, old man."

He walked out of the throne room, the trident slung over his shoulder.

!

It was nearly ten minutes later that Riku, Yuffie, and Mickey regrouped at the gates of Triton's palace. The beautifully crafted, columned gates stretched high above their heads, opening up to the magnificent building's entrance hall.

"Let me get this straight." Riku said to Flounder. "Eric is back, safe and sound? Without a mark on him?"

"Um, well yeah. Why?" The young fish looked puzzled.

"Something doesn't seem right about that." Yuffie muttered, almost to herself.

"You're right." Mickey agreed. "He's been gone all this time, and then suddenly reappears unharmed as if nothing were wrong. I have a bad feeling about this whole thing."

They swam to the palace gates, and past a few merpeople milling about the area since the end of the concert nearly thirty minutes previously. They came to a sudden stop when they saw a man exiting the palace with the trident over his shoulder.

A man who the trident did not belong to.

Flounder (innocent and trusting as he was) swam up to Eric, covering the distance between them as quickly as his little fins would allow. "Hey Eric!"

"Flounder." He responded curtly.

"Why do you have the trident?" He asked curiously.

"Oh, King Triton gave it to me to... keep. He's not feeling so well, maybe you should check in on him."

Immediately, Flounder swam around him, and into the palace.

"He actually bought that?" Yuffie sounded incredulous.

"He's just a child." Mickey defended. "He wouldn't expect a close friend to lie to him over something so important."

Eric walked casually on, but soon found Riku, Mickey, and Yuffie blocking his path. "Hello guys. You should probably-"

"Don't give us that crap." Yuffie snapped, flourishing her shuriken threateningly.

"You're not Eric." Riku said, glaring at him, and summoning Way to Dawn. "Your scent is too different. It's darker."

"Not Eric?" The accused responded, as if surprised that the Keybearer would think such a thing. "Who else would I be?"

"Morgana." Mickey summoned Kingdom Crown.

A wicked smile appeared on Eric's face, and he pointed the trident at Riku's chest, the three prongs crackling with golden energy. "Good answer."

He fired the energy at Riku, who summoned the Guardian quickly to block the attack. There was enough energy in the blast that it actually forced it backwards a bit. Riku fired a blast of Dawn at Eric from behind the massive creature, which narrowly missed.

Eric leapt backward from the strike the King had aimed at his waist. He parried another two blows with the trident, before counter-attacking with a stab at his face. Mickey weaved to the side of the attack, avoiding the sharp prongs completely.

At the same time, Riku and Yuffie struck down toward Eric's head. The trident came up, blocking their blades. He forced their weapons off of his, and dove backwards away from them.

King Mickey was holding still now, gripping his blade tightly with both hands. The blade was beginning to glow, and it was getting brighter and brighter all the time. He lifted it into the air, and the golden glow left the blade, forming into a small ball of Light directly over the blade.

He lowered it, and pointed it at Eric, who was once again fighting off both Riku and Yuffie. He took careful aim, and when he finally saw an opening, he shouted, "Holy Light!"

The ball shot from the blade with blinding speed, and impacted with Eric's chest. It hit him full on, knocking him backwards, but the more interesting thing that happened was that something flew out of his back.

It looked like Morgana, almost. It was a shadowy, featureless copy of the sea witch.(1)

"He was possessed!" Mickey shouted to the shocked Riku and Yuffie, who were now looking at an unconscious Prince Eric.

The trident lay on the sandy floor at Eric's feet. He had dropped it when Mickey's attack struck him. Carefully, Riku bent over and picked it up with both hands. The metal was surprisingly warm to the touch.

"Let's bring this back to-"

A shadowy figure shot forward, yanking the trident from Riku's unprepared grasp. A huge cloud of black, inky smoke obscured his vision before he totally realized that it was Morgana's shadowy duplicate that had taken it.

A burst of Light from Mickey's Keyblade cleared away the ink seconds later, but Riku didn't like what he saw.

He, Yuffie, and Mickey were surrounded by Heartless, and Morgana's duplicate was nowhere to be seen.

Growling in frustration, Riku called Way to Dawn back to his hand. He parried the strike of a Screwdriver, and stabbed through its stomach. Two Sea Neons approached from behind him, but he spun and took them out with one clean swipe.

Yuffie took three kunai, and tossed them in all directions. She was pleased to discover that they were somehow functioning as she wanted them to even underwater. One caught a Screwdriver in the throat, another struck a Kraken in the eye, and a third struck a Sea Neon full on.

She then took her shuriken, and dove to the sea of a charging Great Black. She drove the weapon into the top of its head as hard as she could. Black smoke leaked from the wound for a few moments, before the Heartless faded away completely.

King Mickey dueled with a pair of Screwdrivers, blocking their tridents easily every time. He stabbed forward, removing one from the picture, and then beheading the other. A Kraken shot it's tentacles forward in an attempt to catch him, but missed.

The oldest Keybearer swam toward it, Keyblade raised. He brought it down hard on its head, cutting it clean in two. Both halves sank to the ground, before vanishing in Darkness.

Riku ducked under a charging Aquatank, stabbing his blade into its stomach as it passed over him. A handful of Sea Neons and Screwdrivers swam toward him, perhaps seeing him as the greatest threat. He stretched out his hand.

"First Light's Fire!" He shouted. A large plume of red-orange fire burst from his palm at the Heartless. It roared toward them, and incinerated them easily upon impact.

The Wielder of Dawn smirked, flexing his fingers.

The fighting lasted only minutes before the Heartless were completely and utterly defeated. But, the damage was done.

The trident was in Morgana's hands now.

!

_See? Short. It gets better though._

_1) Wwecat's idea. Imagine this as something like that featureless Jafar-lookalike in KH2._

_Please review!_


	92. Chapter 91: The Trident's Power

_As promised, I updated sooner. We're about done with Atlantica, and next chapter features a rather special boss. But for now, we're here. Enjoy!_

_Triton: "DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else."_

_!_

Chapter 91: The Trident's Power

"Okay, we have a problem." Sora admitted about twenty minutes later. Their group was assembled back at Triton's throne room. Triton and Eric were both nursing a few injuries, but no permanent damage had been done.

"So how do we fix it?" Riku asked.

"We find Morgana and get the trident back before she puts it to major use." Kairi replied simply. She looked at Nehrut. "How's that coming, by the way?"

Nehrut had been meditating for nearly fifteen minutes in an attempt to find the sea witch. "Pretty far... Haven't found her... Few more minutes please, it's hard to concentrate."

"If she has the trident, we're going to need more strength than what we have now." Ariel guessed. "Eric, do you think you could rally more support for us back on shore?"

"I'm sure I can whip something up." He replied, smiling.

"Found her!" Nehrut proclaimed loudly. He then grimaced, and clutched at his head. He had brought about a headache. "She's at the world's north pole. If we hurry now, we might be able to catch her before she tries anything."

"Eric, we'll be needing that support now." Sora said.

Without any further word, Eric swam out of the throne room in the direction of his ship.

"King Triton, rally whatever forces you can, we're in for a fight." Sora said. He caught himself as soon as he realized that he was giving orders to a king.

But surprisingly, Triton didn't seem to notice, or care. He simply nodded to Sora, and got up from his throne. "I'll assemble the guard, and we'll meet you at the pole as soon as we can." Then, almost reluctantly, he added, "Best of luck, Keyblade Master."

He quickly embraced Ariel (already knowing full and well that it would be pointless trying to talk her out of going to the pole), and swam outside.

!

"Ah, there you are!" Morgana stated happily, beaming at the figure that had just entered her icy chamber. Her shadowy double swam to her, the gleaming golden trident in its near-transparent hands. "And look! You've brought the trident!"

Undertow immediately went crazy. "Give it to her! Give it to her! Give it to h-"

One of Morgana's tentacles shot out, and wrapped itself around the tiny shark's tail. She slammed him onto the large open chair into the center of the room.

"Forgive him, he's got a little size issue." Morgana apologized through clenched teeth.

"It doesn't understand you, you ignorant squid." came a voice from the cauldron. Turning around, Morgana wasn't particularly surprised to see that Crucion had come calling again.

"It has no thoughts of its own, it merely follows the orders it's given."

"Um, r-right. Yes." She stammered, and turned back to the duplicate. She stretched out her hand. "Now give it here..."

It swam forward, and placed the trident into her hands. The next second, it disappeared.

Morgana grinned manically. She gazed at the trident, which had taken on a greenish glow in her hand. She began to laugh, feeling the exhilaration of victory taking her over. She lifted the trident into the air. It crackled with electricity, the bolts flying all over across the cavern, and striking the walls.

"All the power of the seven seas are at my command!" She exclaimed, and cackled more.

"_Hello_!" Undertow interrupted impatiently. "Can we get with the program? It's still a small world down here!"

"Morgana!" Crucion shouted shortly, catching her attention immediately. "Need I remind you that you still have a _job_ to do?"

"Ah, yes of course!" Morgana said, smiling, and running her finger along the length of the trident in an almost affectionate manner. "Don't worry, my friend. I'll get you those Keyblades. Count on it."

"Good." Crucion said, then sniffed a few times, as if trying to catch a whiff of something. "Because I believe that they are at your door right about now."

Perfectly timed, Morgana next heard a loud crashing noise from farther off, just outside of her home. It was soon followed by the sounds of shouting and fighting.

"You see?" Crucion said, smirking a little. "You have bigger fish to fry."

"Bigger fish! Now there's an idea!" Undertow pointed out, trying yet again to drop a hint.

Morgana rolled her eyes, and pointed the trident at Undertow.

!

Sora plunged Oblivion through the head of a Kraken, pinning it to the icy wall behind it. It thrashed for a moment, before he ripped the blade from it's body, and spun around to block a strike from a Screwdriver. Donald took this one out with a blast of fire.

"Almost there." Nehrut said, charging down the underwater tunnel formed into the glacier with Riku. "She's close!"

"Uh, she's not the only one." Riku said, the two of them suddenly stopping in their tracks.

The tunnel ahead of them had suddenly been taken up with about two-thousand pounds worth of grinning tiger shark.

"Going somewhere, boys?" Undertow asked mockingly, his teeth shining in the very dim light.

"Yeah, through you." Riku said, pooling Dawn energy to his hand. "Ray of Dawn!"

Undertow opened his mouth wide, ready to bite the Keybearer's head off. Before the razor-sharp teeth chomped him in two, Riku fired a large blast of Dawn directly through his mouth, and down his throat.

The shark let out a scream of extreme pain, and flew backwards into one of the icy walls.

"I think she's already got the trident..." Ariel said, worried.

Suddenly, the entire cavern that they were floating in started to shake. Chunks of the walls and ceiling broke loose, and sank to the bottom.

"Get back outside!" Sora shouted urgently.

The other ten followed his advice immediately, turning around and swimming as quickly as possible back the way they had come. As the cavern crumbled around them, they were forced to constantly duck and weave out of the way of the falling debris on the way out.

All of them got back into the mostly-open water just as the tunnel collapsed behind them.

As they broke the surface of the water again, Donald asked, "What just happened?"

"Well, I think that had something to do with it." Sora said, pointing back toward the glacier they had just exited.

The whole giant glacier was crumbling and cracking all over. Massive chunks of ice were breaking free and falling into the churning ocean. As they watched, the very top began to crack in specific sections, and in a few seconds the top exploded in a shower of ice particles, which rained down on them like hail.

A huge, icy pillar rose from the new opening, stretching into the sky like a skyscraper. Sitting on top of the pillar in a throne-like chair that was also fashioned from the ice, was Morgana, the glowing green trident held in one hand.

"All hail Queen Morgana!" She proclaimed to the world.

"Well, this can't be good." Axel said, summoning his chakrams.

He was right. And things only took off from there. "All the power of the sea is at my command!" She shouted, cackling madly. She waved the trident around a few more times.

As she did, huge ice formations of various sizes shot up from the water. They shot all over in specific, mostly curving patterns. Sora and the others were forced to back away from the formation forming around the glacier as quickly as possible to avoid them.

When it was done nearly a full minute later, what was left resembled a twisted, icy version of the palace in Atlantica several miles away. And Morgana still sat on her huge pillar in the very center.

"Ya see that, ma!" She shouted into the sky. "Who's your favorite now!" Only now did she seem to take notice of them down in the water. "Ah, so nice of you to drop by!" She called. "I hope you brought your Keyblades, because we need them!"

Sora summoned his in response, and held it in a fighting position. But before any of them moved any further, they heard a shout from farther off. "The cavalry's coming!"

Everyone turned toward the direction of the sound. Approaching them among the glaciers was a large, wooden ship similar to the one Ariel and Eric owned. This one, however was clearly meant for combat. Sora saw an array of cannons on one side. A handful of sailors were scrambling across the upper deck, preparing for battle. Prince Eric himself was at the helm.

Morgana's response to this major offensive was a wide, devious grin. "Ah, Prince Eric! Come to join the party? We're having a blast!"

She aimed the trident almost casually at a large glacier –part of which was hanging over the ship's path. A narrow beam of green light burst from the tip toward the glacier. Slowly, Morgana moved the beam along its length, severing a chunk of the glacier from the main body.

In seconds, it was completely cut off, and fell crashing onto the ship.

The sails snapped under the weight of the ice block, and it crashed completely through them. The sailors rushed for the sides of the ship, leaping over the railing as fast as they could before it crushed the ship.

"Well, that was anti-climactic." Axel muttered.

"Eric!" Ariel exclaimed, voice thick with fright and worry.

She swam toward the ship without any further word to the others. Axel went after her, to ensure her safety (clearly not realizing that she had seen her own share of combat the last time Heartless had invaded her world).

The intrusions continued when they heard yet another familiar voice. "Morgana!"

Now, King Triton had arrived. He was in a chariot made out of a large, bronze shell. Sebastian was sitting on the front of the chariot in front of him. They were being pulled along by three dolphins. Following close behind the chariot was the remainder of the royal guard, ready for battle.

"King Triton!" Morgana greeted. "Is that the best you can do?"

Triton and his guards came to a stop by Sora and the rest. "Surrender the trident, and I will spare you!"

"What he said!" Sora agreed. Everyone brandished their weapons.

"Ooooooh. What'ya gonna do? Throw the crab at me?"

Sebastion growled.

"Face it, Triton." came a voice from nearby. Soon, everybody noticed a large dorsal fin breaking the surface of the water. Undertow (bruised, but still very much alive) surfaced. "You're all washed up!"

"We're not." Sora interjected. As if to reinforce his point, Axel and Ariel had already rejoined them. Sora saw Eric standing on a plate of ice through his peripheral vision.

Morgana waved the trident in circular patterns. Dozens and dozens of Heartless appeared on her new 'palace.' "Destroy them!"

"Attack!" Triton shouted.

The Heartless moved first, rushing toward the off-worlders and merpeople in a huge wave. Undertow came with them, the thrill of a hunt clear on his face.

Donald was the first to greet them, with a massive Thundaga spell that tore into their ranks. Next came a Refraction Ray attack from Riku. Tiny missiles of Dawn energy spiraled through the air, impacting with the Heartless before exploding.

After a massive, widespread mental blast from Nehrut, the Heartless ranks were reduced to only half of their previous intimidating number.

The thickest fighting came when the survivors finally managed to get to them.

Sora lashed out with the Keyblade, cutting two charging Sea Neons in half. He jumped completely out of the water as a Great Black came at him. He grabbed hold of its dorsal fin, and plunged his blade into the top of its head.

He landed easily back in the water, and dove under just in time to avoid a Kraken's shooting tentacles. To its surprise, Sora resurfaced on the other side of the Heartless, and drove it through the side of its head.

Kairi flew directly over him, and plunged her Keyblade into the forehead of an Aquatank that appeared in front of him. She pushed herself off of its vanishing remains, and landed next to Sora. She blocked the overhand strike of a Screwdriver, and allowed Sora to finish it for her.

Axel passed by them, throwing his chakrams in a wide arc. Before they boomeranged back to him, they cut down four Sea Neons and a Kraken. One injured Great Black rushed at the ex-Nobody before his weapons returned to him. As it opened its mouth, Axel thrust his hands forward, firing a large fireball directly down its throat.

Nehrut flew completely over the dying Heartless, aiming for an Aquatank behind it. He stabbed completely through it, and went back into the water. When he resurfaced, he was forced to dodge to the side, as three Krakens lashed out at him with their primary tentacles.

A familiar sai flew right past his left ear, and buried itself between the eyes of one of them. When its partners immediately turned to attack the new threat, Nehrut launched a mental blast at them, throwing them backwards into a glacier. He quickly swam over, and reclaimed Bariss' sai.

He tossed it to her as she passed him. She gave a quick 'thanks' as she passed, and brought her whip to her other hand. With it, she slashed the throat of a Screwdriver, and sliced a Sea Neon in half.

The telepath followed her, and leapt. His blade cut through another Screwdriver that she had somehow not noticed just before it impaled her.

Mickey threw Kingdom Crown at a Kraken. It cut it in two, and passed completely through it. It embedded itself in the chest of a Screwdriver, and stayed there until he summoned it back to his hand. He spun around, parrying a strike from another one, and stabbed it through the chest.

He dove into the water to avoid Goofy's flying shield, which bounced off of an Aquatank (wounding it) and cut through a Sea Neon before soaring back to him. The King leapt over Goofy, and destroyed a Sea Neon in midair.

Unfortunately, as he descended, Undertow shot up from beneath him, opening his mouth wide to swallow him up. Mickey noticed the huge shark just a tenth of a second before he wound up in his jaws.

Displaying his incredibly fast thought-process yet again, Mickey righted himself as much as possible in midair, and held his Keyblade out horizontally in front of him as he fell into Undertow's mouth.

The shark bit down, intending to close his teeth on the mouse. Instead, his teeth only met the hard ends of the Kingdom Crown Keyblade. Rather like Sora had done to the Moray Shadow, and to Cerberus before it, Mickey had wedged his mouth open.

Of all people, Ariel was the next one to take a shot at Undertow. Utilizing Blizzard-like magic that she had learned long ago, she fired a frosty spray of ice particles at the shark's exposed neck.

Undertow howled in pain, releasing his grip on the blade, and allowing Mickey to escape. Donald rushed in to back Ariel up, casting his own Blizzaga spells against Undertow's tough skin.

The massive shark was forced to hurriedly give ground, submerging his massive body, and swimming away.

But Riku and Yuffie weren't about to let him escape, and followed him. Yuffie threw her shuriken with all the force she could muster, cutting Undertow along his gills.

The shark stopped running, and spun around to face them head-on, trying to ignore the pain. As Yuffie reclaimed her weapon, Riku and Undertow charged at each other. Undertow opened wide, but this only proved to be another mistake.

The Guardian shot out from behind Riku, and grabbed the shark's jaws with its bare hands. It held them open, despite the fact that Undertow was thrashing in its grip in a fruitless attempt to escape.

Riku dismissed his Keyblade, and brought his hands together, gathering Dawn energy. With a shout, he thrust them both forward, sending a massive blast of Dawn down Undertow's throat.

The shark was completely silent as the blast exploded in his mouth, tossing him backwards, out of the water, and into the side of a glacier.

He hit it with such force, that the top of the glacier cracked off, and landed on top of it.

But though Undertow was out of the picture, the Heartless continued to swarm in, attacking from all sides. Eric, being stuck on land, was the subject of many semi-successful Heartless attacks, as was the unarmed Triton.

And all the while, Morgana overlooked all of it with an expression of extreme amusement. "Oh how dear Ursula would have _adored_ this!"

"Well, not this." Sora muttered, fending off a Great Black. Eric (who was nearby on his chunk of glacier) stabbed down into its back with his saber, effectively ending its 'life.' Sora then raised his voice. "Ready Ariel?"

"Ready!" The mermaid confirmed, swimming rapidly toward him. As she came, she fired an icy blast into a Screwdriver's face.

When she was about ten feet from him, Sora began to swim to his right. Likewise, Ariel swam to her right. They continued swimming like this, churning the water between them in a circular pattern.

They picked up speed, and in only a matter of seconds, they had formed a rapidly spinning whirlpool between them. It almost immediately sucked up the Heartless around them. First one, then two, and then just over a dozen Heartless were sucked into the whirlpool, and quickly crushed by the force of the rushing water.

After just a few seconds of this, Sora and Ariel leapt free of the whirlpool, and it dissipated very quickly.

"Keep it together!" Sora exclaimed.

He held his blade directly out in front of him when he hit the water. He rushed toward the nearest Sea Neon, with blade still extended. Just before impact, Sora corkscrewed his entire body, coming at the Heartless like a deadly drill.

He plowed right through it, and the Kraken behind it, and didn't stop until his blade had pierced the huge belly of an Aquatank. He pulled his blade out, and repeated the drilling motion, ripping completely through five Sea Neons.

Ariel rushed at a Great Black, arms spread wide as if she was about to hug the Heartless. She clapped her hands together quickly, magically creating a large, beach-ball sized bubble.

The bubble shot at the Heartless at high speed, and exploded on contact with its skin. It shredded its black flesh, destroying both it, and the Screwdriver caught in the bubble's blast radius.

She ducked under a Kraken's tentacles, and fired a second bubble at the offending Kraken. As before, it exploded, along with two identical Heartless next to it. She fired a third at a Sea Neon. The bubble didn't explode on the tiny Heartless, but shot through it into a larger Aquatank. This Heartless, along with the three Sea Neons around it, were caught as it actually exploded.

The two of them continued this for over a minute, before they brought their limit to its close with Sora's exclamation of, "Now!"

He stopped his attack on a Screwdriver, and went under the surface of the water. He stopped about ten feet under, and held te Keyblade vertically above his head. Ariel swam down with him, and started swimming around the Keybearer, with her back to him.

She fired more of her special bubbles out into the water, where Heartless were beginning to close in on them. The bubbles all stopped dead about fifteen feet from her and Sora, who was still motionless with his blade pointing up.

She continued firing the bubbles until there were nearly fifty around them. She then abruptly stopped her firing and swam into the air over Sora.

The bubbles all shot toward Sora, stopping mere inches away from his skin. With one single motion, he brought the Keyblade slicing down.

With that single motion, the bubbles shot out in all directions at an astonishing speed, exploding on contact with anything they touched; Heartless, ice walls, and glaciers. They tore the area apart, sending chunks of ice flying in all directions, which in turn, further injured the Heartless survivors.

Soon, there were none left.

"Wonderful!"(1)

!

_Hope that you liked it. And stay tuned for the next one!_

_1) 'Tsunami Strike'_

_Please review!_


	93. Chapter 92: Wrath of the Sea

_So here we are at the end of another world. The concept of this battle originated with Wwecat, so I just picked it up and ran with it._

_Sora: "Thank you so much for putting us through this one, by the way."_

_Ah, you've faced worse. Deal with it._

_Sora: "No consideration at all."_

_Now, now, I haven't killed any of you yet, have I? Come on, would you please just read the thing?_

_Sora: "Okay, fine. DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else."_

_!_

Chapter 92: Wrath of the Sea

All was silent for a few moments, while everybody calmed down from the constant fighting.

Out of all of them, Eric and Triton were the worst for wear, sporting several cuts and bruises across their bodies. Fortunately, they hadn't sustained any serious damage, and were still perfectly capable of physical combat.

They had almost forgotten about Morgana, who was still perched on top of her icy palace overlooking them all. She now had a scowl on her face.

"You fools!" She shouted, her scowl transforming to a wicked smile. "I still have the trident! And all the creatures of the sea, are in _my_ power!"

She lifted the trident into the air, crackling with electricity. With that simple act, she brewed up a huge storm from the relatively clear day. The sky darkened, and the sea turned rough.

"Now face the Wrath of the Sea!" She cried out lifting the trident into the air with both hands.

What happened next seemed to happen in slow motion. Everything was completely silent for a moment, then the churning waves turned twice as violent. The huge, icy palace that Morgana had magically created began to shake, chunks of ice breaking off of it and the surrounding glaciers.

At last, a truly massive Heartless broke through the front of the palace, sending huge chunks of ice flying through the air, and crashing into the water.

It was even bigger than the Groundshaker Sora had fought once at the Pride Lands. It resembled a strange hybrid of lobster, shark, sea turtle, sea-serpent, and octopus. It had a black, crustaceous body, with a lobster's tail, small legs, and huge claws, but it also had a shell-like version of a shark's dorsal fin. This hard outer shell was dotted with splotches of blood red. Where the head of the lobster would have been was instead a long, smooth, black-skinned neck streaked with red lines. At the end of the neck was the head of a serpent, mouth lined with three rows of sharp, jagged, gleaming white teeth, and glowing yellow eyes. The top of its head sported the Heartless emblem. Sprouting from the same area as the neck were four black and red tentacles, lined with suction cups.

The Wrath of the Sea snapped its claws intimidatingly, and leered down at them all as Morgana leapt onto the top of its head.

"I've got a bad feeling about this." Sora muttered, his jaw dropping at the sheer size of the Heartless.(1)

"Crush them!" Morgana ordered the creature, pointing the trident at them.

It let out an unearthly shriek, and lashed out at the group with its toothy mouth wide open. It barely missed, but the force of the attack as its head struck the water formed huge new waves that threw them all several feet backwards.

"Bow before the Queen of the seas!" Morgana shouted amidst another round of her triumphant laughter.

When the party resurfaced again, they all bore identical expressions of mixed worry and irritation. "How do you fight something of that size?" Axel asked.

"One inch of it at a time." Sora answered, rushing fearlessly at the massive Heartless, Oblivion in hand. Kairi and Riku followed him without question.

Wrath noted their approach, and opened its mouth wide again. A huge torrent of sub-zero temperature air and ice particles shot toward the three Keybearers. They quickly dove under the water, and swam as deep as they could, but still continued swimming forward. The icy blast that Wrath had shot at them instantly froze the water above them, forming a small glacier instantly.

Sora, Kairi, and Riku swam toward the portion of the Heartless that was underwater. All they could see of it was the lobster-like body, with its claws resting on the surface. From this angle, Sora could see the Heartless emblem on its stomach.

He aimed directly at this emblem, and released a huge surge of electricity through the water. The bolt collided with Wrath's chest, and it was possible that the Heartless trembled under the sudden attack.

But then it went back on the offensive, and slowly advanced toward them on its relatively small legs. It brought up its huge claws, and shot them down at the water where it believed the three to be. The huge striking claws just barely missed them, coming very close to crushing or slicing them with each strike. More than once, Riku was forced to call up his Guardian to defend them all.

Back on the surface, the others had joined the fight. The off-worlders, plus Ariel were rushing toward Wrath, leaving now powerless Triton to tend to the now unconscious Eric. Mickey was at the head of them, gathering as much Light as he could to his Keyblade.

Morgana and Wrath noticed their approach even as it continued stabbing at the three who were underwater. The Heartless opened its mouth wide, as Morgana spun the triton in a circle over her head. Wrath fired its icy blast just as Morgana shot bolts of lightning at them. The two attacks joined together, forming an unusual, super-charged ice attack.

Fortunately, they had seen something like it coming. Axel swam forward, chakrams ablaze. With a shout, he threw them harder than he ever had on an intercept course with the icy beam.

Their fire grew fiercer as they flew. By the time it reached the opposing attack, the weapons themselves were obscured from sight within a fireball roughly the size of a minivan.

The two attacks met with an explosion and a huge cloud of vapor, neutralizing each other. Axel called his weapons back to him, and Nehrut took to the air as soon as he had them back. He soared at Wrath's head, blade ready to fend off any attack that it or its master might aim at him.

He hadn't really been prepared for the huge tentacles at the base of its neck to come up and strike at him. One of them hit him square in the chest, sending him flying backwards, and causing him to drop Presul. He righted himself as soon as he could (inches before hitting the water) and pulled his blade back to him telepathically.

He was barely able to dodge another strike from the same tentacle. This time, however, he was quick enough to get off his own attack. He cut a deep gash into the tentacle, nearly cutting it in two.

The Heartless immediately pulled it back, realizing the threat that the telepath posed. It lashed out again with its teeth, narrowly missing.

Nehrut was now hovering over its head, less than two meters from Morgana, anchored securely to her new 'pet.' He struck horizontally, nearly taking the head off of the octopod. She brought the trident to bear at the last possible second. Though she wasn't trained at all in using weapons (especially not against someone of Nehrut's caliber) the trident seemed to gift her with acceptable reflexes.

Nehrut drew back quickly, avoiding her counter attack. He would have tried another attack, but he sensed that one of the tentacles was coming at him again. He flew farther back, just missing it.

Wrath loomed before him, about to strike again. But then came a narrow beam of Light from the water just in front of it. It shot directly up, and struck it in the chin.

Kairi shot out from the water, her hands and tail-fin glowing. Riku was right behind her with the Guardian. Together, they fired blast after blast of Light and Dawn energy at the Heartless' head.

While it was clearly beginning to feel the effects of the barrage, it wasn't yet beyond striking back at them. All four of its strangely located tentacles struck at them, forcing them to cut off their attack so they could focus on avoiding the attacks.

One nearly slammed into Riku, but the Guardian rushed toward it, catching it, and getting a very firm grip on it. Conveniently, this was the same one that Nehrut had nearly cut in two. With one hard tug, the creature ripped it off completely, leaving only a tiny, useless stump behind.

The Heartless shrieked in pain, and tried in vain to back away from his attackers to collect itself. But now Riku and Kairi had resumed their Light and Dawn attack, and Sora soon re-entered the picture.

The business end of the Keywhip shot from the water, and instantly wrapped around a tentacle that was still intact. With one motion, and an act of his will, Sora raised himself out of the water, tightening the chain's grip around the tentacle.

Quickly, Sora set the chain on fire, burning through the black flesh of the Heartless fairly quickly. The tentacle shook as much as it could, trying to weaken Sora's grip on it, to no avail. It was only seconds later that he had burned through it entirely, adding the stench of burnt Heartless flesh to the air.

The other two tentacles went soon after. Gathering Light to her Keyblade, Kairi made a wide, slashing motion with it. A crescent-shaped Light disk shot from it, slicing through the air, and through the third tentacle with very little resistance. It actually kept going past that point, cutting the top off of a glacier, which landed on the unconscious Undertow.

The last one was destroyed when the rest of the party reached the fray. Donald rapidly shot large fireballs from the head of his staff. Most of them hit the neck and upper chest of Wrath, but some struck the tentacle, burning or destroying chunks of it where it struck. It had been reduced to shreds in mere moments.

Its close-quarter weapons now gone, Wrath threw itself several feet into the air (which was a surprising feat considering the size of its legs). When it landed, it created another surge of tidal waves, forcing all of those in the water at the time back dozens of feet.

All of the Keybearers, Nehrut, and Axel were still close enough to Wrath to engage it, but the sudden attack had thrown them off balance. Wrath and Morgana took advantage of their brief window of opportunity.

It opened its mouth, and fired another icy blast of air, forcing them into a temporary retreat; save for one.

King Mickey was the only one who had yet to attack the creature personally. For several minutes, he had been gathering Light energy to his blade. So much so that it was shining with a great, golden light, and was vibrating roughly in his grip. He had to grip it with both hands to steady it.

He took careful aim at the Heartless, trying to make absolutely sure he hit his target, which was difficult with the tossing waves and the new glacier in his line of fire. He didn't want his efforts to be proven useless because of a missed shot.

It took nearly a full minute, but he was finally sure he had his shot. At last, he released the pent-up energy in one massive blast that was at least three times as big as him. Blinding gold Light shot at Wrath, roaring through the air, unstoppable.

It pounded into the base of its neck, throwing it bodily away, and crashing through Morgana's palace, destroying most of the structure. Huge amounts of black smoke began to stream from its body, rising high into the sky. Wrath was soon buried under thousands of pounds of ice, and the only part of it visible above the ice and water was its large, flat tail, which was leaking Darkness.

They heard a faint howl of pure rage, and a blast of electricity cleared away a small section of the debris covering the dying Heartless. Morgana worked her way out of the wreckage, scowling, and clutching the trident, crackling with electricity.

"You impudent little worms!" She growled, pointing the trident at Mickey, and taking aim. The King was too exhausted by his own attack to do much about it, and was pulling in heavy breaths of air.

She fired crackling bolts of electricity across the water, racing toward the King.

Were it not for Ariel, he would have met a painful end. She leapt from the water seemingly out of nowhere, and knocked Mickey completely out of the way. The lightning shot past them, just barely missing Ariel's tail fin.

Sora rushed at Morgana, Keyblade raised. He struck at her quickly five times, but the trident was there to intercept his blows each time. It granted the witch just enough speed to hold him at bay.

"You'll never beat me, you little brat!" She cried, swiping at his chest and missing by inches. "The seas are mine to-"

"Oh will you please _SHUT UP_!" Nehrut shouted from a few feet behind Sora. With a flex of his mental power, the trident flew out of Morgana's hands, and into his own.

Everyone was totally still for a moment, not quite believing how suddenly the tide had turned. Nehrut looked pretty surprised himself. He looked at Sora, and the now terrified-looking Morgana. "_Okay_... Next time something like this happens, will somebody just remind me to do that?"

He spun around, and tossed the trident like a javelin to the merman swimming quickly toward them.

Triton leapt out of the water completely, and caught the trident in one hand, almost without any effort. He smiled briefly, but when his eyes settled on Morgana again, his face dawned an expression of pure rage. He looked so angry at that moment, that Morgana cringed, and held her tentacles defensively in front of her body.

"Never again will you or yours threaten my family or my kingdom!" Triton exclaimed. The trident –back in the proper hands- shone bright gold. "There will be no escape for you. EVER!"

He fired golden energy from his weapon, which struck Morgana head on. But she didn't move, instead she let out a restrained cry of fear and disbelief as she was frozen solid in a large chunk of ice.

Not moving a millimeter in her icy prison, she slipped from the pile of ice she had been standing on, and into the water.

Unseen to all, she sank for several miles, until she finally came to rest on the ocean floor. Her eyes flickered back and forth, the only part of her that could still move at all. Also unseen to anyone but her, her old picture of 'poor, unfortunate Ursula' had sunk along with her.

It came to rest face up in the sand right in front of her, smiling _almost_ benignly as if mocking her failure.

Back on the surface, by contrast, the mood was one of quiet jubilation. Eric and Sebastian had rejoined them.

"I still can't believe what you guys are capable of." Eric said, addressing the off-worlders while he embraced his wife.

"Neither do we." Sora replied casually, hands interlaced with Kairi's. He looked at Nehrut. "Nice trick by the way."

"I try." He said, lopsided smile set on his face. "Wish I had thought of it earlier, though. I'll have to remember that for later."

"For all the other mystical weapons that we need to take back?" Axel asked.

"Shut up." Nehrut replied, looking irritated. His expression changed when Bariss congratulated him with a peck on the cheek.

"And the flirting stage begins." Riku muttered to both Sora, who was grinning.

"I owe you my thanks, my friends." Triton said, at last swallowing his pride regarding beings from other worlds. "Once again, you've saved my kingdom."

"And ours." Eric added. "Thanks, guys."

"Now, there is one matter left to attend to, I think. Then we can finally rest." Triton said, beckoning to them to follow him before sinking beneath the surface.

Curious, they followed him back underwater, and into the glacier's interior. Sora was amazed that there was any of it left intact after the entire ice palace had collapsed over it. But then he realized that it wasn't exactly true. The icy walls were cracked all over.

They swam down a tunnel into what had apparently been Morgana's lair. Most of the furnishings had been knocked over, or otherwise damaged. But the cauldron in the center was still standing.

The Keybearer was about to ask why Triton had brought them here, when the monarch aimed his trident at the cauldron. "I have long sensed that this _thing_ had reappeared here, yet something was keeping me away. I suspect that it sensed the presence of the trident whenever I came near, and tried to repel me. Now, I need you to do what only you can do." Golden energy shot from the trident into the cauldron.

It immediately began to bubble, and in seconds, it had cracked open completely, and was lying in pieces on the floor. A bubble roughly the size of a basketball emerged from the remains. It floated in place about three feet above the ground. The shape of a small, golden keyhole appeared on it.

Oblivion appeared in Sora's hand, and he pointed it at the Keyhole. Light shot from the tip, and into the heart of the Keyhole. It let off a flash of light as it sealed itself, and then it vanished.

The bubble popped. Sora noted that it almost felt like a punctuation mark for the end of their journey on Atlantica, and took a moment to bask in the familiar cooling sensation of the water he had been away from for so long.

!

_Done! Hope you enjoyed, and now on to the next one!_

_1) Casual Star Wars reference FTW!_

_Please review!_


	94. Chapter 93: Escape from the Brotherhood

_Alright, this would have been up way earlier if not for the Type 2 error making everybody go stir crazy. Let's get with the program, fanfiction! Please don't fail us now! Fortunately, somebody found a way to update with the error still in effect. Kudos to that guy!_

_But enough of my complaints. Max?_

_Max: "Alright, sure why not? DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, Cossex, Xyran, or any characters introduced in this chapter."_

_!_

Chapter 93: Escape from the Brotherhood

"I knew she wouldn't last." Crucion said.

It had been one day since Morgana's crushing defeat at the end of the magic trident she had so craved. Nobody in the Brotherhood was particularly surprised about her fate. Ursula's reputation had already reached their ears, so they'd have surely heard of Morgana if she had been anything special.

The entire Brotherhood was assembled in the meeting chamber, and Serndask was at the head of the room as usual, covered in his black clouds. He surveyed the gathered members of his Brotherhood, noting their behavior.

Those he now knew as the traitors were hanging near the back of the room on their own. He couldn't help but notice that they seemed a bit defensive, and guarded. He also noticed that Saix had changed his garb slightly. His black coat was ornamented with dark blue patterns slightly reminiscent of Xemnas's final coat.

Xyran and Cossex were sitting half-way down the table, and Liasa wasn't far from them. The young Xyran was shooting harsh looks at Sephiroth from across the table, and occasionally gave Larxene a glare. The swordsman appeared not to notice him, but Serndask noted Larxene grinning devilishly back at him whenever their eyes met. He suspected the reason for their obvious dislike of each other, but he didn't particularly care, so long as it didn't cause trouble for the rest of them.

Andmox and Klaxam stood in front of him, both looking ready for orders at a moment's notice. The Horned King was standing to their right, arms crossed over his chest, and looking contemplatively at Crucion, who was sitting by Sephiroth at the table, Zira lying on the ground a few feet away.

Crucion was about to state for what must have been the eighth time how he'd had no doubt of Morgana's eminent failure, when Andmox stopped him. "Old man!" He barked, pulling the room back into complete silence. "We understand already. Now shut it."

"Thank you." Serndask muttered, to Crucion's irritation. "I've called you all here for an important joint assignment."

"Joint assignment?" Xyran repeated.

"He means we'll be working together." Sephiroth replied dryly.

"Can it, pretty-boy."

"Enough." Serndask ordered immediately. "The 'Resistance' is planning to enter this very castle. Likely to access the hanger and steal a ship or two. They'll also likely be after a dark matter engine attachment to bring to their allies on other worlds. And so, the garage must be guarded just as heavily as the hanger."

"My lord," Klaxam interrupted, "Forgive my interruption-"

Larxene coughed, and it sounded suspiciously like, 'Kiss-up.'

Klaxam ignored her, and continued, "But it seems extremely unlikely that a handful of people could make it past our defenses."

"I'd have to agree with this kiss-up on this one." Liasa agreed. "We've got two freaking Darksides in front of the doors."

But Serndask almost seemed to enjoy breaking the next bit of news to them. "They entered the castle about three minutes ago, and I believe that they're making their way to the garage, while others are going to the hanger."

This news was greeted by a split second of total silence, before everyone who wasn't standing leapt to their feet. Those who had weapons on them immediately summoned them.

"Orders, sir?"

Serndask was silent for just a moment, before he said quietly, "I'm not interested in prisoners."

!

A single Cauldron Born walked along the halls of the Pax Pacis palace. Bound in handcuffs in front of it, being held at spear-point were Essej and Liz. They walked forward, heads down, and hands behind their backs. They looked like the picture of utter defeat.

None of them spoke, but simply continued the forced march down one of the side halls of the massive building, this particular one leading into the lower underground levels. The ceiling was fairly high, and every twenty feet or so, there was a sort of crystal chandelier, casting pale, almost eerie blue or green light across the hall.

The three soon came to the heavy stone door leading into the palace dungeons. There was only the narrowest possible slit in it a few feet off the ground that served as a window for the occupants. Essej cast a quick glance inside as it came into view.

They stopped there.

The Cauldron Born pulled away from its prisoners, and found a small object by the side of the dungeon door. It appeared to be nothing more than a round, cylindrical piece of stone jutting out from the wall. But on it, the shape of a dagger was engraved in dark green.

The Cauldron Born pressed the dagger shape with one bony finger. The dagger seemed to glow for one second, before returning to normal.

Nothing happened for several seconds. Then finally, a corridor of Darkness appeared in front of Essej and Liz. Crucion stepped through it immediately, followed after a moment by Liasa.

The two of them seemed extremely surprised to discover that their mission was already completed, and that a lowly minion such as the Cauldron Born had apparently finished it all on its own.

But Crucion did his best to hide it. "Well! It seems that the Resistance has been dealt with already! Master Serndask will be very pleased with my success."

"Excuse me?" Liasa asked, cocking an eyebrow and crossing her arms in front of her. "You had nothing to do with it."

"The master doesn't need to know that though, does he?" Crucion replied. "I hardly think that this thing will try to take the credit."

He summoned his gleaming black dagger to his hand. He walked around the prisoners and their captor, and plunged it into the stone jutting out from the wall. The dungeon door swung open immediately.

"Now if you'll just-"

Crucion was cut off. A white feather had just appeared, floating gently down from the ceiling. He and Liasa's eyes followed its progress to the floor.

They were still for several seconds of puzzled silence, looking at the feather.

At last, Liasa asked, "What the heck is this?"

"That, sweetheart, is a feather."

This voice came from the Cauldron Born, which was completely unexpected by the two of them. "And by standing there like idiots just looking at it, I think you just signed your own death cirtificates."

The two Brotherhood members looked up at the creature suddenly, mouths wide open. But they were caught unawares when a form covered in white robes suddenly dropped down from the ceiling onto Crucion, knocking him to the floor.

The stream of dark blood that was suddenly pouring from Crucion's neck was all the incentive that Liasa needed to bring her fiery swords to bear against this new deadly threat.

But suddenly the Cauldron Born's head split open, and the blue-grey form of Cryptosporidium 137 shot from it, already readying his weapon for action, and firing burning yellow projectiles at her. Only years of finely tuned reflexes enabled her to bring her weapons up to catch the shots in time.

The alien advanced toward her, firing away. Altair got up from Crucion's body, and pulled his saber from its sheath. To make matters worse for the woman, Essej and Liz's shackles fell lightly to the floor, and they rushed toward her, too.

When Essej summoned his staff to him in a flash of light, she realized that she was completely outmatched. Still blocking Crypto's shots, she began to back away from them. The instant that Crypto let up a little, she joined her swords into a large ball of fire, and shot it not at them, but the ground between them.

It was only a temporary distraction, but it worked. By the time that they looked back up, she had vanished.

"Coward." Altair muttered.

"She'll be back." Essej said. "With reinforcements." He turned around, and ran to the now open dungeon door. "The Heartless will be here very soon, let's do this."

Knowing what he had to do, Altair nodded, and ran as quickly as he could back down the hall from which they had come. Within seconds, he was out of sight.

"You know, that guy's starting to grow on me." Crypto said, stepping over the Cauldron Born who's body he had 'borrowed.' He fired a single shot into its chest without even looking. He then turned his attention to Crucion's unmoving body. "I thought this guy was going to vanish into Darkness like those Heartless freaks."

"He's still a human." Liz corrected. "Well, he was. Otherwise he and Liasa would have probably sensed Altair."

"Lucky break for us, huh?" He stretched out his hand. Crucion's body lifted into the air, and he shook it around a little. "Look, it's the world's ugliest hand-puppet!"

"Put it down." Liz ordered, looking slightly sick.

"Buzz-kill." Crypto muttered, but dropped Crucion anyway. When he did, something fell out of his pocket and onto the floor. Liz noticed it, and walked over. She bent down, and picked up a card with the number 'X' on the back.

"What's that?"

Liz was about to respond to Crypto's question, when Essej called them from the dungeon door. "Hello!"

Liz tucked the card into her pocket, and walked to the door.

Inside were a handful of people, each one of them bound in chains of Darkness, and bearing the same mysterious marks on their foreheads that blocked any special powers they had. Most of them had been sitting on the floor, but looked up at their entrance.

Surprisingly, one of the prisoners was a toddler. He was barely one foot tall, and had a strangely football-shaped head with a few dark hairs. He was wearing red overalls over a yellow shirt. Also surprisingly, he was the first one to speak, in a British accent "Well it's about bloody time! I've been sitting here in my own stew for three agonizing weeks! Now get me out of here and then change me!"

"Shut up!" Almost all of the remaining prisoners shouted, as if tired of enduring similar outbursts already.

"But in all seriousness, we'd appreciate it if ya broke us out of here." said a large, heavily-muscled red-skinned man with black hair on the sides of his head, and a beard. He wore a long, dark trench coat, and black jeans. His right forearm was larger than his left, and almost looked like it was covered by a rocky, red glove. He had two round, flat horns sprouting from his forehead, and a fluked tail.

Essej gripped his staff in both hands, and slammed the end into the ground. "_Erumpo_!"

Multiple, tiny balls of light shot from the head of the staff. They each flew to the spot where their chains were connecting to the wall. With a great flash of light, the chains vanished.

"Now that your hands are free, you can wipe the marks from your heads." Essej explained, "Trust me, you'll feel a lot better."

They followed his advice, and wiped the marks from their foreheads. As they did so, Essej clacked his staff more gently on the floor. This time, a large box about half his height appeared from midair in front of him, and settled on the floor. It was filled to the brim with weapons and equipment of many varieties.

"We managed to smuggle as many of your captured weapons as we could find over the course of several weeks." He said, as the prisoners stepped toward the box. "You'll probably need them soon."

"Thanks for springing us, dude." said one of the prisoners. From the sound of his voice, he couldn't have been out of his twenties. He was covered head to toe in a costume of red and blue. On his chest was a symbol that resembled a black spider, and his chest was streaked with a web pattern originating from it. His mask covered his entire head, and the only distinguishing features on it were two large, triangular white eyes. "If you're ever in Manhattan, look me up. I'll be the one swinging from buildings."

"Not that we're ungrateful, but just who are you guys?" This time, the speaker was a short, bare-chested creature about four feet high. He had a thin layer of gold fur, striped in some places with light brown. He had large, feline ears, a brown cat-like nose and tail, and green eyes.

Before Essej answered him, he found something of his in the box. "Clank!" He exclaimed, pulling out what appeared to be a small silver box with a head. He rapped it a few times on this head, and it suddenly sprang to life.

The head extended slightly, and a small antenna extended from the top. Scrawny arms with three-fingered hands emerged from its sides, and short metal legs extended from its underside. There was suddenly an eighteen inch tall robot sitting in his hand.

"So that's what that was..." Crypto said to Liz. "I'd been using it as a waste basket."

As if to confirm this, the robot Clank coughed up a paper ball.

Before anything else unexpected could happen, Essej decided to answer the last question directed at him. "My name is Essej. I used to rule this place. This is my fiance, Liz. And my... friend... Crypto."

After giving them an extremely brief history on the Brotherhood and their intentions, the others introduced themselves. The toddler was Stewie Griffin, of Quohog. The large red creature was Hellboy, of Tarmagant. The costumed man was Spider-Man, of Manhattan. The short, furred creature was Ratchet, of Veldin. His highly intelligent robotic friend was Clank.

But these five weren't the only prisoners. There were a few more being held in this particular dungeon. There was a tall, lanky teenager of about seventeen. He had unruly jet black hair, striking green eyes, glasses, and a lightning-bolt shaped scar on his forehead. He wore a set of black and scarlet robes. He introduced himself as Harry Potter of Godric's Hollow, and for some reason seemed extremely relieved to discover that they'd never heard of him.

There was another costumed man in the room. He was tall, with a dark grey shirt and pants. He had reached into the box and put on a belt with at least a dozen pouches on it, which contained various instruments. He was wearing a long black cape that was spiked at the ends. A black mask covered the top half of his face. It had two pointed 'ears' on the top, and white eyeholes. On his chest was a bat shape. He introduced himself as Batman of Gotham City, and left it at that.

There was a tall, anthropomorphic raccoon. He was wearing a tight, dark blue sweater, gloves, shoes, and cap. His eyes were covered by an actual black mask, displaying only amber eyes. He had a belt on with a buckle that resembled a raccoon's face. He was holding a cane in one hand that was topped with a gold 'C' shape. His name was Sly Cooper, and he said he was a Master Thief.

The cell's final occupant was perhaps the strangest. He was barely taller than Stewie, but shorter than Crypto. He had wrinkled, deep green skin, with a small amount of grey hair on his head. He had pointed ears, and wise, knowing green eyes that seemed as old as time itself. He had three-fingered hands, and three-toed bare feet. He was wearing a raggedy old home-spun robe of dull brown.

He introduced himself last. He hobbled forward, and gazed up into Essej's face. Then he said, in strange broken English, "Yoda, I am. And my gratitude, you have earned." He gave them a low bow. Then, with a small gesture, he summoned a small cylindrical device from the box to his hand. He clipped it to the tiny belt around his waist.

"Uh, nice to meet you, Yoda." Essej replied, casting a sidelong glance at Liz. He hadn't seen anything like that little trick since Nehrut and his family.

As if picking up on his train of thought, Yoda smiled, revealing slightly pointed teeth, and chuckled. It was a surprisingly comforting gesture. "Wondering are you, of the power I command?"

"We're wasting time standing around like this." Batman interrupted, getting down to the matter at hand. "If you have a plan, I think it's time we heard it."

"Right." Essej agreed. "Well, long story short, we need a certain Gummi ship engine part to get on and off this world, and we need to get one from the garage, and get it out of here. We'll bring it to our allies on the outside and wait for them to reverse engineer it and send reinforcements."

"Why don't we just all escape with one right now?" Harry asked, spotting a serious complication in the plan that Essej had already noticed.

"Because there aren't enough ships to get all of us out. So only one of us will leave with the part and a hijacked ship to the outside. The rest of us will stand a better chance together, but we have a protected area on world where we'll be safe until help gets here to finish the Brotherhood for good."

"Makes some sense, I guess." Sly conceded. "But who's the lucky pilot?"

"He and three of our other friends are creating a distraction in the hanger itself. They're destroying most of the ships so we can't be followed into space." Liz explained.

"So let's stop hanging around here and go get the freaking part!" Crypto practically shouted, sick of the waiting. "Every second we waste here is one more second that the others are closer to dying."

"Yeah. Let's get a move on! I'm sick of this place." Ratchet exclaimed, hefting a large projectile weapon that he had pulled from the box. Clank had turned into some kind of backpack/jetpack device on his back, though he still maintained control of his head, and kept trying to get a better view.

"Well, this feels familiar." He said, as Ratchet strapped him onto his back.

As they walked out of the room, Hellboy stopped, and looked down from his great height at the diminutive Yoda. "You need a lift, pops?"

"Welcome, assistance is." Yoda agreed, hobbling toward him. "My thanks, you have."

With his normal hand, Hellboy lifted Yoda onto his shoulder. He was even lighter than he looked.

Essej was the first one out of the room. He almost wished that he hadn't been, because Heartless were charging down the hall toward the dungeon.

Facing them, Essej banged his staff against the ground. "_Ventus_!"

A large gust of air flew from him, scattering the Heartless and tossing them back down the hall.

"Liz, where's the garage again?"

"Below the hanger, down this hall."

"Right through the Heartless." Crypto muttered. "Of course."

Essej led the way down the hall, with Liz and Crypto flanking him on either side. The escapees followed close behind them, also watching their flank. As Crypto blasted holes through a Large Body, Ratchet came up next to him. "Save a few targets for the rest of us, huh?"

"You snooze, you loose, kitty."

But Ratchet took some added incentive. He had drawn three weapons from the box. The one he was holding right now was a small, hand-held pistol-like weapon. The metallic casing covered a glowing orange power pack. When Ratchet pulled the trigger, a tennis-ball sized blast of energy flew from the end at the Heartless, taking them out very quickly.

Soon, Crypto and Ratchet got into a contest on who could destroy the most Heartless, while Clank kept score.

"You guys mind?" Hellboy interrupted them. "You're throwing off my own count."

He was shooting into the Heartless using the single largest gun that Essej had ever seen. It was an oversized revolver, which was firing off several shots per second. They tore into the Heartless ranks, throwing them into confusion as the group of twelve advanced down the hallway.

Fairly soon, the narrow hallway opened up into a large room. Like the entrance hall of the castle, this one was lined with crystal structures on the walls, and on the top was a large crystal chandelier similar to the one in the meeting room. Heartless and Nobodies were waiting there for them.

With more space, Spider-Man leapt completely over everyone's heads, and shot out his arm toward the ceiling. A long stream of an unknown sticky substance shot from the inside of his wrist, and stuck to the ceiling. He swung on this very firm strand of web, over the throng of creatures, and stuck to the opposite wall.

He stretched out his hand, and shot the same substance at the enemies in the form of bullet-like projectiles.

Liz rushed into them with Sly Cooper. The raccoon had said that he was a thief, but that apparently didn't mean that he was a slouch in combat. Essej watched as he ducked and weaved around any attacks from his opponents with a kind of fluid grace, and then struck with the head of his cane whenever he saw an opening in their defenses.

Harry Potter hung back near the prince. He wondered why for a moment, before he saw that Harry was holding what appeared to be a magic wand. He was firing spells into the creatures with flourishes, jabs, and other wand movements that had a kind of elegance to them.

Bursts of light of varying colors shot from his wand into the Heartless and Nobodies. He couldn't exactly understand his kind of magic, but he picked out the phrase, '_Stupify'_ more than a few times.

The caped man called Batman also hung back for a moment. He reached into one of the pouches on his utility belt, and pulled out a handful of small projectile weapons, throwing them one by one at the Heartless and Nobodies. They whistled through the air, cutting through the creatures, and came back to him if they never became imbedded in the walls.

When they turned their attention directly to him, he met their assault with one of his own, demonstrating remarkable martial arts skills.

A shocking memory he knew he'd remember for the rest of his life was when Stewie Griffin pulled two blasters from the pockets of his little overalls. He rushed into the mob, firing blue bolts of energy into the creatures that dared come near him. His little legs were a blur.

They were all in the thick of the fighting now, all except for Yoda, who was still sitting on Hellboy's shoulder. His eyes were closed, but not out of fear. He actually looked very serene.

Suddenly, the small creature's eyes snapped open, and Essej was shocked at the pure, blazing determination in them. He leapt from Hellboy's shoulder, and high into the air. When he reached the peak of his ascent, the small, cylindrical device from before appeared in his hand. With a '_snap-hiss_' noise, a bright green blade made of pure concentrated energy appeared.

When Yoda descended, he landed on the shoulder of a Large Body. Before Essej could even blink, Yoda had taken its head off with one clean strike of the blade. Then, before the Heartless even realized that it was dead, Yoda had leapt off of it, cutting through a Dragoon, and landing in a circle of Neoshadows.

They lashed out at him at the same time, easily allowing Yoda to behead them all with one quick flourish of his blade. Before any others could even come close to him, he had leapt into the air again. When he landed, he impaled a Berserker Nobody that had been causing Batman trouble, and rushed through the combat, taking down Heartless or Nobodies with every swing of his blade.

It was a truly amazing spectacle from all involved, but Essej knew it wouldn't matter if they couldn't reach the garage soon.

_Guys, just give us a few more minutes, alright?_

_!_

The fighting in the hanger was almost more intense than that on the lower floor. Takuya, Mina, Max, and Altair were battling among a long row of Gummi ships, most of which were now in states of varying disrepair. Only one was still untouched.

Takuya leapt over the smoking hull of a small red and black ship. As he landed on its other side, he beheaded an Invisible, and ducked under a Darkball that shot at his head.

An arrow whizzed over his head, directly into the Heartless that had missed, and Takuya flashed a smile over at Mina, who smiled back before returning to action.

They'd been doing this for several minutes, and he thought it very odd that none of the Brotherhood's senior members had actually come to face them yet.

He cursed himself when three of them rushed into the room. He only recognized the one in the lead: A man with long silver hair and a black angel wing. He drew his very long sword as he entered the carnage calmly.

He didn't know the two behind him, but he guessed that they were the two new members that Altair had reported during his recons. One was a lightly armored woman with blue hair, carrying a pair of gleaming battle axes. The other was a teenager with spiked blonde hair, carrying a strange spear.

The three walked calmly into the combat, the Heartless and Nobodies scattering to clear paths for them. The boy -Xyran- rushed toward Max, spinning his spear over his head with one hand, as one of Xaldin's lances appeared in his free one. The woman -Cossex- ran toward the place where Altair and Mina were fending off a pair of Invisibles.

Sephiroth took up a fighting stance, gripping his blade primarily in his left hand, and shot above the ground toward Takuya.

He covered the distance so quickly that he was barely able to bring his own blade up in time to block the strike. As it was, when Musamune collided with Ryuumaru, Takuya was only forced back a small distance.

Takuya had been eagerly looking forward to this fight ever since he'd heard of Sephiroth's reputation. So naturally, he had a smart-aleck remark already prepared. "That's a really long sword... Compensating for something?"

He saw just a brief flicker of anger in the older man's face, before it was snuffed out and replaced by his usual cold, arrogant demeanor. Sephiroth threw his blade off of his with a single movement, and immediately followed up with a rapid flurry of attacks.

With the blade's long reach, Sephiroth had a small advantage over Takuya. He was able to hang back several more feet than he could, and still lash out at his opponent. But Takuya had other advantages.

Whether he actually wanted to use them or not.

"Takuya." Came the deep, mesmerizing voice, unbidden from the very back of his subconscious, nearly unnoticed.

Takuya gritted his teeth, and focused on the fight he had on his hands, ignoring the voice of the spirit in his mind.

Xyran's two weapons spun in complex patterns through the air. One blade would always compensate for the other. While one blocked one of Max's fairly predictable strikes, the other would fly forward to attack.

The dog-person teenager was forced to give ground under the impressive display of skill, rapidly backing away across the floor and going on the defensive. This new recruit was attacking extremely quickly.

Just as he thought this, Xyran landed a hit on his leg, leaving a narrow gash on his calf. With a cry of pain, Max fell backwards onto the hard floor, his sword falling from his grasp and landing two feet out of his reach.

But for a moment, Xyran hesitated. His opponent was down, unarmed, and injured. And now he was expected to finish the job that he'd started.

He regretted his split second of uncertainty when Max's uninjured leg shot up, catching him in the jaw, and sending him stumbling backwards. The determined, still undefeated teenager rushed to his sword, and got back to his feet, striking at Xyran's head.

The Nobody was just in time to block the attack with Lexaeus's tomahawk. He stabbed forward with the spear, narrowly missing Max a second time.

Mina was backing quickly away from the advancing Cossex, firing her arrows in pairs. Each one of them was cut in half in midair before they could get within a foot of her skin. The pieces fell uselessly to the ground, and she simply ran over them, continuing toward her with axes raised.

After Mina had unsuccessfully fired eight arrows out of the dozens in her quiver, Cossex was upon her, bringing both axes down toward her head. Mina lifted her bow, its magically reinforced handle meeting the axes without causing any damage.

She was just able to throw the older woman's weapons off of hers, and leap backwards to avoid her follow up strike. She fired another arrow, which Cossex almost casually ducked under.

She ran toward her again, but was almost immediately blocked by Altair. The assassin had come out of nowhere as he often tended to do, and struck at her face with his saber. The Nobody wove to the side of the attack, losing only a lock of her hair in the process.

The assassin pointed his blade at her, inviting her to attack him. She accepted readily enough, rushing toward him with axe blades spinning.

Altair met her blades with his own, displaying superb swordsmanship. He never showed a trace of fear as the axes came within inches of taking his life. In fact, neither one of the combatants showed any emotion at all as their deadly weapons flew all over the place.

Altair was the first to disengage, leaping backwards. The second his feet touched the ground, he drew a throwing knife from his belt, and threw it at the woman. One of the broad axe blades intercepted the weapon, sending it flying into the wall, where it stuck.

Cossex closed the distance between them again quickly, but not before Altair drew a foot-long blade from a sheath on his back, and held it in his off hand. Now with two weapons on each side, the fighting was fiercer than even before.

Theoretically, the odds would have tilted against Cossex's favor when Mina started firing arrows at her, but this wasn't quite so. The two were moving so quickly that she had often come as close to hitting Altair as she did Cossex.

Deciding that Altair would probably stand a better chance without her interference, she turned her sights to Sephiroth. The hanger had emptied of Heartless and Nobodies, as they kept getting in the Brotherhood's way.

She had rarely seen Takuya really strain himself in combat (she had sparred against him plenty of times, herself) but it was clear that Sephiroth was pushing him to his very limits and then some. His hair was dripping with sweat. But what was more disturbing was that Sephiroth wasn't so much as breathing heavily.

Taking very, very careful aim from behind the shredded remains of a sub-light engine from a green Gummi ship, she fired at Sephiroth.

She gasped loudly when Sephiroth casually altered the path of his blade, smacking the arrow aside even as he blocked Takuya's overhead blow. The older swordsman's eyes flickered over to the direction the arrow had come from, and spotted Mina immediately as she readied another pair of arrows.

Takuya showed a tiny bit of fear, at which Sephiroth smiled. "So... Is she important to you? Because she's also an easy target."

Without further warning, Sephiroth leapt away from Takuya, and sped toward Mina, gliding a few feet over the ground.

Time seemed to slow down for the next several seconds as Sephiroth closed the distance between himself and Mina. She fired a pair of her arrows, both of which narrowly missed his head. Max and Altair were able to take advantage of a brief pause in the fighting to gape, horrified at what would be certain death.

As Takuya rushed after Sephiroth (but not nearly fast enough to catch him, as he knew) the voice he had heard in his head from before spoke to him again.

"You need my help!"

_I can do this without you!_

"No you cannot, and you know it." It shot back. "Do you want to save her or not!"

_...Yes._

"Then let me in!"

Reluctantly, the young man closed his eyes, and several things happened at once with a flash of green light. Emerald green, reptilian wings sprouted from his back, near his shoulder blades. A thick green tail with bony black spikes at the tip emerged from his lower back. His hands bulged slightly, turning a deep green color, and growing black claws. When he opened his eyes, they were both green, with slitted black pupils.

Takuya's speed suddenly quadrupled, and he dashed completely past Sephiroth. He came to a stop right in front of Mina. Using his newly acquired tail, he pushed her gently backwards, farther away from Sephiroth.

Ryuumaru came up to intercept the blade originally intended for his girlfriend, and Sephiroth looked surprised for once.

"Don't you _dare_ touch her!" Takuya shouted into Sephiroth's face. There was an odd undercurrent to the voice that almost sounded like another, deeper voice was speaking with him. But it was barely noticeable, and only Sephiroth seemed to hear it.

With a single move, Takuya pinned Sephiroth's long blade to the ground. His spiked tail shot forward, hitting Sephiroth in the chest, and sending him flying backwards.

The swordsman was able to regain his footing, but Takuya wasn't about to give him any time or room to breathe. He rushed forward, new wings flapping, and struck at his neck. He was barely able to turn the attack to the side, and then found the blade clipping his shoulder.

Takuya disengaged his blade from Sephiroth's, and delivered a very powerful kick into his stomach, sending him flying backwards. He skidded across the ground several feet, losing his sword in the process.

Seeing their partner in mortal danger, Cossex and Xyran leapt away from their opponents as quickly as they could, and rushed to intercept Takuya as he flew at Sephiroth again.

Xyran summoned Vexen's shield, and blocked Ryuumaru as it fell toward Sephiroth's neck. At the same moment, Cossex leapt at Takuya's back, bringing both axes to bear.

Takuya beat his wings once, hard, shooting into the air, and leaving an empty space between the two Nobodies. In midair, he flourished his hand, covering it in emerald fire. He thrust his hand downward, throwing a fireball into the space he had just occupied.

It exploded upon striking the floor, throwing the three Brotherhood members across the room.

Xyran and Cossex landed on their feet, and gazed up at Takuya, impressed.

"This is going to be fun, I know it." Xyran commented, grinning.

"Try to take this seriously, would you?" Cossex muttered.

As had become habit over the past few days of their partnership, he ignored her warning. He shot into the air, holding Edge of the Storm in his right hand, and Marluxia's scythe in the left. Cossex sighed in irritation, and followed him.

Xyran reached the human-dragon hybrid first, striking horizontally at his head. Takuya blocked it with astonishing speed, and stabbed at his stomach. Xyran was just barely able to weave to the side in time to avoid getting a hole cut through his chest.

Cossex reached his side, striking simultaneously with her axes, aiming at Takuya's neck and waist. He made a quick motion with his own blade, parrying her attack, and then striking at Xyran's head, once again missing by mere centimeters.

The younger Nobody blocked another attack with his spear, and replaced the scythe in his other hand with Lexaeus's tomahawk again. He imbibed it with electricity, and delivered a vicious overhand chop with it, while striking upward with his spear. Takuya shot backwards to avoid it, causing him to almost hit Cossex with his attack.

The female Nobody chased after Takuya in midair, advancing with her blades spinning all around her, forming a moving wall of deadly metal. But Takuya blocked every blow, refusing to give ground.

Seeing she was getting nowhere, she was forced to fall back onto a tactic that she'd hoped to avoid using. She moved away from him, and thrust her hands out. "Mind Crush!"

The effect was instantaneous. Takuya clutched at his skull, dropping his blade, and falling to the ground. He was doing all he could to keep a scream from escaping his lips.

Immediately, Max, Altair, and Mina rushed toward him, hoping to help him escape whatever hold Cossex had on him. Unfortunately, by the time they all got within three feet of him, they had all fallen under the same spell. They collapsed onto the ground, holding their heads. Max and Mina couldn't help but scream.

Cossex and Xyran landed, looking pitifully down on their other side. That was when Sephiroth walked toward the incapacitated beings, bruised and battered. He gripped Musamune in his left hand, and raised it high over his head. Xyran realized what was happening, and reacted right away, without really thinking about it.

He rushed forward, clutching the tomahawk in one hand. He swung, catching Sephiroth in the side of the head with its flat end.

He flew sideways, never knowing what had hit him.

Xyran's jaw dropped. Had he really just done that? Had he just attacked a superior officer, and defied an implied order from Serndask? One look at Cossex, and he understood that he had.

"Ah, crap." He muttered.

He half expected Cossex to turn on him and attack him for aiding their targets. But she shocked him (as much as a Nobody could be shocked) when she merely glanced at Sephiroth's inert form. She prodded it with her boot tip, and got no response.

Then, what (sort-of) shocked him even more was when she released her hold on Takuya, Mina, Max, and Altair. They stopped their agonized noises and motions. Takuya's wings, claws, and tail had receded back into his body, and he crouched where he was, panting heavily.

He looked up, and the others did the same, meeting the eyes of the apparent enemies who had actually saved their lives. Xyran traded a brief look with Cossex, who nodded.

He looked Takuya in the eye, and raised a finger to his lips. He winked, and fell over backwards, not moving again. Cossex rolled her eyes, and laid down on the ground, spread-eagle, but not before gouging the wall behind her a few times with her axe blades.

Takuya gaped, open mouthed at the two 'unconscious' Nobodies, wondering what in the worlds had just happened.

"I didn't know that Nobodies had consciences." Mina said.

Xyran 'regained consciousness' just long enough to reply, "If it weren't for the handful of us who did, nothing would exist right now."

Takuya was going to demand more information, when the sounds of fighting very close by interrupted his train of thought. The heavily reinforced metal doors leading from the hallway into the hanger burst open, and flew into the room.

Liz rushed in, cradling a flat, square-shaped mechanical part to her chest carefully, as though it could break at any moment. She was quickly followed by Stewie Griffin, Harry Potter, and Sly Cooper, like a guard of honor. The four of them ran over to meet the newcomers.

"Get it in the ship!" Max exclaimed, leading Liz over to the only undamaged ship in the room. It was a fairly small, one-man crew Gummi ship. It was dark blue, with four thick black stripes running down its hull. It was sleek, and triangular in shape, with a slightly black-tinted cockpit window.

Max leapt onto it, and manually opened the cockpit. He carefully took the engine part from Liz, and set it in one of the empty seats, fastening it in place with one of the safety belts.

"Crap!" came Crypto's voice from the doorway, just barely discernable over the sounds of a massive fight in the hall behind him. "My saucer's not here! These punks must have moved it!"

"You can worry about it later Greeny!" Hellboy reprimanded, backing into the hanger, as well.

Crypto's jaw dropped, and he glared. "You did _not_ just call me green!"

"We'll discuss this later, alright!" Spider-Man shouted at them from the hallway. He, Essej, Ratchet, Batman, and Yoda were still holding off numerous attackers. Takuya could pick out the somewhat-familiar voices of Ruxik and Xaynew among them.

They entered the hanger, still fighting. The second they were all inside, Essej tapped his staff on the ground, and shouted, "_Defendo_!"

A semi-transparent barrier now covered the doorway. For a brief instant, those inside could see Ruxik, Larxene, Zira, and Andmox attempting to follow them. Then, Yoda slammed the emergency blast doors down over it with a thought.

"That won't hold them too long." Essej said quickly, running toward the ship. Max was now sitting in the cockpit, preparing all of its systems for a quick takeoff. He clacked his staff onto the ground again, and a black duffel bag appeared. He tossed it to Max, who caught it.

"What's in here? It's kind of heavy."

"Just give that to Nehrut the first chance you get. It's really important, but please don't look in it." He explained. "It's for his eyes only."

"This too." Liz said, as if just remembering. She reached into her pocket, and pulled out a card. She handed it to him.

"Ooooh, mysterious." Stewie said, his eyes rolling, and his voice dripping with sarcasm. "You know, maybe instead of playing 'James Bond' you could work out a way to _get through the freaking hanger door!_"

"Please God, not another psycho midget..." Mina muttered. Crypto looked at her, scowling.

Max grabbed the control vein of his new ship, and pressed two conveniently located buttons on the top. Large packets of dark green energy burst from the cannons mounted in the underbelly, ripping through the huge metal doors that prevented it from leaving the hanger without permission. The result was a large, smoking hole that was just large enough for the small ship to fit through.

He looked back down on them all. "Please be careful while I'm gone..."

"Aren't we always?" Takuya replied with a grin.

"You just worry about getting that stuff to Nehrut and the Keybearers," Essej said,"and getting past any Heartless ships up there."

"Yeah, kid." Crypto agreed. "It'd be a shame for you to get yourself blown up after all this crap we've gone through."

"Yeah, I'll miss you, too, Crypto." Max said, rolling his eyes. But he smiled at them all, anyway. "Salus Pax Pacis."

"Safety and Peace." The original Resistance members (even Crypto) responded.

Max closed the cockpit up, and and ship lifted a few feet into the air five seconds later. He gave them one last wave as he took off through the hole in the hanger door, just barely scraping against the side on the way out.

The fifteen he had left behind watched him go for a moment, before the blast door leading to the hall buckled behind them.

"Let's move." Takuya said quickly.

"Move where?" Harry asked.

"This is probably the most risky part..." Essej admitted. "But you'll just have to trust me on this."

"We just bloody met you!" Stewie protested.

"The young prince, you must listen to." Yoda interjected, silencing Stewie immediately. Apparently, the old alien had become something of an authority figure to the prisoners during their incarceration together, because nobody looked about to argue with him.

Essej ran toward the hole that Max had just used, and leapt through it. This astonished everybody, because the hanger was on the eighth floor.

But, without question, Liz, Takuya, Mina, Altair, and Crypto went after him immediately. Yoda was right behind them. Reluctantly, the other escapees followed his example. Hellboy was the last one out, and he heard the door blow open behind him.

They plummeted toward the ground from at least three-hundred feet in the air. Essej pointed the head of his staff at the ground. He shouted over the rushing air, "_Macero_!"

His staff flashed very briefly, but that was apparently all that happened. They continued hurtling toward the ground at high speed, and most of them were starting to believe they had made a mistake.

But, when Essej hit the ground, he found himself completely unharmed. As did the people who landed seconds later.

Ratchet got to his feet, Clank trying to adjust his view on his back. "What was that?"

"I cushioned the ground before we landed." Essej explained. "Now let's get out of here before they follow us! We'll be safe back at our base."

They all took off at a run down the hill on which the palace stood, breaking toward Salusis. But Yoda stayed behind for a moment. He looked up into the sky, at the tiny fading star that must have been Max's ship. Then, he looked at the still-smoking hole in the hanger door.

"May the Force be with us all..."

!

Max took off through the sky in his new ship. It handled better than he could have ever hoped. Altair had stolen a set of blueprints for all the Brotherhood's ships so that they could identify the best one for their escape, and they had chosen this beauty.

Max had spent hours poring over its schematics, and it was paying off now. He had cleared the world's atmosphere in two short minutes.

The blackness of space, dotted with thousands of bright stars greeted him immediately. He smiled to himself, loving that familiar view. As soon as he could, he activated the communications equipment, calling a familiar frequency.

"PJ?" He called. "You there, man?"

Only crackling static answered his call.

"Repeat: PJ? Are you there?"

He tried this over and over again for the next few minutes, greeted only by static each time. He was about to give up, when he finally got an answer.

"Max? Is that you, man!"

Max sighed in relief, grinning. "Yeah, it's me, dude."

"Alright! I've been waiting for weeks!"

"I know, dude. Sorry to keep you waiting, but I have what we came for."

"Excellent! Same rendezvous point as last time, man?"

"Yeah. I'll see you in a few hours. Max out."

"Alright man." The connection went silent.

!

"Status."

Serndask had just entered the destroyed hanger, obscured by his Darkness as always. He casually blasted aside a piece of a Gummi ship wing that was in his way. Andmox was standing by a large hole that had been blown in the blast door, which was only now beginning to cool.

Andmox bowed his head at his master's approach. He grimaced. "They got away. It looks like one of them stole a ship and used it to escape. Our fighters went in pursuit, but he's already jumped out of the system."

"What of the others?"

"They ran out through here." He inclined his head toward the massive hole. "Ruxik and his gang went after them, but I don't think they'll catch them."

Serndask turned around, and saw Sephiroth, Xyran, and Cossex sitting on the ground, all of them nursing injuries. The Horned King stood over them, apparently working some form of healing magic on them. Zira was examining them more closely, perhaps using her own animal instinct to understand their health problems more intimately.

"What happened to them?"

"They said they fought a group of the Resistance members." Andmox reported. "Sephiroth looks like he took a heck of a beating, and was out cold when we found him. But Cossex and the kid looked a lot better, and were just coming out of it when we got here."

Liasa and Klaxam walked in, looking a bit worried. "Status."

"One of the dark matter warp engine attatchments is missing from the garage." Klaxam said.

"And Crucion is dead." Liasa added. "That assassin got him. But, at least it was quick."

"Is there anything left of him?" Serndask asked.

The question caught Liasa off-guard, but she answered, "Yeah. It was his throat. I left him down in the dungeon."

Serndask looked back at Andmox, though on the outside, nobody would have been able to tell. "Take his body to the labs."

It was an unexpected order, but one that Andmox followed without question, just like the good soldier he was.

"Everyone get out." Serndask ordered his Brotherhood. Hearing the barely surppressed anger in his voice, all of them left the hanger immediately.

Serndask waited a full minute after they left. Then, he screamed at the top of his lungs, and blasted the entire hanger door open with pure Darkness.

!

_So, count this as a win for the good guys!_

_And, I can already hear people asking why I included all of those particular characters in the dungeon. Well, we need more fighters for good, first off. But the selection process consisted of little more than a hat and a few slips of paper…_

_Review, please!_


	95. Chapter 94: The Festival of Fools

_Yeah, you might be a little upset with me. It's way late, I know. But how about some good news? I'm literally pages away from finishing the story on my computer._

_Kairi: (Glares)_

_I'm sorry._

_Kairi: (Continues to glare)_

_I was finishing the semester!_

_Kairi: (Keeps glaring)_

_You're not going to do the disclaimer are you?_

_Kairi: (Glares some more)_

_I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else. Now, let's get on with this new world!_

_!_

Chapter 94: The Festival of Fools

The party of ten had arrived in a large city. Judging by the stone and wood buildings, it looked like the people here were living in the fifteenth century. The cobblestone roads were packed with people.

All of them were moving in the same general direction; toward the single largest building Sora had ever seen, except perhaps the castle at Radiant Garden. It looked like a massive cathedral, made of smooth grey stone. From the south side that was visible to him, he could see two large bell towers emerging from either side of the main building. He could also see large, beautifully crafted stained-glass windows, and columns.

It was a magnificent sight if ever there was one.

"Wow." Was all Sora could say, gazing up at the building in awe.

"Is that a church?" Donald asked.

"It's a cathedral." Mickey confirmed. "But it's the biggest one I've ever seen."

"What was this place called again?" Riku asked.

"The City of Gypsies." Nehrut answered. "But I don't think that _all_ these people are gypsies."

"Wonder what the buzz is about?" Axel was looking at the excited faces of the crowd moving around them, all hurriedly moving toward the massive building.

"There's only one way to find out, right?" Sora said, snapping out of the spell the cathedral had apparently put him under. Without any further word, he ran toward the first local that he saw. He was leading a group of festively dressed people toward the cathedral, but along a less-traveled path.

He was skinny enough to make Lumiere look fat by comparison. He was wearing the most foolish costume Sora had ever seen anyone wear in public (and that counted his first adventuring outfit, which he was never particularly proud of). He was wearing a violet hat with a large yellow feather in it, and shoulder-length black hair could be seen protruding from under it. It matched his spiky black beard. He had a golden loop through his left ear. The rest of this outfit was that of a jester's. He was wearing a leotard and tights of purple, pink, and gold, with black gloves. He had large violet shoes with bells on them. A pinkish-purple mask covered the top half of his face.

"Excuse me, sir?" Sora called him. The skinny man and the people following him all turned at Sora's call. The man (apparently the leader of these colorfully-dressed characters) gestured to the rest of them to keep going, supposedly to catch up with them later.

He walked over to the Keybearer, smiling. The bells on his costume jingled with every move he made. "How can I help you child?"

"Um, I know you must get this all the time, but what's going on around here?"

He looked completely shocked for a moment, as if he had never heard a more ridiculous question. But then he smiled. "You and your friends must not be from around here, right boy?"

"How'd you guess?"

He laughed. "You've got spirit boy. Well, let Clopin be the first to welcome you to the wonderful city of Paris! Today, we celebrate the annual Festival of Fools!"

"Alright! A party!" Riku said, pumping his fist into the air, overhearing their conversation.

"Exactly!" Clopin said, walking over to the group of friends with Sora. "But not just any party! Everything is topsy-turvy today! Every fool's a king, every king's a clown... and it all happens in the square, at the very steps of Notre Dame itself! Can you imagine anything more screwy than celebrating complete insanity at the base of a church?"

"Well, actually-" Goofy started, but Donald nudged him in the ribs, making him stop short.

"You should come!" Clopin continued, oblivious to what Goofy had been about to say. "Enjoy yourselves, have some fun! I'll be serving as the master of ceremonies, so maybe I'll see you there!"

"Sounds like a good time." Sora agreed.

"I'm up for it!" Kairi added. She looked at Mickey. "That's alright, isn't it Your Majesty?"

"Well, I wouldn't be able to stop you even if I wanted to, so let's go ahead."

"Sweet!"

"Enjoy yourselves, visitors!" Clopin said, smiling widely. Sora noticed that he had a chipped tooth near the back of his mouth. "Just follow the crowds to Notre Dame! The festival starts soon!"

Clopin theatrically back flipped and cart-wheeled away from them, laughing an excited laugh.

"There goes the most excitable man in the universe." Axel commented.

"I like him!" Sora said. "C'mon guys, let's check out this festival!" He ran into the crowd, the rest of them following close behind.

It didn't take more than five minutes to arrive at the square Clopin had told them about. It was a large place, but even so, it was full to bursting with people. What little space wasn't filled by people was occupied by tents that had been set up around the square for the festival. These tents housed various entertainers, though none were very active at the moment. Apparently, the Festival of Fools hadn't quite started yet.

The crowd could barely contain its excitement, they were all chatting excitedly with each other. There was a small sort of aisle leading from one of the roads into the square that they were all staying away from. This was likely where the show would start.

"Okay, now if we get separated," The King said, "Let's all remember to meet back at the church... um, Notre Dame."

"Yes, _mom_." Riku said in mock irritation, getting laughs from the rest of them.

Suddenly, the colorfully-dressed musicians in one of the tents started playing. Their trumpets blared over the noise of the crowd, as a handful of people in black hoods (Sora had to remind himself that Organization XIII was mostly gone) carrying what appeared to be banners entered the square.

Surprisingly, they and much of the crowd sang slowly,

"_Come one, Come all!_

"_Leave your hoops and milking stools,_

_Coop the hens and pen the mules."_

"_Come one, come all!_

_Close the churches and the schools,_

_It's the day for breaking rules._

_Come and join the Feast of..."_

Suddenly Clopin burst from underneath the cloak of one of the black-garbed men, grinning broadly.

"FOOOLS!" He finished, laughing. Dozens of colorfully-dressed people in ridiculous costumes rather like Clopin's rushed into the square to the extreme surprise and delight of the crowd, who cheered louder than before.

Clopin wasn't done yet. He leapt into the crowd, skipping and jumping all around the square, sometimes leaping into and over tents, or standing on the shoulders of a friend.

"_Once a year, we throw a party here in town!_

_Once a year, we turn all Paris upside down!_

_Every man's a king and every king's a clown!_

_Once again, it's Topsy-Turvy Day!"_

He soon found his way over to Sora's gang. Recognizing his new friend instantly, he grabbed him around the shoulders, and yanked him into the crowd. He spun the young man around a little while, before spinning him in the direction of a large tent that was apparently not meant for the celebration.

It was decorated with black and dark red. Two banners hanging from it depicted a fluer-de-lis. A high-backed wooden chair that almost resembled a throne sat near the back of it behind a small table.

Sora had landed on the ground in this tent, unharmed but very dizzy. He got to his feet, laughing. But he came face-to-face with one of the most unpleasant faces he'd yet met (and considering the fact that he had seen faces like those on Vexen and Saix, this was saying something).

The man sitting in the chair was a sallow-faced man who appeared to be in his fifties or sixties. He had dark, piercing eyes that were gazing at Sora with a look of the utmost distaste. He was wearing black and violet robes with large sleeves, and red-striped shoulders. His long, pale fingers were adorned with shining rings. He was wearing an oddly shaped hat with a stream of red flowing down the back.

"Captain." This unpleasant man said to another one standing just outside the tent, not breaking eye-contact with Sora. "Kindly remove this boy from my personal space."

The man he had addressed couldn't have possibly looked less like him. He was covered head to foot in gleaming bronze armor over blue clothing. He had a dark blue cape on over it, and also a bronze helmet. A long sword was sheathed at his waist. He had ginger colored hair and a beard.

He walked over to Sora, and hurriedly ushered him out of the tent, and back onto the street. "You'll have to forgive him." He muttered quietly to where Sora had to strain to hear him over the music and cheers. "Just try and enjoy the festival."

Sora nodded in understanding, and turned his attention back to the party. He could see that Clopin had found a 'friend' in Donald, and was spinning him around his head somewhere in the middle of the crowd, still singing his song.

"_It's the day the devil in us gets released!_

_It's the day we mock the prig and shock the priest!_

_Everything is topsy turvy at the feast of fools!"_

Kairi soon found Sora again by the same tent looking very winded after trying to get through the crowds.

"Is this place awesome or what!" she called.

Before he could answer, the whole crowd behind them chanted, and Clopin sang,

"_Topsy Turvy!"_

"_Everything is upsy-daisy!"_

"_Topsy Turvy!"_

"_Everyone is acting crazy,_

_Dross is gold, and weeds are a bouquet!_

_That's the way on Topsy Turvy Day!"_

Now and then, Sora could see that a few of his friends had become personally involved in the performance. Axel and Clopin had apparently just become best friends. The latter was spending a lot of time standing on the head of the former with one hand.

The crowd was eating it up. But all throughout the festivities, it was clear that the unpleasant man in the red and black tent was not enjoying himself. He looked at every last one of the performers as though they were far beneath his contempt.

Still, Sora and Kairi weren't about to let one unhappy man (even one of such obvious importance) spoil their time. They sang along with Clopin and the crowd whenever they could get the words right.

"_Topsy Turvy!"_

"_Beat the drums and blow the trumpets!"_

"_Topsy Turvy!"_

"_Join the bums, and thieves, and strumpets,_

_Streaming in from Chartres to Calais!_

_Scurvy knaves are extra scurvy, on the sixth of 'Januarvy',_

_All because it's Topsy Turvy Day!"_

Something important was clearly about to happen. Most of the crowd had begun to congregate to a long, wooden stage area near the center of the square. The music, and Clopin's singing became slightly softer. He bounded over to the unpleasant man's tent.

"_Come one, Come all!_

_Hurry, hurry,_

_Here's your chance!_

He bounced down toward Sora and Kairi, pushing them together with a wink.

"_See the mystery and romance!"_

He rushed onto the stage.

"_Come one, Come all!_

_See the finest girl in France,_

_Make an entrance to entrance!_

_Dance, la Esmeralda..._

_DANCE!"_

As he shouted the last word, Clopin vanished in a sudden cloud of purple smoke which obscured everything from view for a moment. Then, in his place was a young woman in her early twenties.

She was easily catching the attention of every male in the square. Even the unpleasant man nearby bore an expression of shock, though whether this was because of her great beauty, or from her blanant display in public, it was hard to say.

She had dark skin, and flowing raven hair going down her shoulders. She had deep green eyes. She was wearing a bright red and violet dress that hung loosely around her thin frame, and golden bracelets, earrings, and anklets. She wore no shoes, though.

Sora realized that he was staring, and hurriedly turned his head away, cursing himself. Kairi had noticed, but merely smirked, and quirked an eyebrow at him.

"I love you?"

She laughed.

The woman on stage –Esmeralda, Clopin had said- danced all around the stage, earning appreciative whistles and cheers from every male in the audience.

"Look at that disgusting display." The unpleasant man in the tent said. It was possible that he was talking more to himself than to anyone else, but his captain replied anyway.

"Yes sir!" Sora failed to cover up a snort of laughter, and the captain sent a sidelong wink in his direction.

Esmeralda danced across the stage, and leapt off, skipping gracefully toward the unpleasant man's tent. She leapt past the captain, and sat on the table in front of the man. Taking a thin, violet scarf from somewhere in her dress, she slung it around his neck, and used it to pull his face close to hers, smiling seductively.

Sora was wondering what he was looking at, when Esmeralda roughly shoved the man's hat down over his face unexpectedly. Everybody near enough to see it laughed heartily, including the two Keybearers. Even the captain looked to be having a hard time containing his amusement.

The woman smiled cheekily, and leapt back to the stage, leaving a furious-looking man behind her straightening his hat, and ripping the scarf from around his neck.

She danced for several more minutes before stopping at last, spinning to a stop in the middle of a stage, and ending with a flourishing bow. The crowd cheered wildly, and several small munny orbs were thrown onto the stage. The captain in shining armor threw one to her, as well.

Clopin leapt onto the stage beside her. "And now, ladies and gentlemen, the piece de resistance!"

"_Here it is! The moment, you've been waiting for!_

_Here it is! You know exactly what's in store!_

_Now's the time we laugh until our sides get sore!_

_Now's the time we crown the King of Fools!"_

One by one, costumed people climbed up onto the stage. Several of them had been hand-picked by Clopin and Esmeralda themselves.

"_So, make a face that's horrible and frightening!_

_Make a face as gruesome as a gargoyle's wing!_

_For the face that's ugliest will be the King of Fools!"_

"WHY?" He asked the audience, relishing every minute of what he was doing. There were almost a dozen people on the stage now, apart from the two performers.

"_Topsy Turvy!"_

"_Ugly folk, forget your shyness!"_

"_Topsy Turvy!"_

"_You could soon be called, 'Your Highness!'_

_Put your foulest features on display!_

_Be the King of Topsy Turvy Day!"_

One by one, each of the costumed people was unmasked. Though in Sora's opinion, none of them were particularly unattractive. Apparently the crowd shared this view, because as each was unmasked, they received 'boos' from all around.

But things got particularly interesting when they reached the end of the line. This last person had an incredible costume on. He was hunched over, almost like an ape, and had a large hump protruding from the upper right side of his back, that made his green shirt strain to cover his whole upper body. He had thick, beefy, hairy forearms. His face was disfigured, as well. A large wart was over his right eye, nearly obscuring it, and he had a pig-like nose. The only part of him that appeared totally normal was the thick red hair on his head.

So imagine his, and everyone else's surprise when his 'mask' refused to come off under Esmeralda's pull.

The audience gasped collectively. Sora and Kairi traded surprised looks. The unpleasant man not far away from them looked perhaps the most shocked, however. He rose slowly to his feet, his jaw slowly dropping. But this look of surprise was also mingled with something that might have been panic, or outrage.

The crowd gaped at the disfigured man on the stage, and in a moment, frightened whispers reached their ears.

"That's no mask!"

"It's his face!"

"He's hideous!"

"It's the bell-ringer from Notre Dame!"

"These people are so shallow." Kairi said, wrinkling her nose in distaste at the outright disgust of the people.

The pour soul up onstage suddenly looked as if he'd regretted ever coming. He was making futile attempts to hide his face from the crowd, but the damage had been done. He looked close to tears.

"We've got to do something about this." Sora said, taking a step forward. But Clopin beat him to the punch.

The jester leapt back onstage, holding his arms out in a placating gesture. "Ladies and gentlemen, don't panic!" The crowd fell mostly silent.

"We asked for the ugliest face in Paris, didn't we? And here it is!"

He produced a crown-like hat seemingly out of nowhere, and placed it on the surprised hunchback's head. "Quasimodo, the hunchback of Notre Dame!"

The crowd changed its attitude immediately, and began cheering for the hunchback. A handful of the colorfully dressed people leapt up onto the stage, hoisting Quasimodo onto their shoulders, and carrying him offstage into the crowd, which began throwing handfuls of confetti at him.

They brought him toward a large wooden turntable on an elevated platform in the center of the square. Clopin led the way, still singing.

"_Once a year, we throw a party here in town!_

_Once a year, we turn all Paris upside down!_

_Once a year, the ugliest will wear a crown!_

_Once a year on Topsy Turvy Day!"_

Quasimodo and his new fans got to the turntable. Clopin leapt up there with the hunchback, placing a dark violet cape over his shoulders. He handed the very happy-looking hunchback a short scepter with a fool's hat at the top of it.

"_And, it's the day we do the things that we deplore,_

_On the other three-hundred and sixty-four!_

_Once a year we love to drop in,_

_Where the beer is never stopin'_

_For the chance to pop some popinjay!"_

The excitement in the air was palpable, and Sora and Kairi soon found themselves dancing like complete idiots, not caring that the unpleasant man was looking at them with nearly as much distaste as he was at the hunchback.

"_And pick a king who'll put the 'top' in,_

_Topsy Turvy-_

_Mad and crazy, upsy-daisy, Topsy Turvy Day!"_

The song came to its end with surprising suddenness, with a quick trumpet blast. The crowd cheered loudly for Quasimodo, who was pumping his hands in the air, and looked as if he'd never had a better time in his life.

But it was very amazing how things could deteriorate so quickly. Scattered among the crowd were over a dozen soldiers. These men answered to the unpleasant man sitting in the black and red tent, but they were little more than thugs. They were dressed in simple uniforms of black and dark grey. They wore thick, dark gloves and boots, and flat, silver pith helmets on their heads.

One of these thugs clutched a rotten tomato in his right hand, and chucked it as hard as he could up at Quasimodo. It hit him in the face, splattering across his new cape.

The cheering came to a complete, and utter stop. The square was silent for another three seconds, before a second soldier threw another tomato, striking the hunchback on the shoulder.

Soon, the remaining soldiers were throwing more fruits and vegetables, striking the defenseless, and unprepared Quasimodo all over. As Sora and Kairi (and the rest of their party) watched in horror and disgust, the hunchback slipped on the remains of a tomato, falling on his stomach onto the turntable.

The crowd that had been cheering for him only moments before began to laugh. And this was what disgusted them more than anything.

"These people are sick!" Roxas exclaimed, outraged, into Sora's head. The soldiers, and a few members of the crowd then threw ropes across Quasimodo, pulling him down roughly against the hard wood.

Soldiers rushed up, laughing, tying the hopeless man into place on the turntable. Sora could see Quasimodo straining against the ropes, struggling in vain to get out. But, it seemed that the smaller ones were coming close to breaking.

The thicker ones still held him tight, though. As soldiers and commoners continued throwing food at him, Quasimodo was spun around on the table, still trying to shake loose.

One time, he lifted his head, and shouted pleadingly, "Master!"

It took Sora a moment to realize that he was addressing the unpleasant man in the tent. He bore an expression of stern disappointment, and barely concealed anger.

The captain in bronze armor looked at him. "Sir? Permission to stop this cruelty."

Sora looked at the captain, glad that at least somebody wanted to stop Quasimodo's poor treatment. The captain looked concerned, but still tried to remain professional.

The man in the tent looked at him for a moment, and then replied, "In a moment captain." He looked back at the unfortunate hunchback, with a small smile that sickened the Keybearer. "A lesson needs to be learned here."

"You disgusting piece of trash!" Kairi shouted unexpectedly, glaring daggers at this man, and taking one menacing step forward. If looks could kill, he would have dropped dead on the spot. "That poor man needs to get out of there!"

The man's head snapped toward her, bearing an expression of indignation and anger. "You insolent little-"

Sora stepped forward, placing a hand in front of Kairi, and glaring at the man also.

Before anyone else could say anything, however, something happened.

Someone stepped up onto the elevated platform on which Quasimodo was still restrained. The people below immediately stopped their assault. They all realized that it was Esmeralda. She had changed into more modest clothing: a simple loose white shirt and violet dress with golden tassels on it.

She approached Quasimodo slowly, and pulled a large handkerchief from her blouse. She bent down next to him. The hunchback cringed, as though afraid that she would strike him. But instead, she gently wiped away the remains of tomatoes and cabbage from his face.

It was so silent in the square, that it was easy to hear her words even as far away as Sora and Kairi were. "I'm sorry. This wasn't supposed to happen."

Sora was relieved to see that there was still someone who hadn't been swept up into the whirlwind of hatred that the festival had become. But the man next to them clearly wasn't moved.

He leapt to his feet (he was taller than he had looked, just an inch or so shorter than his captain) and extended his finger at her. "You! Gypsy girl!"

All eyes were suddenly on him.

_So the performers are the gypsies, I get it._

"Get down at once!"

"Yes, Judge Frollo." Esmeralda replied, standing. "Just as soon as I free this poor creature."

"I forbid it!" The man that Sora finally knew as 'Frollo' exclaimed.

Despite this order, Esmeralda pulled a gleaming knife from somewhere within her dress. With one fluid movement, she cut the strongest of the ropes binding Quasimodo in place, finally freeing him. The audience gasped in disbelief.

"How _dare_ you defy me!" Frollo's eyes narrowed menacingly.

"You mistreat this poor boy just as you mistreat my people!" Esmeralda replied, eyes blazing with righteous anger. "You speak of justice, but you are cruel to those most in need of your help!"

"Silence!"

"Justice!"

Esmeralda bent down, and helped the weary Quasimodo (who looked immensely surprised that anyone had come to his defense) rise to his feet. She plucked the dripping remains of a tomato off of his shoulder, and threw it into the crowd.

"Mark my words, _gypsy_," Frollo said the word 'gypsy' as if it were interchangeable with 'brat' or 'traitor' or some other manner of unprintable word, "You will pay for this insolence."

But Esmeralda wasn't about to back down. "Then it appears we've crowned the wrong fool!" She replied, taking the foolish crown off of Quasimodo's head. "Because the only fool I see here is you!"

She threw the crown across the square, where it landed at Frollo's feet. Some of the tomato juice that had clung to it sprayed onto his robes.

The performers left in the square (gypsies, every one of them) cheered and laughed. Somebody had finally stood up to their oppressor.

But Frollo wasn't going to back down either. He turned to the captain. "Captain Phoebus! Arrest her!"

Reluctantly, Phoebus raised his hand, and signaled the soldiers in the square, who all converged on the wooden platform. Some rode horses, and all were armed with either short swords or spears.

"Now?" Kairi asked Sora.

"Oh yeah."

Kairi was about to unleash a blast of Light at Frollo or Phoebus (or possibly both) when Esmeralda suddenly vanished in a burst of bright purple smoke.

"Witchcraft!" Frollo exclaimed in shock.

"Oh boys!" Came Esmeralda's taunting voice. "Over here!"

Everybody turned around, and looked at a place that normally functioned as a place of public execution. The gallows were already ready. But Esmeralda stood there, smiling cheekily, and waving.

The soldiers rushed toward her, brandishing their weapons.

Simultaneously, Sora and Kairi ran through the crowds, summoning their Keyblades. They had crossed the square in seconds, and arrived just at the same time as the soldiers.

Before he had even known what had hit him, Sora knocked the legs out from under one soldier, and then struck the man next to him in the chest. Both of them fell unconscious to the ground, and didn't stir again.

The crowd immediately recoiled from the unexpected combat. Riku, Yuffie, Donald, and Goofy rushed forward next, and each one had their weapons in hand. They fell upon the unsuspecting soldiers immediately, knocking most of them to the ground before they were even aware of their presence.

Sora leapt onto the platform, landing between Esmeralda, and a large soldier.

Not caring that he was about to attack a teenager in public, the thug brought his sword down on Sora's head. But, he clearly had no idea who he was dealing with. The blow was parried immediately, and his chest was soon frozen from the force of a Blizzaga spell at point blank range.

Nehrut appeared on the platform, and blasted the soldier's partner across the square with a gesture.

It was a disappointingly short battle (if it could even be called a battle). These soldiers had very little experience, and were nowhere near skilled enough to cross blades with the off-worlders.

But reinforcements were rushing into the square from other parts of the city. And they were eager to follow Frollo's orders, overmatched or not.

And the party wasn't here to fight soldiers. Esmeralda had to escape.

"Let us give you a hand." Sora said to the gypsy woman, parrying a clumsy blow from a soldier's spear. The Guardian swooped in, and tossed the man into the crowd immediately.

"I'd appreciate it." She replied. "But you didn't have to do this! Now you're on the wrong side of the law here in Paris."

"Never bothered us before." Axel replied, blasting a man with fire.

"We've worked with pirates, vigilantes, and this one thief." Sora said, with a small smile. He chuckled at the strange look Esmeralda gave him.

"Do you have any more of that purple cloud stuff?" Nehrut asked her.

"Yes."

"Alright, then use it all at once, and follow our lead."

Using some trick that Sora had no idea of, Esmeralda released a huge cloud of purple smoke that obscured the gallows and every one of the combatants. Outside of it, nobody could see a thing. But, they certainly saw the half-dozen soldiers flying out of it as if thrown by a giant hand.

When the cloud faded, there was nobody there.

The crowd applauded, and the gypsies swiftly and silently took their leave.

!

_Fun little fact: The original work by Victor Hugo was infinitely darker than this. Frollo wasn't much of a bad guy, Phoebus was, and Quasimodo wasn't exactly a saint either. But that would hardly be Disney-ready, right?_

_Anyway, the next chapter will be up soon, I promise._


	96. Chapter 95: The Hunchback and the Gypsy

_Almost finished with my classes this year, and man is it going to be a load off my mind. Anywho, not a whole lot going on in this chapter, but it's a set up to the main action._

_Nehrut: "DarthKingdom does not own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else… But you know this, right? I mean, he's said it ninety-something times. Who still thinks he holds any of the rights to this stuff? Seriously?"_

_!_

Chapter 95: The Hunchback and the Gypsy

It started to rain just moments after the off-worlders and Esmeralda vanished from the square. The crowd was beginning to thin out, realizing that the festival was as good as done now.

Frollo, outraged at the outright defiance of the gypsy girl and the off-world strangers. He remembered the insult that the red-haired one had spat at him. As if she had any right.

He climbed onto his horse, which had been standing near his tent all throughout the festival. It was a very large, black-haired, heavily-muscled specimen. He climbed into its saddle, and directed it toward Captain Phoebus, who had gotten onto his own white-haired mount.

"Find them Captain. I want the gypsy alive."

"Yes sir." Phoebus replied. He turned to the remaining men who were conscious. "Seal off the area, men! Find the gypsy girl and her friends, but do not harm the gypsy."

Frollo rode his horse toward the raised platform, where Quasimodo still stood, stunned at what had happened because of him. Frollo stopped in front of him, and fixed him with a cold glare, almost like a disappointed father.

Quasimodo cringed under that look, trying to look away. "I'm sorry, Master." He said softly. "I will never disobey you again."

!

Several minutes later, the square in front of Notre Dame was occupied mainly by soldiers. The cathedral loomed over it, a symbol that was both ominous, and completely welcome, particularly to the handful of people creeping toward it in disguise.

Sora was right behind Esmeralda. She was cleverly disguised as an old man, with a blanket obscuring all of her features. She was walking slumped over, carrying her pet goat Djali on her shoulders.

He and Kairi were in similar old blankets. He was walking with a hunch like the gypsy girl in front of them, and Kairi (standing up straight, wearing shoes that made her look taller, and the simple dress and headdress of a Catholic nun) was giving her best appearance of trying to help him walk along. Donald was walking under the blanket with him, keeping just slightly ahead of Sora. Axel walked several feet behind them, his vivid red hair hidden under an old black hat, and the rest of him hidden under a tattered black coat.

Several feet to their right, Nehrut and Goofy were wearing a pair of 'borrowed' guard uniforms. For all appearances, they were leading a dirty, lost blonde girl in old clothes and a headdress over to the steps of Notre Dame.

Coming from the opposite direction of Sora and Kairi was Riku. He was in a thick brown coat with a hood. He was carrying a bundle that might have been an infant to his chest. If anybody had taken it from him, they would have found a mouse, curled up in as tight of a ball as he could manage. Next to them was Yuffie, wearing a large dress that made her appear much heavier than she actually was. Her oversized bonnet obscured most of her face.

This motley collection of individuals met at a side entrance of Notre Dame. One by one, they crept inside.

The grand entrance hall of the cathedral was a captivating sight. The shining floor tiles altered between white and black like a humongous checker-board. Rows of columns ran along the length of the room on both sides. Lit candelabras stood by each column. An altar sat at the very end. The low, emotional singing and chanting of the monks and priests could be heard from farther off.

The second Riku closed the large doors behind them, the disguises came off, to be hastily discarded behind one of the many columns.

"We should be safe in here." Esmeralda told them, her voice casting echoes through the hall. "Even Frollo wouldn't dare try anything in this cathedral."

"Glad to hear it." Sora said. "So, do we just lie low in here?"

"I'm afraid so."

"Great." Axel muttered, sighing in exasperation. "Well, at least we're someplace cool-looking this time."

"Right..." Esmeralda agreed. "Anyway, thanks again for saving me, guys."

"Rescues are our specialty!" Donald proclaimed proudly.

"Anyway." Mickey cut in. "Are you absolutely sure that you haven't seen any Heartless or other suspicious characters around here lately, Esmeralda?"

"The only sort of evil creature I've seen lately is Frollo."

"What's that dude's problem, anyway?" Yuffie asked. "He seemed to have some kind of a grudge against the gypsies."

"He does." Esmeralda scowled. "He says that we, 'live outside the natural order' and that we have to be stopped."

"You'd think that people with authority would be a little more tolerant." Nehrut muttered darkly. "I suppose stupidity and ignorance will take a long time to go out of style."

"You never know." Kairi said. She walked a little farther into the hall, looking across the beautifully crafted columns. "Things can change."

On that note, the rest of them followed her a short way down the hall, their footsteps echoing throughout it. But they had only gotten about halfway down, when they felt someone behind them.

Esmeralda, Sora, Mickey, Riku, and Nehrut twisted around, four blades extended toward the person that they had felt behind them. With a quick burst from his mind, Nehrut knocked this person to the ground.

The man that Sora unmistakably remembered as Captain Phoebus lay on the ground, looking very surprised. In one quick movement, Esmerelda had swiped the sword from his belt, and had it in her hand. Slowly, she advanced toward him, holding the blade to his face, as he crawled backwards. He didn't seem particularly afraid, though.

"Easy, easy, I just shaved this morning." He said, accidentally backing into a pillar.

"Oh really? You missed a spot."

"Alright now, calm down. Just give me a chance to apologize."

"For what?"

One of his large feet shot out, tripping the gypsy woman. He caught his 'borrowed' sword in one hand, getting to his feet. "That, for example."

"You sneaky son of a-"

"Ah, ah, ah! Watch it. We're in a church." He replied, grinning slightly. But it wasn't a particularly cruel grin. It was almost friendly.

Still, Sora and the gang took it upon themselves to step between Phoebus and Esmeralda, weapons ready. They certainly hadn't expected Esmeralda to leap around them, holding one of the candelabras in both hands.

Using it like a pole weapon, she struck at the captain's legs, then toward his head. He blocked both strikes with his own weapon, giving ground slightly.

"Um, should we do something?" Riku asked to nobody in particular.

"You know, something tells me we should let them sort this one out alone." Kairi answered.

Esmeralda kept pressing Phoebus backward with strikes of the candelabra, though she had clearly never used any sort of weapon like it. Phoebus made no attempt to strike back at her, instead just defending from her rather clumsy attacks.

"Candlelight, music, I can't think of a better place for hand-to-hand combat!" He commented, grinning. "You know, you fight almost as well as a soldier."

"Funny, you fight like a girl."

Phoebus backed away. "Now, that's hitting a little below the belt, don't you think?"

"No." She replied. "This is!"

She struck 'below the belt' and Phoebus was very quick to block it, looking nervous. It was soon revealed though, that this was a clever feint. Using the other end of the candelabra, the gypsy struck him in the forehead, knocking him backwards.

It was a miracle that he was still standing, but he was still able to say, "Touché!" before Djali rushed forward, head-butting him in his armored stomach.

"Okay, you win." He admitted, and Esmeralda smirked. Sora and the others took that as their cue to approach them again. "And I'm willing to bet that I'd lose to any of you, as well."

"Any time. Any place." Axel said. "Got it memorized?"

"Right, right." He responded. "Um, permit me. My name is Phoebus. And who are all of you?"

Before Sora could do his usual introduction of the group, Esmeralda asked, "Is this an interrogation?"

"It's called an 'introduction.'"

"Wait, so you aren't arresting us?" Kairi asked.

Phoebus smiled at her. "Well, as long as you're in here, I can't."

"You're definitely not like those other soldiers." Sora observed. "You're not a... thug."

"Thank you."

"So if you're not here to arrest us, what do you want?" Esmeralda asked.

"I'd just settle for names."

Now, Sora spoke. "I'm Sora. This is Kairi, Riku, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Axel, Yuffie, Nehrut, and Bariss."

Gentlemanly, Phoebus nodded his head in greeting to each one of them as they were named. But when Esmeralda gave her name, he seemed to take a particular liking to it. "Much better than 'Phoebus' anyway."

After their awkward introduction, things stayed silent for a few seconds. But, it was immediately shattered, when the door they had come from slammed open, and a voice interrupted them.

Frollo stood in the doorway with a trio of armed soldiers. "Good work Captain!" He said, walking quickly toward them. "Now, arrest them!"

Djali immediately retreated from view behind Esmeralda's dress. The Keybearers summoned their weapons, and prepared for a fight. Phoebus, on the other hand, spun toward them. In a voice just above a whisper, he urgently said, "Claim Sanctuary."

When they only stood their ground, he urged, "Say it!"

"I'm waiting, Captain." Frollo said impatiently, almost to them now.

Phoebus gritted his teeth, and turned to Frollo. Then, he said something Sora hadn't entirely expected. "I'm sorry sir, but they've claimed Sanctuary, each and every one of them. There's nothing I can do."

"Then drag them outside one by one, and-"

"Frollo! You will not touch them!" interrupted a new voice.

Turning his head a fraction of an inch, but still not dropping from his combat stance, Sora could see the speaker walking up from behind them. He was an aging man, in the traditional garments of a deacon, in white, red, and light blue. A golden cross pendant hung around his neck. He had white hair, and a kind face that was currently trying to hide anger.

The Archdeacon of Notre Dame place one hand on Esmeralda's shoulder, and another on Kairi's. "Don't worry, my young friends. Minister Frollo learned many years ago to _respect the sanctity of the church_."

He said this almost as if to serve as a reminder of some past event to Frollo, who had never looked more angry. With a gesture to the soldiers, he began to walk away. Almost reluctantly, Phoebus followed him.

But when the judge arrived at the door, he stopped. He turned around, eyes blazing.

"You may think you have outwitted me, but I am a patient man. And gypsies don't do well inside stone walls." He smirked. "You may have chosen a magnificent prison, but it's a prison nonetheless. Set one foot outside, and you're all mine."

The door slammed shut.

!

"You all created quite a 'stir' at the festival." The Archdeacon said with a little chuckle sometime later. "It would be unwise to arouse Frollo's anger further."

"You saw what they did out there." Esmeralda defended their actions, as they all walked down one of the many hallways of Notre Dame. "Letting the crowd torture that poor boy!"

"And I approve of your actions." He conceded. "But now, it would perhaps be best if you were to stay in here. Perhaps you'll find a bit of... help."

The Archdeacon left them in the chapel. Handfuls of people were on their knees already, praying. The sunlight shone through the magnificent stained-glass windows, casting the room into colorful light.

_Why not?_

Sora knelt down. Kairi followed his example, kneeling next to him, and folding her hands.

"God help the outcasts." He heard Esmeralda whisper, her gaze fixed on a large cross. "Please, help my people, the poor, and the downtrodden. Help those rejected from birth, and those cast away..."

There was a noise behind them. Sora and the others looked up, and behind them.

Trying unsuccessfully to hide behind a pillar was the unmistakable figure of Quasimodo. He had accidentally knocked over one of the candelabras, causing a loud crash that had echoed down the hall.

Esmeralda leapt to her feet. She started walking toward the hunchback she had rescued.

But like a child caught peeking at something he shouldn't have, Quasimodo immediately ran away, toward an open door nearly hidden at the end of the hall.

"Wait!" Esmeralda called after him, running to catch him. Sora, Kairi, and the others ran after them, following close behind.

They soon discovered that Quasimodo was in better physical shape than he looked. They were barely able to keep up with him as he ran up a narrow, winding stone staircase lined with torches.

"Wait!" Sora called. "We just want to talk with you!"

But Quasimodo didn't seem to be in the mood to talk, and instead continued running like a frightened deer. They broke out of the tunnel-like stairway, and out onto the roof between Notre Dame's twin bell towers. Quasimodo was running toward the one to the west.

He entered the tower through an arched doorway, and finally seemed to give up any hope of outrunning them. He stumbled to a stop a few feet inside. They now stood in a huge room made of many, thick, well-built landings. Hanging suspended high above them all were the famous church bells.

"We were afraid we'd lost you." Esmeralda said to Quasimodo, stopping behind him.

"Yeah, we just wanted to meet you." Sora said, stopping as well.

"Yes, well I uh-" Quasimodo finally faced them. Now Sora could see that the hunchback had green eyes. His voice seemed odd coming from somebody that looked as he did. Sora had imagined something low and gruff, but this wasn't the case.

"I have chores to do," He stuttered, nervous, "I-i-it was nice meeting you... again." He turned away, groaning to himself, and hurriedly tried to walk away.

But Esmeralda would not be deterred, and neither would Sora. They followed him up a ladder leading to the next landing up.

"Wait, Quasi!" Sora said, thinking that using a nickname might make him feel less apprehensive.

"Listen," Esmeralda said, "I'm really sorry about this afternoon, I had no idea who you were." They ascended to another landing. "I would never in my life would have pulled you onto the... stage."

She lost track of her sentence when she saw where Quasimodo had stopped. At the far side of the landing (which appeared to serve as a kind of bedroom) sitting in front of a wide, open window, was a heavy wooden table. On the table were several wooden buildings that looked like those in and around the square below. The largest of these was the one of Notre Dame itself. Among them were six-inch tall, hand-carved effigies of various people. One of Quasimodo himself stood on the cathedral.

"What is this place?" Kairi was the next one up the ladder.

"This is where I live." Quasimodo answered. Sora was surprised that he was still trying to hide from them behind a nearby beam.

"Did you make all these things yourself?" Esmeralda asked, approaching the small version of Paris sitting on the table. She was looking it over as if it were some priceless treasure she had found.

"Most of them." Quasimodo answered, his tone finally changing from defensive and nervous, to slightly proud.

"It's incredible!" Sora admired, observing the Notre Dame replica from all sides.

"It's beautiful." Esmeralda agreed. "If I could do this, you wouldn't find me dancing on the streets for munny."

"But you're a wonderful dancer." Quasimodo pointed out.

"Yeah, I have to agree with Quasi on this one." Axel said, patting the hunchback companionably on the hump on his back, startling the man slightly.

Esmeralda laughed. "Well, it puts bread on the table."

"Hey, what's this?" Nehrut wondered aloud, reaching for something on the table that was covered by a cloth.

"No!" Quasimodo exclaimed, finally emerging from behind the beam, and stumbling over to the table. "No! Please, I'm not finished, I still have to paint them."

But, Nehrut had accidentally removed it already. There were two more of the intricately carved figures underneath, but as Quisimodo had pointed out, they were still unpainted. "Sorry."

The gypsy girl recognized them, apparently. She smiled, and picked one of them up gently. "It's the blacksmith! And the baker!"

"You're surprising person, Quasi." Sora said, looking carefully over another of the wooden figures.

"Not to mention lucky." Esmeralda added. "I mean, all this room to yourself!"

"Well, it's not just me." Quasimodo said, smiling at last. "There's the gargoyles..."

"And the bells!" Mickey pointed out.

"And the bells, yeah." The hunchback looked a little anxious now. "Would you all like to see them?"

"Of course!" Esmeralda said. "Wouldn't we Djali?"

The little goat had followed them all the way up to the roof from the halls below. He nodded in a surprisingly human gesture.

"I'm game!" Sora spoke for the rest of the group. "Show us the bells, Quasi!"

Looking very excited now, Quasimodo led them up another flight, to where they were nearly level with the massive bronze bells. "Follow me, I'll introduce you!"

"I never knew there were so many of them up here." Esmeralda said, awestruck.

"How many are there?" Riku asked.

"I can never remember." Quasimodo answered. "And I've lived here all my life." He was holding onto one of the rafters by one of the bells one-handed, with no apparent difficulty. For a moment, he looked like a shaved gorilla.(1)

"This is Little Sophia." He said, pointing to the bell with his free hand. Then, he swung effortlessly over to the next three bells in line. He introduced them as, "Gene-Marie, Anne-Marie, and Louise-Marie. Triplets, you know."

"And who's this?" Esmeralda asked, standing half-way underneath a very large bell.

"_Big_ Marie." Quasimodo answered, landing lightly by her.

She crept underneath, and shouted, "Hello!" The sound of her voice echoed through it, reverberating several times, causing a pleasant, deep, ringing.

"I'm surprised you haven't gone deaf from all the ringing up here." Yuffie said, not realizing that it might be a tactless comment.(2)

But Quasimodo didn't seem to take it as such. "I express myself through these bells. They're like a part of me. Maybe that's why. Would you like to see some more?"

"Love to." Esmeralda answered for all of them.

"Great" The hunchback said, already walking quickly away. He stopped at a ladder, and gestured for them to follow him up. "I've saved the best for last."

The ladder led up to the roof of the west tower. The view from the top of the cathedral was breathtaking. The sky was painted orange, pink, and violet by the sun setting below the horizon. The city of Paris below them looked beautiful, particularly with the sun's last rays shining off of the river running through it.

The pure majesty of the setting awed them all. Sora leaned against the stone railing, gazing out into it. Kairi and Riku joined him, leaning against the railing to either side of him. For a moment, they were back on their islands.

Kairi linked her hand with his, and he pulled her close to him. Quasimodo leapt nimbly onto the railing next to them, balancing easily on it like Sora had seen Tarzan do on tree branches. Esmeralda stood on the other side.

"I could stay up here forever." She said.

"You could, you know." The hunchback answered.

"No, I couldn't." She replied, turning away.

"Oh, you could! You have Sanctuary."

"But not freedom." She said, slightly bitter. "Gypsies don't do well inside stone walls."

She seemed angry to even quote Frollo.

"But, you're not like other gypsies!" Quasimodo protested. "They're... evil."

Things were silent for a moment.

"Uncomfortable..." Roxas said.

"Who told you that?" Esmeralda asked. She didn't sound angry, or offended, merely curious.

"My master, Frollo."

"Frollo?" Riku repeated. "We _are_ talking about the same cruel, old dude who let the crowd throw food at you, right?"

"Cruel!" Quasimodo repeated, stunned. "Oh no! He saved my life when I was a baby. He took me in when no one else would." He jumped off of the railing, walked over toward the center of the roof, and sat down. "I'm a monster."

"Frollo told you that?" Kairi assumed, grimacing.

"Well, look at me."

Esmeralda clearly wasn't buying it. She smiled skeptically. "Give me your hand."

Not understanding, but not willing to disobey her, Quasimodo held out his hand for her to take in both of hers. She looked over his open palm with a practiced eye.

"Hmm. A long lifeline. This one here means you're shy... Well that's funny."

"What?"

"I don't see any..."

"Any what?"

"Monster lines." She replied with a little grin. "Not a single one."

The hunchback stared at his palm in surprise. Sora inwardly laughed. Quasimodo must have been twenty years old, but he was acting like a little boy with a crush.

"Now you look at me." Esmeralda asked the hunchback, holding out her own palm for him to take. "Do you think I'm evil?"

"No!" Quasimodo exclaimed quickly. He took her hand gently in both of his, holding it as though it were made of glass. "You're kind, and good, and..."

"And a gypsy."

"So maybe Frollo's wrong about the both of you." Nehrut commented, catching onto the point Esmeralda had been trying to make.

"Exactly."

Night had fallen upon Paris. The sky was dotted with bright stars, and the lights in most of the buildings had fallen dark. But a new light had sparked in Quasimodo's eyes. "You helped me. Now I'll help you."

"Escape?"

"Yes."

"But there's no way out, there are guards at every door."

He grinned. "We won't use a door." He hopped back up onto the stone railing.

The gypsy girl's eyes bulged. "_Climb_ down?"

"Sure." He replied, as if it were a very simple solution. "You carry him," He gestured to Djali. "And I'll carry you."

"Uh, before you risk your lives," Sora pointed out quickly, stepping toward the hunchback, "You should know that the rest of us can fly down."

"Oh." He looked slightly disappointed. "Could you get them out of here, then?"

"We could help you out, too." Riku offered.

"No, my place is here." He said. "But I'd appreciate it if you brought me down for a moment."

So, Sora summoned the Keyboard beneath his feet. He beckoned to Djali, who leapt into his arms right away. Nehrut lifted Esmeralda into the air telepathically. And Riku summoned the Guardian to lift Quasimodo up by his elbows.

Very, very slowly, the six of them (or seven, if the Guardian counted as a true being) floated down to the ground, always staying close to the side of the building. After nearly a minute, they gently touched down on solid ground, in the shadow of one of the many statues around the sides of Notre Dame.

"Thanks, guys." Esmeralda said.

"I'll never forget you, Esmeralda." Quasimodo said, holding her hand, and shaking it gently.

"Come with me!" She urged him. "To the Court of Miracles."

"Oh no." He countered. "I'm never going back out there again. This is where I belong."

But, she wouldn't be deterred. "Alright then, I'll come visit you."

"Here? But the guards, and Frollo!"

"I'll come after sunset."

"Well, at sunset I ring the evening mass, and after that I clean the cloisters, then I ring the..."

She cut him short with an affectionate peck on the cheek.

"Whatever works for you." he replied, blushing beet red.

"Someone's got a crush..." Nehrut sang under his breath.

"If you ever need sanctuary," Esmeralda said, taking out what appeared to be a necklace that she had had hidden under her blouse, "Use this to find me."

The necklace was made of a thin, wooden cord curled into an oval shape. Thin cords were wound in specific patterns inside of the oval. A white cross was in the center of a circular blue strip of cloth, and there was an 'X' across from it.

"How will this help?"

"Just remember, 'When you wear this woven band, you hold the city in your hand.'"

Though he didn't understand what she meant, he put the necklace on, tucking the band part under his shirt.

"Thank you all again. Stay safe."

And then she was gone.

Quasimodo smiled as she left, merely standing there for a moment, before he realized that he still wasn't alone. "So what will you do?"

"Well, we still have a job to do here, though we don't know when we'll need to act yet." Riku said.

"And, we do need a place to stay, and to keep away from Frollo and his thugs." Nehrut added.

"And you could use some company." Sora finished.

The hunchback of Notre Dame smiled wider.

!

_So, there's all that. We've got some more cool stuff next chapter, I promise!_

_1) Pretentious fun fact! The actual Notre Dame only has eleven bells the whole church._

_2) Second pretentious fun fact! In the book, he is. And also blind in one eye._

_Please review!_


	97. Chapter 96: The Deadly Bargain

_Eh, another short one. Tell you what, next chapter will be here in say, five days to compensate. Sound good to you?_

_Oh, and am I the only one who dislikes the new format for the site? It was fine the way it was, I feel._

_Quasimodo: "Sounds good to me. DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else."_

_!_

Chapter 96: The Deadly Bargain

Sora, Riku, Nehrut, and Quasimodo had arrived back in the west tower several minutes ago. As the hunchback went about his business ringing the massive bells, he felt on top of the world.

For the first time in his entire twenty years of life, he had friends. Somebody apart from Frollo and the Archdeacon actually cared what happened to him now.

When he had finished his chores for the night, he returned to his bedroom, where his new friends had gathered.

Yuffie was the first one that approached him. "Quasi! You've got to show me how to do this!" She was holding one of his hand-carved sculptures in her hand.

"Sure." He said, smiling. "I was planning on making a new one anyway."

For the next several minutes, he taught Yuffie how to carve her own little wooden figure using spare chunks of wood. It took her the better part of an hour, and several wasted wooden blocks, before she had carved a tiny effigy of Riku. It was a bit jagged in some places, and certainly far from perfect, but it was still an impressive attempt for a beginner.

She beamed at Quasimodo, and kissed him gratefully on the cheek as thanks. She held her newly crafted figure to her breast, and rushed excitedly over to the real Riku.

Quasimodo watched affectionately, as she tapped her boyfriend on the shoulder, holding the figure behind her back. "Open your hands, and close your eyes, and you will get a big surprise." She said excitedly.

He did as instructed, and Yuffie carefully placed it in his hands. When Riku opened his eyes again, he immediately smiled.

"I love it." He wrapped his free arm around her waist, pulling her gently to him. He planted his lips against hers.

Quasimodo's eyes wandered from these two, and over to Sora and Kairi. They were sitting at the window together, simply gazing out into the starry sky with hands intertwined. Every once in a while, he could pick out snippets of their conversation.

"You think that one might be Destiny Islands?" Kairi asked, pointing at a certain star that was shimmering bright in the sky.

"I've got an idea on how we could find out." Sora answered, smiling slyly. "Keep your eyes on that star."

He wrapped his arms slowly around her waist, tenderly pulling her close to him. He softly planted a kiss on her cheek. His lips migrated down to her jaw, and her neck. With his free hand, he ran his fingers softly through her hair.

She sighed softly, eyelids fluttering. The star they had been observing suddenly twinkled brightly.

"Yes." Kairi said, moving even closer to Sora. Before their lips met again, she whispered to him, "That's home."

Quasimodo smiled again. These two couples he had watched almost seemed to have a glow around them.

_It almost looks like Heaven's Light._

His thoughts went back to Esmeralda. He found himself imagining that perhaps, they had had a bit of Heaven's Light around them, as well.

!

(1)They were all oblivious to Frollo's own personal torment just a few short miles away, in the Palace of Justice.

The Minister of Justice paced up and down a very long, high-ceilinged room. His footsteps echoed loudly down the tiled floor. The large, blazing fire in the fireplace at the far end of the room made his shadow seem gargantuan in relation to his body. He glanced out through the tall, stained-glass windows every now and again, as well as at the large cross above the fireplace.

But most frequently, he gazed into the violet scarf that Esmeralda had left on him at the festival earlier that day. Alternatingly, he would gaze at it with longing or snarl at it with fury and hatred in his eyes.

"Why can't I forget her?" He finally exclaimed, coming to a sudden stop in front of the fireplace, and throwing the scarf to the ground.

"This... This disgusting desire..." He muttered to himself. "These unholy thoughts. That gypsy wretch is driving me to sin..."

"So what will you do about it?" came a chilling voice.

Frollo spun around. At the far end of the room, by a pair of high oak doors, stood a figure. He approached the judge slowly, and as he came into the light provided by the fire, Frollo could make out that this newcomer was wearing a long, crimson, hooded cloak with a fur trim. He appeared to have antlers protruding from the hood.

When he was close enough so that Frollo could see his face, he gasped, and staggered back in horror. It was a skull barely covered by a thin layer of rotting skin.

"What manner of unholy demon are you?"

The newcomer chuckled. "I am no demon, Minister Frollo. Just consider me your ally. You may call me the Horned King."

Still not trusting the creature, Frollo asked suspiciously, "What do you want from me?"

"I want to help you help yourself, Judge." He answered, walking toward him again, slowly. "I can offer you a path to _free_ yourself from the sin of desire."

He had Frollo's undivided attention now. "I can give you power to destroy the gypsy girl who plagues your thoughts, along with the rest of her kind. You will finally accomplish what you've longed to do for the past two decades."

"What is this power?" Frollo asked at last.

The Horned King stopped one meter away from him. He slowly raised his hand. It was enveloped with a Dark fire, which mixed eerily with the light of the orange flames behind Frollo. Then, on either side of the Horned King, two shadowy creatures rose from the floor. The Neoshadows gazed at Frollo with malignant yellow eyes.

"The power of Darkness, and the control of the Heartless."

Frollo looked from the two creatures, then into the Darkness resting in the Horned King's hand, and finally into the sorcerer's face. "What would you have me do in exchange for this power?"

"Nothing, just yet. Merely to know that I and my allies can count on your support should we have a need for it later."

Frollo looked into the Horned King's empty eye sockets for a moment, weighing his odds.

Then, he realized that he was clutching Esmeralda's scarf tightly in one hand. He gazed into it, and held in up to his face. He inhaled its disgustingly alluring scent one last time, before he twisted it around and threw it into the fire.

He watched as it caught fire inside of two seconds. He watched for the next few moments as it burned, and curled up into a tiny little sliver of burnt cloth. And finally, it disintegrated into dark ash, falling into the cracks between the kindling logs.

"Excellent choice, Judge." The Horned King was standing next to him now. Frollo turned to face him again.

The sorcerer reached out his hand, which was still enveloped in Darkness. He touched one finger to Frollo's forehead. The fire somehow didn't burn his skin, and he could feel the Horned King's clammy touch on his brow.

The Darkness quickly spread, enveloping Frollo's entire body without burning him. He closed his eyes, and inhaled deeply, practically breathing the Darkness into him. When his eyes opened, they briefly flashed yellow, before going dark again.

"Make her taste the fires of Hell, Judge Frollo." The Horned King said, satisfaction evident clear in his voice.

He vanished in a quick burst of fire, leaving Frollo alone with the two Heartless he had summoned. But no sooner had he left, than the doors at the other end of the room flew open, and a black-clad soldier rushed inside, out of breath.

"Minister Frollo!" He panted. "The gypsy has escaped."

"What?" Frollo began to walk toward the man, who apparently hadn't noticed the Heartless.

"She's not in the cathedral, sir. She's gone." Then, the soldier looked past the judge, and noticed the Neoshadows several feet behind him. Immediately, he drew the short sword that had been hanging from his belt in its sheath.

"Sir! Look behind you!"

Frollo nearly laughed, but he wouldn't allow one of his lackeys to see such a rare event. Instead, his lips curled into a sort of sneer.

"I am aware of them, you idiot." He snarled, now practically in his face.

The soldier looked shocked for a few moments, gazing at the Heartless. They returned his gaze with their empty yellow eyes, slowly starting to creep toward him.

"Judge Frollo..." The guard said, stammering, "Y-you accommodate these... these demons?"

Frollo's hand lashed out, catching the soldier in the side of the head. He flew into the room, landing a meter in front of the two Heartless. The winded soldier tried to get back to his feet, but suddenly, the Heartless sprang.

"I am a man of God." Frollo stated, as the unfortunate soldier lost his heart.

He paid it no attention, and instead walked to the nearest window. He gazed out of it, toward Notre Dame.

"I'll find her. I'll find her if I have to burn down all of Paris."

!

"Well what do we have here?" Riku wondered aloud, gazing out of Quasimodo's window to the street below.

It was morning, and most of the bell tower's current occupants had awoken. The morning's pale sun coming through the thick layer of grey clouds that had rolled in overnight tinted the streets below with a dull, muted light. The city looked quite a great deal different in this light than it had during the festival the previous day.

After a group effort to shake Sora awake, the eleven friends gathered at the window. On the street, they could see a line of dark-clothed soldiers standing at attention on one side of the street. Standing slightly ahead of them was the familiar bronze-armored figure of Phoebus.

A black, boxy carriage rolled up in front of them, pulled by a black, grey-haired horse. It rattled to a stop, and the door opened up. Claude Frollo stepped out of it, looking at the troops.

"Wonder what they're up to?" Mickey wondered.

"Give me three seconds." Yuffie said. Suddenly, she was gone in a puff of smoke.

She reappeared on the far side of the carriage, on the opposite side of Frollo and his men. She peeked around the side, careful to expose as little of herself as possible, so that they would be unable to see her. They were still fugitives, after all, and only safe within Notre Dame's walls.

"Good morning, sir." Phoebus said, saluting.

"Hello, Captain." She heard Frollo reply. His back was to her, but somehow, he felt different. He seemed to give off a different sort of vibe. "Rally your men. I have a very important undertaking for all of you."

"Your orders, sir?"

"Find the gypsie girl."

!

_Again, we're setting up for more action in this one. I wanted to follow the movie, and there's only so many liberties you can take to keep the story intact. Don't worry, it gets more exciting soon!_

_1) For added ambiance, play the movie's instrumental for 'Hellfire' over this next scene._

_Review please!_


	98. Chapter 97: Witch Hunt

_Okay… Six days. Close enough, right? Anyway, who else is watching this year's E3 like a hawk?_

_Roxas: (Raises hand) "Modern Warfare 3, Assassin's Creed, and now an announcement for a new Sly Cooper? Heck YES!"_

_Excellence in gaming, yes sir._

_Roxas: "DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else."_

Chapter 97: Witch-Hunt

"So, we're in agreement." Mickey said, several minutes later. "We shadow Judge Frollo."

"I still think that this is a mistake..." Quasimodo interjected again. "Frollo isn't an evil man."

"But he is trying to imprison Esmeralda, and she doesn't deserve that just for standing up to him." Sora reminded.

"'Witchcraft', he says." Axel rolled his eyes. "He just wants an excuse to use excessive force."

"How did this guy get into office, anyway?" Kairi asked Quasimodo. "He's obviously biased, and last I checked, that wasn't the best quality in a judge."

But the hunchback seemed afraid to say anything negative about his master, and said nothing.

"He stinks of Darkness." Riku pointed out, wrinkling his nose as if Frollo's scent still lingered on him. "Even more so than yesterday, if that's even possible."

"Whatever the case, somebody has to get going before tall, dark, and creepy leaves with his thugs." Nehrut said, looking out the window again. "I think they're about to move."

"Where to?" Sora asked, knowing that he'd probably regret asking.

!

Frollo's first stop (nearly an hour later) was a place not far from Notre Dame. It was a small building similar in design to many others in Paris. The rough wooden sign, and the bread and pastries in the window advertised it as a local bakery. As of yet, it hadn't opened to the public for the day.

Riku, Yuffie, Nehrut, and Bariss were crouched down on the roof opposite of the bakery. Frollo, Phoebus, and a handful of soldiers had rushed directly here. The judge was now sitting astride his immense, black horse, rather than his carriage.

"A bakery?" Riku said.

"Something tells me he doesn't just have the munchies." Yuffie muttered, peering down at the soldiers with narrowed eyes. "They're up to something."

That was an understatement, as it turned out. They watched in horror, as two soldiers broke the door down, and rushed inside. The rest followed them. From inside came the sound of muffled exclamations, and then the sound of breaking objects.

Through the window, the four could see the soldiers toppling over barrels, and shelves filled with baked goods, and restraining the shocked, harmless-looking baker. One of them forced him outside, and threw him to the ground at the feet of Frollo's horse.

The soldiers checked every corner of the small building, before they found a trap door hidden underneath a throw rug. Pulling it open, they found a handful of frightened, brightly-dressed people.

They hurriedely bound them all in chains, and marched them outside to face Frollo. He sneered down at them all for a moment, before reaching into an inner pocket of his robes.

For one wild moment, Riku thought he was reaching for a concealed weapon, intending to execute them personally on some trumped-up charge. But instead, he withdrew a handful of silver coins.

"Ten pieces of silver for the gypsy Esmeralda." He said, jingling the coins in his hands temptingly.

Fortunately for Esmeralda, the gypsies' loyalty couldn't be bought with munny or silver. The only answer Frollo got from them came in the form of angry, defiant scowls and glares.

"Got to respect that." Nehrut muttered.

Frollo however, didn't share that viewpoint. Growling, he stuffed the coins back into his robes. He turned his horse sharply around, and started riding away.

"Lock them up!" He barked to his men. "The rest of you, with me!"

Most of the soldiers (Captain Phoebus among them) followed him both on foot and on horseback. Riku noticed a look of mingled shame and anger on Phoebus's face as he followed at Frollo's side.

The six soldiers they had left behind began escorting the prisoners toward the massive Palace of Justice, which could be seen in the distance.

"This is the part where we beat the pulp out of the thugs, and spring the prisoners, right?" Yuffie asked, already twirling her shuriken between her fingers.

"Wait for a moment, so Frollo won't notice." Bariss advised. "He's moving toward the King and the others now, they can handle whatever he does next."

"One step at a time." Nehrut agreed.

About two minutes later, Frollo was well out of the way, and the others leapt across rooftops, catching up to the prisoners and their escort quickly.

It was almost sadly easy to take care of the soldiers on duty.

Riku went first, running off of the roof, and propelling himself toward the guard at the back of the group. His fists enveloped in Dawn, he collided with his side, smashing him to the ground, and sending his weapon flying across the street.

Before his fellows fully realized what had happened, Nehrut had lifted two of them into the air telepathically. With one simple gesture, he tossed them down the street, until they eventually collided with a fruit stand, which promptly fell on top of them.

A fourth was yanked into the side of a building head-first. Bariss' skill with her whip hadn't diminished in the slightest, despite the fact that she'd been favoring her sai lately. She had successfully wrapped it around the man's throat, and pulled.

The fifth was met with two booted feet to his jaw, and was unconscious before he hit the ground. The sixth fell victim to two cleanly placed shuriken strikes.

This all transpired inside the time frame of five seconds, and not one gypsy prisoner had been touched.

"Yawn." Yuffie announced.

Riku summoned Way to Dawn, and tapped the chains binding the wrists of each of the gypsies. They fell away uselessly to the ground from the simple tap, clattering onto the ground.

"You guys need to get out of here, _now_." He said to them. "Get to the Court of Miracles, wherever it is, and warn the other gypsies to stay hidden. Frollo won't stop until he finds Esmeralda."

"And take these." Bariss added, handing them some of the felled guards' weapons. "if you run into trouble on the way."

"Thank you," One of the gypsies (a skinny man in violet) thanked them, shaking Riku's hand vigorously. "If there's anything we can ever do to help you, just call on us."

"We'll keep that in mind, now go!" Riku urged.

Carrying the guards' swords, they rushed toward the east. The four off-worlders watched them until they slipped into an alley, and disappeared.

"So, should we stalk Frollo again?" Yuffie asked.

A handful of Heartless materialized around them without warning.

"It can wait." Nehrut said, drawing Presul.

This particular group was composed of Shadows and Neoshadows (which was no great surprise). There were also Soldiers, Armored Knights, Large Bodies, and an unfamiliar species. The Jester Heartless were thin, and had a similar air to the Dancer Nobodies. They were very skinny, and bare-chested. They had puffy, bright red pants, and looked like they were wearing red masks that covered all but their glowing yellow eyes. They were carrying large, double-bladed axes that didn't seem to weigh much at all.

One of the Jesters leapt at Riku, spinning the axe around its body. The Keybearer rolled under it, swiping upward into its stomach as he did. He came out of his roll, and stabbed an Armored Knight before it brought its arm blade down on him.

Nehrut countered the attacks of two Jesters by leaping backwards. Their two attacks intercepted each other, and the clueless Heartless accidently cut each other down. Nehrut stabbed behind him, to catch a Soldier in the stomach. He lifted three Shadows into the air, and threw them into an advancing Large Body.

The Large Body was knocked backwards into the side of a building. Bariss leapt up at it, piercing its forehead with her sai. She flipped backwards off of it, landing behind a pair of Shadows that she dispatched with one swipe. Using the shield in her other hand, she blocked the axe swing of a Jester. From behind her protection, she threw the sai, hitting it between the eyes.

Yuffie ran low under a Large Body's flailing fist, and leapt straight up with her shuriken in hand. She went over it, and struck at its head, before she landed lightly on its other side. She rushed at two oncoming Soldiers, throwing her shuriken at them. It spun through them, taking off both of their heads. Another pair of Neoshadows were right behind them.

The ninja leapt straight up, and landed on their other side. Her shuriken came back to her, and she struck both of them down with it. As she did so, a blast of Dawn shot over her head, hitting a Jester in the upper chest before its axe could come down on her.

Riku parried a swift blow from a Jester, and its two follow-up attacks. They were fairly impressive in combat. Most Heartless could only get in one quick attack before a swordsman of Riku's caliber cut them down. But these were executing faster and more skillful combination attacks, suggesting a slightly higher degree of intelligence.

Still, Riku sliced it in half at the waist, and stabbed through the remains to catch another one in the chest. He ducked under a pair of leaping Shadows, and blasted them the second they touched the ground again.

Trying to enjoy himself, Nehrut lifted a Large Body into the air telekinetically, and smashed it down onto a group of three smaller Heartless. This much weight was enough to crush them very quickly, and still keep the larger Heartless weakened, but alive.

He continued to bring the large Heartless crashing down into its smaller fellows, until he finally shot it down the street like an oversized bowling ball at a giant's lane.

It was done fairly quickly, with only Heartless, and small portions of the street and surrounding buildings suffering any sort of harm.

"Everybody alright?" Riku asked the group at large, keeping his Keyblade in hand in case there were any more surprises.

"Yeah, we're good." Yuffie answered. "Looks like the Brotherhood finally joined the party."

"One day late for the festival. How rude." Nehrut added. "Wonder who their agent is this time?"

"Frollo." Riku answered simply.

"I wouldn't be surprised." Yuffie agreed. "But he himself is probably a pushover, right? If we get to him, this'll probably all stop."

"He might not be as harmless as he appears, Yuffie." Bariss pointed out. "The powers of Darkness made Nessus, Gantu, Zira, and Morgana pretty tough, so I'm willing to bet Frollo will be very powerful now."

"But why would he still rely on his thugs to do his dirty work?"

"He's probably trying to maintain his image." Nehrut said. "I've dealt with people like Judge Frollo before. They like to give the impression that they're harmless so that people underestimate them. Plus, if he has a few dozen soldiers around him, he'll look like he needs protection. Then the soldiers become feared, too."

"There's more to it, I think." Riku said. "If he uses Darkness around people, they'll think he's made some kind of deal with the devil. And Frollo still wants to fool himself into thinking he's a man of God."

"Ugh." Yuffie said. "All this psychological stuff makes my head hurt. Let's just get back to work."

!

Another hour or so after Frollo and his men had left the bakery, they had stopped at the gates leading out of town, by the river. Sitting by the edge of the river was a small horse-drawn wagon, brightly colored with red, blue, and green. A white horse was harnessed to the front.

Mickey, Donald, and Goofy watched from on top of the walls, as Frollo's soldiers tossed off everything that had been on it (barrels, ornaments, and such), and threw it on the ground or into the river. A pair of them yanked the horse away from the wagon, and tied it to a nearby post.

Horrified, they watched as a group of soldiers pushed the wagon into the water. It rolled down, shaking a great deal, before finally hitting the water with a loud splash.

It sank slowly, and one by one, gasping, soaked gypsies swam to the surface. They had only moments to tread water and catch their breath, before the soldiers rushed into the water, and hauled them out one at a time.

They were placed in a straight line, dripping wet, and seething. One was a little girl no older than seven.

Frollo didn't care. He reached into his robes and pulled out several silver coins. He had raised his offer since the incident at the bakery. "_Twenty_ pieces of silver for the gypsy Esmeralda!"

The response was the same. The gypsies didn't say a word, but glared at Frollo with similar expressions of hatred.

Frollo scowled, and gestured to the men that had them bound in chains. "Take them away!"

As the men did as instructed, Mickey noticed an odd expression on Captain Phoebus's face. He was scowling at the back of Frollo's head as though he were silently willing it to suddenly explode.

"What do we do, Your Majesty?" Goofy asked, perhaps a little louder than was necessary.

"Shhh..." Mickey whispered. "I have an idea, but I'm not sure if I can pull it off here." He stood, and walked to the other side of the wall, where Frollo and the prisoners were heading. "Follow my lead."

He dropped down from the top of the wall, and walked calmly into Frollo's path, Donald and Goofy flanking him.

The judge pulled his horse to a sudden halt, gazing down at Mickey curiously. His expression turned to one of shock anger, when he recognized the three of them as beings who had helped in Esmeralda's escape.

"You!" he gestured quickly to a pair of guards. They walked forward cautiously, weapons at the ready. "You three are under arrest for aiding a fugitive from justice. Will you come quietly?"

"Well, Judge Frollo, I don't think you're in any position to arrest me for any charges." Mickey replied, meeting Frollo's hard gaze with a determined one of his own. "I am King Mickey Mouse; Royal monarch of Disney Castle, and I declare diplomatic immunity."

He half-smiled at the look of surprise that appeared on Frollo's face. But it left his face suddenly, when Frollo merely sneered at him.

"Do you think that we would grant you immunity after you've already committed a felony? And before _our_ King even knew of your presence? You are truly naïve if you believe this, 'Your Majesty.'"

"You take that back!" Donald exclaimed angrily, summoning his staff, and leaping in front of his king with Goofy at his side.

But Mickey raised his hands for them to stop. "We'll come quietly, Judge Frollo. It's not my wish to cause a diplomatic incident."

"That's better." Frollo said with a smirk. "Captain, restrain them, and have them brought to the Palace of Justice with the rest of the vermin."

Donald and Goofy stared at Mickey with expressions of shock and mild betrayal as the soldiers bound them with iron chains, and sent them to march along with the gypsies, and their escort of twelve soldiers. He kept his eyes fixed on Frollo throughout the whole thing, until he and the others had disappeared from view behind a building.

They had marched for several minutes, before Mickey looked up at the soldier next to him. "So, pal... Got any kids?"

The soldier looked down at the diminutive king, confused. "Um... No."

"Too bad."

Mickey leapt up, and smashed his foot into a very uncomfortable part of the guard's anatomy. All of his breath left his body in a silent exclamation as his knees buckled.

In the same second that the soldier hit the ground, Mickey was airborne. He flipped over the head of another soldier, summoning Kingdom Crown, and breaking the chains on his wrists. He came down on top of a soldier, driving the blade into his chest.

When he touched down again, he pointed his Keyblade at Donald's chains, and the fell away. Donald summoned his staff, and shouted, "Firaga!"

Fire shot from the staff, hitting a soldier in the back as he ran toward Mickey. Mickey leapt over his motionless form, and over to Goofy. He tapped his chains, and freed him.

The knight immediately raised his shield to block a strike from a soldier (the first one that was actually able to attack). Donald unleashed another fireball from behind the shield, setting his chest alight.

The remaining eight soldiers only now understood what was going on, and shot toward the escapees. But they didn't last long.

Mickey extended his blade, and fired three quick blasts of Light the size of baseballs. They exploded against three different soldiers, sending them flying backwards.

Goofy threw his shield. It spun through the air, hitting the helmeted head of a soldier, sending him sprawling. The shield bounced off of his head (still spinning) and struck another one in the stomach, taking him out of commission.

And for the final two, Donald released a Thundaga spell from his staff. Lightning bolts flew into the body of the one in front, sending him into wild convulsions where he stood. Some of the bolts surged from his body and into his partner, dropping him in seconds.

The smoking body of the first one collapsed a moment later, dead before he hit the ground.

"Well, now that that's over..." Mickey walked over to the gypsies, who initially recoiled in fear they they would become his next victims. But when he merely tapped the chains on the wrists of the little girl, they let out a collective sigh of relief.

"You fellas need to get to safety before Frollo realizes you've escaped." Mickey said. "Go to the Court of Miracles, and stay there until things are safe again."

"We can't thank you enough." A middle-aged man thanked him. "If you ever need Sanctuary, seek us out."

"Don't mention it. Now get going!"

They ran immediately, disappearing into an alleyway in seconds. Their rescuers stayed behind, and were silent for a moment.

Finally, Goofy asked. "Uh, Your Majesty, I'm not sure I get it. Why did you try diplomatic immunity on Frollo?"

"I just thought it might be a quick way to settle things. But even if he didn't accept it, I knew we'd be able to escape. He doesn't know that chains will be ineffective. Now come on, let's get out of here before anyone spots us."

!

_Back to the action! Hope that you liked this one!_

_Please review._


	99. Chapter 98: Breaking Point

_These hunchback chapters are kind of short, I'm just noticing. Maybe that's because I'm following the movie so closely? Eh, whatever. Let's keep the ball rolling!_

_Kairi: "DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else he decides to use."_

_!_

Chapter 98: Breaking Point

Over two hours after Mickey and Frollo's verbal confrontation, things got particularly interesting.

Frollo and his men had travelled to a point just outside of the city, far enough away to where Notre Dame was a blurry outline. They stood in the parched, choked outskirts of the city, at the site of a simple family's small home. It was a small house with a roof covered by straw, built into the side of a windmill.

A little more than a dozen soldiers stood outside of the house, as a not-so subtle warning. A handful of simple civilians stood several yards away from them and the house, trying to get a better view of what was happening just inside.

Sora, Kairi, and Axel were among them, wearing disguises similar to those they had used the previous day to sneak into Notre Dame after the 'incident' at the festival. Nobody would have paid them much mind anyway, so engrossed were they at the events in the house.

Sora tugged at the sleeve of a tall man, disguising his voice, and being careful to hide his face beneath a hood. "What's going on?"

The man looked around, as though trying to make sure nobody was listening. "Frollo's gone mad. He's rounding up the gypsies left and right, and now he's come here."

"Do gypsies live here?" Kairi asked, still playing the part of Sora's caregiver, under her own hood.

"No. I know the people who live there, they're simple farmers. I can't imagine why Frollo would come to them."

Sora and Kairi traded looks, and sank slowly into the back of the small crowd. They nudged Axel, who was pretending not to be familiar with them. Together, they fell back into a small layer of trees behind the crowd.

"Can one of your friends get us an inside look?" Sora asked.

"Let's see." Axel said. He snapped his fingers, and a single Assassin emerged from the ground, totally silent.

Sora noticed that this one bore slight differences from the rest of its kind. The areas of its body that should have been violet were instead a pale red. It also stood at least three inches taller than its fellows.

The Nobody knelt down before Axel, speaking softly. "What is thy bidding, my liege?"

"Xonem, I need you to get a closer look at whatever's going on inside that place." Axel instructed, pointing to the house. "Don't let anyone see you, and patch your view through to me."

"At once, my liege." The Assassin sank back into the ground.

"He seems a bit different from the rest of the Nobodies." Kairi observed.

"The lesser ones aren't mindless, Kairi, even if they act like it sometimes." Axel answered. "They're just like the advanced ones, just not lucky enough to keep their shape. I'm actually pretty surprised that Xonem wasn't one of them."

"You know him from before?"

"It was just me and the other twelve in the Organization, and not all of them were the best conversationalists. Besides, he's second-in-command of the Assassins." He closed his eyes. "Hold on, I'm going to look through Xonem's eyes to see what he can."

Inside the house, Frollo (with Phoebus standing nearby, as always) stood over a balding, middle-aged man with dark hair and a beard. He was kneeling down in front of the judge, with his wife, young son, and infant child behind him.

"We found this gypsy talisman on your property." Frollo said, holding a small object in his hand. He showed it briefly to the man, before tucking it into his robes. "Have you been harboring gypsies?"

"Our home is always open to the weary traveler." The man explained, fear and desperation intermingled in his eyes and his voice. "Have mercy, my lord!"

Frollo looked down at him with distaste, and answered quickly as he turned away, "I am placing you and your family under house arrest, until I get to the bottom of this. If what you say is true, and you are innocent, then you have nothing to fear."

"But we are innocent!" The man pleaded, half-following Frollo and Phoebus out the door. "I assure you, we know nothing of these gypsies!"

His pleas went unacknowledged by Frollo. He slammed the door shut.

Xonem snuck through the ground to the outside, to further spy on Frollo and Phoebus. The judge took a spear from the nearest soldier, and shoved it in place to keep the door shut.

He looked at Phoebus, and growled two terrifying words, "Burn it."

Xonem's assistance was no longer needed, though he continued to observe. Sora, Kairi, Axel, and the crowd could see and hear them just fine. So they could all see Phoebus's expression of anger and indignation when he asked, "What?"

Frollo merely climbed onto his horse, as though he hadn't just ordered the deaths of four likely innocent people. He took a lit torch from one of the soldiers. They had been using them for light, as it was glowing late, and clouds were rolling in.

"Until it smolders," Frollo explained, handing the torch to Phoebus, "These people are traitors, and must be made examples of."

Phoebus took the torch, but his expression of anger and defiance never wavered. "With all due respect, sir, I wasn't trained to murder the innocent."

"But you _were_ trained to follow _orders_."

"Xonem," Axel muttered, "he even _looks_ like he'll burn the house, then you take him out."

"Don't do it Phoebus..." Sora muttered under his breath, getting ready to leap into action if things took a turn for the worse.

The Captain's inner conflict was clearly visible on his face. For just a moment, he looked like he might follow Frollo's twisted orders, taking one step backwards toward the house.

But then, he plunged the whole torch into a nearby barrel filled to the brim with rain water. Steam rose from it in a huge cloud.

Sora and Kairi beamed. Frollo scowled.

"Insolent coward." The judge took a second torch from a soldier, and steered his horse over to the windmill. As soon as one of its blades was within arm's length, he touched the torch to it.

The windmill caught fire surprisingly quickly. Despite the brief rain of the previous day, the wood was extremely dry. The house to which it was attached was blazing even faster. There was a collective exclamation of outrage and fear from the small audience.

"That disgusting-" Axel began. He stopped short when he saw Phoebus rush into the house though the window. Over the roaring flames, they could hear crying and shouting from inside.

"Fire guy, do something!" Sora shouted.

Concentrating hard, Axel stretched out his hands, looking as if he were clutching something in both of them. Miraculously, the flames lessened, and seemed almost to be lifting off of the house, leaving charred, blackened husks behind.

Frollo gaped at this anomaly for a moment, before the door flew open, and Phoebus rushed out, carrying the two children, and with their parents following right behind him.

Axel slowly pressed the flames together into one massive ball, and threw it into the sky in one massive burst. All that was left of the house were the burnt remains of old timbers and framework, being licked at by tiny flames.

Phoebus handed the children back over to their parents, who gasped out their thanks as they ran for the city as fast as they could.

Phoebus himself, however, wasn't so lucky. A soldier came up behind him, and smashed the hilt of his sword into his helmeted head.

He keeled over, nearly losing consciousness. His helmet bounced off his head, rolling a foot away. The soldier pulled him to his knees, forcing his neck out. One of his partners held his own blade over his head as Frollo trotted up to him on his horse.

"The sentence for insubordination is death. Such a pity, you had such a promising career."

Phoebus glared up at him, eyes blazing with defiance. "Consider it my highest honor, _sir_."

The soldier raised his sword, and prepared to bring it crashing down on Phoebus's neck. Unfortunately for both him and his boss, he died before he could deliver the blow that would behead his former captain.

As his body slumped forward, Xonem emerged from the ground behind him.

Phoebus used the brief window of opportunity to throw the other guard off of him, and beat his face in with one punch.

"What!" Frollo exclaimed, looking at Xonem. Then Sora was crashing into him, pinning him to the ground.

The Keybearer smirked at Frollo from the other side of Oblivion. "Hey, Judge! Remember me?"

"You..." Frollo said, with narrowing eyes.

Within three seconds, they were surrounded by a ring of soldiers, each with weapons pointed at Sora. "I'll offer you a choice, boy. Surrender quietly, or die."

Sora wasn't afraid. "I think my crazy girlfriend and pyromaniac friend might have a problem with that."

Perfectly timed, a large blade of Light shot over the two of them, sending the soldiers flying off their feet. Sora leapt off of Frollo, and Axel dove toward him, chakrams ready to strike.

Nobody had actually expected Frollo to fight back.

With reflexes that a man his age was unlikely to possess, he threw himself backwards across the ground, and was on his feet inside of two seconds. Axel's weapons struck the ground uselessly.

Frollo straightened his hat, and glared at them. For a moment, his eyes flashed gold.

Suddenly, Sora could feel the Darkness emanating off of the Minister of Justice in great waves. How he had acquired this power, he didn't know. But he had a good guess on who was behind it.

Frollo raised his fist, Dark fire covering it. "DIE!" He shouted, lashing out with his fist, and sending the fire directly at Sora's chest.

He quickly brought his blade up horizontally, blocking the fire with the blade.

"Xonem, get Phoebus out of here!" Axel shouted, throwing his chakrams at Frollo.

"At once, my liege." He replied, rushing toward Phoebus. The gold-armored man had drawn his sword, and was holding off one of the soldiers that had gotten to his feet. Xonem leapt completely over him, and cut the soldier cleanly in half before he knew what had happened.

"The horse." Xonem said to him.

Judge Frollo's horse had stood unnoticed by anyone after Sora had knocked its rider off. Catching onto the Nobody's line of thinking, Phoebus ran to it, and leapt into the empty saddle.

Grabbing the reins firmly in his hands, Phoebus took off, with Xonem following close behind.

Frollo noticed his ride as he dodged an attack from Kairi. "Get him!" He ordered his men who could still stand, "And don't harm my horse!"

Any men that were still able to fight took off after Phoebus and the Nobody. Several pulled out bows, with several arrows at the ready. Only one managed to get off a shot at Phoebus before Kairi and Axel were on them.

Unfortunately, this one shot was all that was necessary. It struck Phoebus in the back, and he fell off the horse, clutching the wound. Less fortunate was the fact that he had been crossing a high bridge over the river at the time, and he fell a long way.

Sora only had a moment to notice this and panic, before Frollo attacked him. Normally, he likely wouldn't have been much of a threat, but whatever powers of Darkness the Brotherhood had granted him made him a deadly opponent.

Frollo thrust out his hand, sending a large blast of Darkness shooting at the Keybearer. Sora dodged out of the path of the attack, which shot into the small patch of trees, blowing one to shreds.

Sora and Frollo ran at each other at the same moment. Frollo conjured up what appeared to be a sword made of pure Dark energy. They met in the middle, their blades meeting with a burst of Light and Darkness.

The Darkness was having a similar effect on Frollo that the trident had had on Morgana. It had made a clearly inefficient warrior into a passable one, with the ability to stave off most of Sora's attacks.

Sora leapt backwards, and swung his blade in an arc, sending a stream of fire at Frollo. He dismissed his energy blade, and summoned a shield of Darkness, which absorbed the blow with little difficulty. Frollo then turned it from a barrier into a projectile, firing the whole thing at Sora.

The Keybearer threw the Keyblade into the air, and allowed it to change into the Keyfist. The instant before the wall of Dark energy collided with him, he punched it with his metal fist, blowing it apart.

Once again, Sora ran toward Frollo, punching first at his chest, and then at his face. Surprisingly, the judge was able to dodge both of these potentially bone-breaking attacks. When Sora aimed a third punch at his face, he actually caught the blow with both hands, which were enveloped in Darkness.

He pushed the magic fist off of him with as much force as he could muster, and swiped at his head with a newly conjured blade. Sora brought his arm up to block the strike, making the blade slide harmlessly off of it.

Sora drew his fist back for another punch, this time wrapping icy cold air around it. He punched forward, and found his mar this time. Frollo flew backwards nearly ten feet, biting particles of ice clinging to his body.

He landed in the midst of his very unfortunate men, most of whom were either unconscious or dead from the beatings Kairi and Axel had dealt them. The only one standing was a tall guard with a black moustache, who seemed to be the only proficient swordsman among them.

Of course, this wasn't saying much, and Kairi had disarmed him in three moves, leaving him open for Axel's fireball.

Frollo only registered that his men were down when he staggered back to his feet, using Darkness to break off the ice clinging to his skin and robes. He snarled, and his eyes flashed gold again.

Heartless appeared around them, encircling the four combatants in a ring.

Sora surveyed them calmly, then looked at Frollo. "So you've joined the Brotherhood, huh?"

"I don't know the name. But a powerful ally did approach me." He replied. "And now, I have immense power… Power enough to destroy _you_."

As he spoke, Sora caught sight of three beings behind him, near the bridge. One was Phoebus, who appeared to be unconscious (or getting there). He was being supported on either side by Xonem, and (to his surprise) Esmeralda. She was partially obscured by the dark cloak she had worn before with Djali underneath.

Frollo hadn't noticed, but Kairi and Axel had.

_We need a distraction._

Kairi gave a barely perceptible nod in his direction. By this point, moments of silent understanding between them weren't unexpected.

"Don't count on it, gramps." Axel countered, throwing his burning chakrams into the Heartless ring. The shining blades destroyed two immediately, and the fire destroyed another four.

Kairi began to glow silver, and stood totally still for a few frozen moments while Frollo and the Heartless advanced on her. Sora jumped into the judge's path, keeping him at bay with the newly restored Keyblade.

Axel and Sora protected Kairi from all attacks as she continued to grow brighter and brighter to the point where she was blinding to look at directly.

This continued for several minutes, but finally, Kairi cried, "Purifying Pulse!" And let the Light go in one massive burst. Frollo was tossed backwards like a rag doll, and landed in the wreckage of the house he had just burned down.

He got wearily back to his feet to discover that the Heartless had been destroyed. But what was worse was that Sora, Kairi, and Axel were gone.

!

_No, I didn't forget the Assassins. And admittedly, I might be totally wrong about the Nobody chain of command, but does anybody really mind? So, hope you liked this one!_

_Review please!_


	100. Chapter 99: Heartbreak and Panic

_So, many of you have noticed that 'Xonem' comes from 'Nemo.' But he is not 'Finding Nemo' Nemo. That name is just Latin for 'Nobody.'_

_Xonem: "I am not now, nor have I ever been a clown fish. Let me stress that."_

_Thank you for your kind attention, now back to the story._

_Xonem: "DarthKingdom does not own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else he decides to use."_

_!_

Chapter 99: Heartbreak and Panic

Half of Paris was burning. Frollo had pursued Esmeralda with renewed fury after the incident outside of town. The sky looked bloody as the sun began to set, and the dark smoke from burning buildings hung over the city for miles around.

Phoebus's betrayal, and the brief skirmish with the off-worlders had fueled Frollo's passion for the hunt, despite the fact that he had lost nearly half of his men to them.

He simply made up (and greatly exceeded) the difference with the Heartless.

Now, Frollo sat astride his horse, surrounded by a small escort of Neoshadows. One of his men (the replacement of Captain Phoebus's already deceased replacement) walked up to him, and saluted.

"Sir, I've just received word that not all of the prisoners we apprehended today made it back to the Palace of Justice."

"And why is that?"

"Some of the surviving men reported that they were attacked by strange warriors. Some of their descriptions match those of the ones that helped the gypsy girl escape in the first place."

Frollo closed his eyes, and let out an aggravated hiss of air. "And what of the girl herself?"

"We've looked everywhere, and still no sign of her, sir."

Frollo put his hand to his temple, and massaged it as if trying to ward off a migraine headache. "I had the entire cathedral surrounded…" He muttered more to himself than to the soldiers nearby him. "Guards at every door… There was no way she could have escaped."

But then as if fate was giving him a hint, the bells of Notre Dame -only a mile or so away- began to ring. A brief expression of anger and dawning comprehension flashed across Frollo's face, and he turned his head to the tower.

"Unless…"

!

Riku, Yuffie, Nehrut, Bariss, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy had all gathered back at Quasimodo's bell tower. They had spent several hours undermining Frollo's efforts to arrest any gypsies he found. They had released several prisoners before they made it to their prison, but not all.

And they were tired. Heartless had dogged them every step of the way.

They had exhausted their supplies of Ethers during the day, and the rest were either on the _Unity_, or with Sora's party.

Nehrut, Riku, and Yuffie were looking out through the wide window onto the city below. It couldn't have looked more different from the beautiful view they had had the previous evening. The flames could be seen for miles.

Quasimodo joined them, just having rang the bells for some religious service or another.

"Any sign of her?" He asked.

"Afraid not, Quasi." Riku said. "The psychic listening post over here says that he can't sense her."

"There are so many people in this city," Nehrut replied, irritably rubbing his temple. "That it's hard to pick out individual minds out of the whole. And I've only known Esmeralda for a while, so it's particularly hard to place her. I still haven't. I've been following Frollo's progress, though."

"And?"

"If he'd found her, I would have felt his happiness. But instead, I just feel anger, obsession and… _lust_."

"Creepy." Yuffie said, grimacing at the mental image he had just put into her head. "But anyway, if I know Esmeralda, she's three steps ahead of Frollo, and well out of harm's way."

"Do you really think so?" Quasimodo asked hopefully.

"Of course!" Riku agreed. "Once things cool off, she'll be back."

"What makes you so sure?"

"Because she likes you." Yuffie replied simply. "Really Quasi, you need to give yourself a little credit. Who wouldn't love a guy like you?"

Quasimodo smiled a little.

Nehrut's head shot up. "Well, what do you know…"

"What? What is it?" The hunchback asked quickly.

"Sora, Kairi, and Axel are back. And they've got some friends with them."

Minutes later, the tower door that led to the cathedral halls below opened softly. Sora's voice drifted up to them. "Guys! We're back, and we've got some friends with us!"

"You're good." Yuffie commented.

"Quasimodo?" came another voice.

"Esmeralda!" Quasimodo greeted, running to the door like a small, excited child would run to greet his favorite grandparent.

The gypsy girl was the first person that Quasimodo saw, and he rushed immediately to embrace her. "You're alright! I knew it!"

She gladly returned the hug, and then pulled away. "You've done so much for me, my friend. But I'm afraid I have to ask for your help one more time."

"Anything."

It was then that he saw the half-conscious Phoebus in the doorway, being supported on either side by Sora and Axel. Kairi and Djali stood nearby.

"This is Phoebus." Sora said. "A fugitive, and the ex-captain of the guard. And he's really wounded."

"Why didn't you just use a cure spell?" Goofy asked from somewhere behind Quasimodo.

"The wound just missed the heart. If any of us made a mistake with the spell, it could kill him."

"He can't go on for much longer, and we knew he'd be safe here." Esmeralda said. "Please."

There was something strange on the hunchback's face as she said this. It was something of mixed sadness, betrayal, and disbelief. But he did what he could to hide it. "This way." He said, beckoning.

He led them over to a section of the landing that was covered by pale red sheets, cut off from the rest of the tower. A mat and pillow filled with straw sat there on the ground, and three lit candles were by the head of the mat.

Sora and Axel laid Phoebus on the makeshift bed as gently as they could, and soon, Esmeralda and Donald were standing over him.

But Phoebus only had eyes for the former. "Esmeralda… Why is that every time I'm around you, I end up bleeding?"

This was a true enough statement. He had lost a great deal of blood from the arrow wound, and the flow had only just started to lessen. After Donald and Esmeralda did everything they could to see that he would live to see the next day, Donald backed away.

"That family owes you their lives. You're either the bravest soldier I've ever met, or the craziest."

"_Ex_-soldier. Remember?"

"You're lucky. That arrow almost pierced your heart."

"I'm not so certain it didn't." He replied, taking one of her hands in his.

As far as pickup lines went, this wasn't exactly the best one in Sora's opinion, but apparently, it worked. Slowly, Esmeralda lowered her face to meet Phoebus's. Their lips met in a slow, gentle kiss.

A smile began to form on Sora's lips, before Riku nudged him in the side. The older Keybearer inclined his head toward Quasimodo. The hunchback looked as if their kiss was causing him physical pain. His hand was over his heart as if it were breaking in more than one way.

"That poor guy…" Roxas said. "Intervention time, Sora."

_You're right._

Sora put one hand on Quasimodo's shoulder, and he practically slumped against him. The Keybearer's knees buckled slightly under his bulk, but he supported his weight as best as he could.

"Listen, Quasi-" he began, whispering so that Esmeralda wouldn't hear him. Phoebus had just fallen into a sleep-like state.

But he was interrupted by Djali's frantic 'baa-ing' and Goofy's urgent warning. "Frollo's here!"

Everyone in the room suddenly looked panic-stricken, and rushed to the window. On the street below them, Frollo was stepping out of his carriage. Two guards and a pair of Heartless were on either side of the carriage.

"You have to leave!" Quasimodo warned. "Follow me!"

He rushed toward the back door in the tower, and Esmeralda and Djali were right behind him. He threw the door open. "Go down the south tower steps, and get to safety."

"Be careful, my friends." She said before leaving. "Promise you won't let anything happen to him."

"I promise." Quasimodo answered, the look of mixed jealousy, betrayal, and heartbreak flashing across his face again for the briefest of moments.

And then Esmeralda was gone again, lost to the night.

"Let's stash the stiff." Axel said quickly, running back towards Phoebus.

"You all should leave to!" Quasimodo interrupted. "If Frollo finds you here…"

"We won't confront Frollo here if it gets you in any more trouble, Quasi." Kairi reassured. "But we're also not leaving you alone with him if he tries anything."

As Riku rushed to lock the tower door (even though Frollo likely had the key, it would still buy them some time) Axel, Sora, and Quasimodo pulled Phoebus over to the nearest hiding place, which happened to be the table on which the hunchback's smaller version of Paris was set up. Even without the golden armor, Phoebus was still very heavy.

They practically threw him underneath. Quasimodo pushed him under as far as possible with his foot (perhaps using a little more force than necessary, Sora noted) and put the section of table cloth back in place.

"And now, we hide." Yuffie said, grabbing Riku around the waist, and making both of them vanish in a cloud of black smoke.

"Really wish she had waited for the rest of us…" Sora muttered. He summoned the Keyboard, and allowed King Mickey onto his shoulders. He floated outside the window, coming to a stop just below it. Kairi joined them, carrying Donald on her shoulders. Nehrut carried Goofy and Axel out a moment later.

However, Bariss chose to hide inside. She leapt nimbly up to one of the giant bells, and hung from the ringing part on the inside. Unless one was directly under the bell, she couldn't have been seen.

Quasimodo was as good as alone. He quickly made a show of straightening the wooden figures on the table under which Phoebus was hidden.

The door of the tower could be heard opening, and Frollo entered the room moments later, carrying a wicker basket with fruit inside.

"Oh, Master!" Quasimodo greeted him, pulling up a pair of chairs at the table. "I didn't think you'd be coming!"

"I'm never too busy to share a meal with you, my boy." Frollo replied. To his credit, his smile and voice seemed genuine. He took one of the chairs, and placed his hat on the table next to the wooden villiage. "I brought a little treat." He placed the basket on the table in front of Quasimodo.

Quickly, the hunchback rushed over to a nearby shelf on which sat a few plates, bowls, and glasses. He was nervous, and it showed, but Frollo didn't seem to notice even when he accidentally broke one of the plates.

He quickly brought a pair of plates to the table (wooden ones, this time) and set them in front of Frollo, and his own unoccupied chair.

Feigning a look of concern, Frollo took out a punch of grapes from the basket, and set them on his plate. "Is there something troubling you, Quasimodo?"

"No." The hunchback replied, way too quickly.

"Oh, but there is." Frollo said, tossing a grape into his mouth from his own bunch. "I know there is…"

A single grape fell to the floor, and rolled under the table. It was a mistake on Quasimodo's part to follow its progress to the floor nervously.

"I think…" Frollo said, "You're hiding something."

"Oh, no Master! There's nothing-"

"You're not eating, boy."

"Oh, yes!" He hurriedly piled the grapes into his mouth, eating half of them in seconds. "Oh, yes, they're very good!"

Phoebus groaned under the table. Quasimodo's eyes bulged in horror, but he was quickly able to cover up Phoebus's slip, by repeating the noise, as if savoring the taste of the grapes.

He kicked Phoebus under the table, sending him back into unconsciousness.

Still seeming oblivious to Quasimodo's plight, Frollo merely arched an eyebrow, and gazed around the room suspiciously, rising to his feet. "What's different in here?"

"Nothing, sir." Once again, the hunchback's response was a little too quick, and Sora found himself holding his breath.

Frollo's eyes finally fell upon the one tiny detail that had changed since his last visit (apart from Phoebus, of course). It was resting on the table.

"Isn't this one new?" He asked curiously, picking up a wooden figure of Esmeralda. It had been crafted the previous night, and looked to have been created with much greater care than the rest.

"It's awfully good." Frollo observed, still sounding genuine. "Looks very much like the gypsy girl."

And then it happened. Frollo's voice was soft, at first, but it grew. "I know… you helped her ESCAPE!"

He punctuated his last word by slamming his fist onto the table, shaking the entire setup. Quasimodo started, and fell backwards out of his chair.

"And now, all of Paris is burning because of _you_!"

Despite the abuse, the hunchback's only meek reply was, "She was kind to me, Master. They all were-"

"You IDIOT!" Frollo swept his arm aggressively across the table, knocking all of the miniature Paris off the table. "That wasn't kindness, it was cunning!"

He rushed around the table, and roughly grabbed Quasimodo by the scuff of his shirt. "She's a gypsy! Gypsies aren't capable of _real_ love! Think boy! Think of your _mother_!"

Sora was a microsecond away from leaping into the window and showing Frollo a real fight, when the judge's voice softened greatly.

He released his grip on his adopted son's shirt, and straightened it, then put an apologetic hand on his head. "But what chance could a poor, misshapen child like you have against her heathen treachery?"

He stood up, and plucked Esmeralda's figure from the table where he had thrown it. "Well, never you mind, Quasimodo." He said, as he held it over a candle that had been burning nearby. "She'll be out of our lives soon enough."

As soon as the wooden figure caught fire, he tossed it to the floor, and watched it burn. "I will free you from her evil spell. She will torment you no longer."

"What do you mean?" The hunchback asked, as Frollo put his hat back on, and began to walk away. Sora and the others were listening very closely.

"I know where her hideout is. And tomorrow at dawn, I attack with a thousand men."

He left him then, and moments later, they heard the tower door slam shut.

Sora and the others reentered the room immediately. "Are you alright, Quasi?" Sora asked. But he got no response.

There was a groan from underneath the table, and Phoebus emerged, rubbing his head, where Quasimodo had kicked him.

"We've got to find the Court of Miracles. Before daybreak."

"Yeah." Riku agreed. "God help them if Frollo gets there before we do."

"We're with you, Captain." Sora said.

"Ex-Captain."

"Whatever. Let's get out of here, and use the psychic RADAR system over here to see if we can find them."

"Great, more headache-inducing work." Nehrut said, but he was the first walking to the door.

Everyone but Sora and Phoebus was already out of the room, when they realized that Quasimodo wasn't following them.

"Aren't you coming?" Phoebus asked him.

"I can't." Quasimodo said, turning away.

"I thought you were Esmeralda's friend!"

"Frollo's my master, I can't disobey him again."

"She stood up for you!" Phoebus exclaimed. "You've got a funny way of showing gratitude."

Quasimodo remained silent, and Phoebus glared. "Well the rest of us aren't going to just sit here so Frollo can massacre innocent people."

"Go on." Sora muttered quietly. Phoebus looked down at him. "I'll meet you at the street, I can handle this."

Phoebus looked reluctant, but nodded, and left the room.

Sora walked up to Quasimodo, and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Care to talk?"

"What am I supposed to do?" His voice was almost accusatory. "Go out there and rescue the girl from the jaws of death, and the whole town will treat me like I'm some kind of a hero?"

"She's already got her 'knight in shining armor', and it's _not_ me." He sighed, and now his voice sounded defeated, and resigned. "Frollo was right. Frollo was right about everything… And I'm tired of trying to be something that I'm not."

"'Frollo was right?'" Sora quoted. "'Something that you're not?' So what _aren't_ you? A human being who has just as much right to live a full, happy life as anyone who lives outside these stone walls?"

Silence hung between them for a moment.

"Well, Quasi, Frollo was _not_ right. In fact, he's one of the most ignorant people I've ever met. Just because you had the misfortune of being born looking different, it doesn't make you a monster. And it definitely doesn't mean that you can't yet be a hero."

Sora walked over to a nearby bench, where there sat a dark blue hooded cape. He held it out to Quasimodo. The hunchback looked at it for a moment, before taking it.

"I must be out of my mind." He said, as he put it on, and walked to the door.

"Nice job, somebody." Roxas said.

!

When the two latecomers arrived just outside the side door of the cathedral (which was hidden in darkness, so they were unseen) it was to find Nehrut in the middle of what appeared to be a massive headache, and half leaning on Bariss and Goofy for support.

"This city is way, _way_ too crowded to pick out anyone in particular. Especially now, with all the panic and fear in the air. It's clouding my senses and blocking my concentration."

"Well, good thing we've got another way, then." Sora said.

"Say again?"

"Quasi, you still got that necklace?"

"Oh, yes…" Quasimodo reached under his shirt, and took out the woven necklace he had received from the gypsy the previous night. "She said this would help us find her."

"Good, good, good!" Phoebus's excitement was almost palpable. He held out his hand for it, and took it carefully. "Ah, great… What is it?"

"I'm not sure."

"It could be a key." Kairi suggested.

"Or a sign, to show allegiance to the Court?" Bariss added.

"Maybe it's some kind of a code…" Phoebus said.

After debating back and forth for a few minutes, it was Quasimodo that came up with the correct answer. "'When you wear this woven band, you hold the city in your hand.'"

"What?" Riku asked.

"It's the city." Quasimodo said, taking the necklace from Phoebus. "Here's the cathedral," He pointed at the cross in the middle, "And the river," The blue band surrounding it, "And this little thing…"

"The Court of Miracles." Sora agreed. "Not bad, Quasi."

"Lead the way." Phoebus said.

The twelve of them snuck through the city, unseen and unheard to the soldier patrols.

!

_Sora seems to be good at pep talks. It worked on the Beast, right? That kind of empathy is one of the reasons I –and likely Kairi- like the guy so much._

_Anywho, please leave a review!_


	101. Chapter 100: The Court of Miracles

_And we're back! This one's kind of short, but I'll update in about a week to see if we can't compensate._

_Esmeralda: "DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix or absolutely anything else obvious."_

_!_

Chapter 100: The Court of Miracles

It took over an hour, and the moon was high in the sky by the time the party of twelve reached their apparent destination.

And of all the places Sora had expected to find the Court of Miracles, he had definitely not expected an old, slightly unkempt cemetery. But, looking back, it would obviously have to be located somewhere that was seldom visited.

Axel and Phoebus opened the iron gates, which were illuminated by the small ball of Light Kairi held in her hand. "Are you sure this is the place, Quasi?"

"I'm positive. This is as close as we can get to the mark on the map."

"Alright." Mickey said. "Everybody fan out, and see what you can find. But stay quiet."

Staying low, the twelve of them searched the dark cemetery, but for what, they didn't know. It was another fifteen minutes before Yuffie found something noteworthy.

"Guys!" She called.

The rest of the group gathered around her discovery, which was a small crypt. Of course, this wasn't a very surprising feature in the cemetery, apart from the large engraving over it.

"Looks like the symbol on the map." Axel observed.

"I can make out an inscription," Phoebus said, leaning in closer to make the best of Kairi's soft light, "But it'll take a few minutes for me to translate."

Quasimodo shoved the cover stone for the crypt open, revealing a stone staircase leading down into the ground.

"Yes, or we could just go down those stairs." Sora said, grinning.

Sora, Kairi, Quasimodo, and Phoebus went down the steps first, and the rest followed close behind. Immediately inside, Sora noticed something glimmering on the side. Without breaking the silence, he picked it up off the ground: A Summon charm with two interwoven initials: KP.

After a few moments of walking down the stairs (it was very cold now) their path leveled out. But Sora almost wished that Kairi's Light wasn't illuminating the scene before them. They were now in a long tunnel, and had to walk through a few inches of dirty, smelly water. Hundreds of human bones lined the walls.

Somebody gagged.

"Is this the Court of Miracles?" Quasimodo asked, voicing everyone's disbelief.

"Offhand, I'd say it's the Court of Ankle-Deep Sewage." Phoebus said. "Looks like the old catacombs."

"Cheerful place, huh?" Riku commented sarcastically.

"Makes you wish you got out more often, huh Quasi?" Sora asked, patting him on the back.

"Not me." The hunchback answered, missing the joke. "I just want to warn Esmeralda, and get back to the bell tower before I get in any more trouble."

"Speaking of trouble," Bariss said, "Does it strike anyone as suspicious that we haven't run into some by now?"

"Like guards, booby traps, and an ambush?" Nehrut asked, with a groan, sensing the last of these things just a moment too late.

The nearest piles of bones burst apart, and out charged what appeared (at first sight) to be skeletons. But as they got nearer, Sora realized that they were men using skeleton costumes as camouflage among the bones.

If they expected an easy capture, they were wrong. Everyone but Quasimodo and Phoebus drew their weapons inside of a second, and fell into a fighting stance inside of two.

Several dozen 'skeletons' surrounded them, enclosing them in a circle, with spears and swords pointing inward.

Then, there was a voice Sora recognized from among the throng. "Well, well, well! What have we here?"

Clopin stepped out from among the ranks of the costumed men. His outfit was much more subdued than it had been at the festival. It was dark blue and violet, and he no longer wore a mask. He had a sheathed dagger on his belt, and he looked ready to draw it at a moment's notice.

If he recognized any of them, he gave no sign of it.

"Trespassers!" One man shouted.

"Spies!" Said another.

"We're not spies!" Sora said.

"Don't interrupt!" Clopin said, stepping forward, and placing a hand on his dagger. "You were very clever to have found our hideaway, but I'm afraid you won't live to tell the tale!"

Sora raised his blade, and slapped the sheathed dagger from Clopin's belt almost casually.

"Listen, we're friends! We don't want to hurt you." Nehrut said, blocking the skeletons' path to Sora. "Listen to what we say."

Only he knew that he was using his mental abilities to really sell his words. Through the eyeholes in the skeleton masks, Nehrut could see their sudden uncertainty.

"We're friends of Esmeralda, and we've come to warn you. Frollo and his men are coming." Sora continued.

Several of the costumed men started in surprise, and even Clopin quirked an eyebrow.

"Perhaps…" He said. "It's a nice cover story, but anyone could have said that. Especially if Frollo is looking to flush us out of our haven."

"Is Esmeralda here?" Kairi asked. "She can confirm that we know her."

Clopin pondered this for a moment, before nodding slightly. "You'll come with us. But we'll not put down our weapons."

He led them farther down the tunnel, sloshing through the sewage. The skeletons kept their spears pointed in at the group, who likewise didn't lower theirs. Soon, light began to shine from the end of the tunnel.

They stepped through a large, wide archway into a massive underground cavern. It could have been construed as a small town in its own right. The gypsies inside (at least a hundred, from what Sora could see) had set up tents, and a few small cabin-like buildings. Huge, colorful banners hung from the high ceiling, looking quite like a multicolored sunset. A set of gallows was nearby.

At the sight of the procession, many of the gypsies stopped what they were doing, and began to assemble around the gallows (which apparently doubled as a stage, for some bizarre reason).

Clopin stepped up. "Esmeralda, dear? Would you kindly step forward and identify these spies?"

There was a stirring in the crowd, and soon Esmeralda herself was standing at the front of them, and leaping onto the wooden platform. Djali was at her heels.

"These aren't spies!" She said.

"Why didn't they say so?" Clopin then asked, apparently shocked.

"We _did_ say so!" Sora and the entire group said, sounding incredulous.

"Phoebus helped that family whose home Frollo burnt down, and Quasimodo, Sora, and the others helped me escape the cathedral!"

Phoebus ran to the front of the group. "We came to warn you! Frollo's coming! He says he knows where you are and he's attacking at dawn with a thousand men!"

"We can't waste any time." Mickey said stepping forward. "We have to evacuate immediately."

"So if everybody will calmly-" Clopin began.

Everybody panicked, and grabbed whatever they could, before they started running to the nearest exit.

"Run for your lives." Riku muttered, as the group climbed down from the gallows platforms.

"Thank you for coming here." Esmeralda said. She was looking at Phoebus. "It may not seem like it, but we're grateful."

"Actually," Phoebus interjected, "Thank Quasimodo." He grabbed the hunchback by the shoulders, and nudged him over to her. "Without him, we would never have found our way here."

Sora winked congratulatory at him. But his grin turned upside down when a voice boomed from the doorway that they had come through. "Nor would I!"

They twisted around, and saw Frollo and the Horned King standing at the entrance, arms folded before them, as Heartless and soldiers swarmed into the cavern in a huge wave.

The soldiers and Heartless shot directly toward the gypsies, not aiming to kill, but to capture. This was how Frollo would want it of course, but Sora wasn't going to let that happen.

He ran into the Heartless with Kairi and Riku on either side of him. Their Keyblades were all over, cutting Heartless to pieces, and striking down any soldier unlucky enough to get too close.

But they were soon blown off their feet by a dark blast of wind from the entryway, and into a ring of soldiers and Heartless with their other friends. Spears, swords, and various sharp Heartless appendages were pointing inward toward them. Frollo walked toward them, the Horned King following him silently.

"After twenty years of searching, the Court of Miracles is mine at last." He smiled horribly, and his eyes looked gold again. "Dear Quasimodo, I always knew you would someday be of use to me."

"What are you talking about?" Esmeralda asked.

"Why, he led me right to you, my dear."

"You're a dirty liar, Frollo." Sora shot.

"And look what else I've caught in my net!" Frollo ignored Sora. "Captain Phoebus, back from the dead. Another 'miracle' no doubt. I shall remedy that."

Now, Frollo looked at Sora. "Not to mention a defiant brat, and a few of his friends who need to be reminded of their place."

"We're warriors from other worlds who have worked very hard for over a year to free the worlds from scum like you." Sora said, with a smirk. "I think that we know our place just fine, and you can't tell us otherwise, 'Your Honor.'"

_That_ stung. Frollo scowled, and the Horned King walked up. "But you should know your place beneath the Brotherhood of the Dark, boy."

"You're the one who gave Frollo the Heartless, huh?" Riku said.

Donald smirked. "What, afraid to get your own hands dirty this time?"

Nehrut looked at Frollo. "Has he told you what happened to the last two people who he gave special powers to? They're both dead now, by our hands."

Frollo looked at the Horned King. He tried to look only curious, but Sora saw (and Nehrut sensed) the small trace of worry that was there.

Perhaps the Horned King did, too. "You are more competent than Oogie Boogie or Xaldin, my friend. They merely seek to cloud your thoughts with doubt. Ignore them."

Looking a little reassured, Frollo turned his back on them, and walked up to the steps where everyone had entered from. He raised his voice to be heard above the panicked noise of the gypsy prisoners.

"There'll be a little 'bonfire' in the square tomorrow, and you're all invited to attend."

Sora didn't like the sound of those words. Esmeralda _had_ been accused of witchcraft after all. He had learned a while back what the usual punishment for a witch was. And that they rarely got a fair trial.

"Lock them up." Frollo said, addressing his new captain (unbelievably, he'd lost two in one day).

"You won't be able to keep us in a cell, Frollo." Riku said, knocking away the spear of the first soldier to come near him.

"Quite right. _I_ can't. But I understand that my friend here has a way."

Dark chains appeared around them, binding their wrists together. Immedately, the Horned King shot toward them, placing green marks first on Nehrut's forehead, and then Kairi's.

"We can't have you causing trouble now, can we?"

He placed the mark on each of them. Restrained as they were by the chains, there was nothing they could do to keep it at bay.

"You'll stay long enough to watch the fire, and then you'll be taken to Pax Pacis." The Horned King told them with a horrible smile.

"We'll see about that, won't we?" Sora said, meeting the sorcerer's gaze of wicked triumph with one of defiance.

Meanwhile, Frollo was talking to a pair of soldiers. "Take the hunchback to the bell tower. And make sure he stays there."

These soldiers took either one of Quasimodo's arms. He made no effort to stop them, and merely looked mournfully ahead.

"You may think that we're beaten Frollo." Sora called to him. He got his attention, and Frollo turned to look at him as the Horned King led them off with soldiers and Heartless. Sora noticed Phoebus, Djali, and Clopin being led in one direction, and Esmeralda being led alone in another.

"But we'll be back before you know it. And you'll regret what you've done here."

!

_And that's what happens next chapter!_

_Hope you liked it, please review!_


	102. Chapter 101: Hellfire

_Last chapter of Notre Dame! I think that the conclusion works pretty well, so I hope you enjoy it!_

_On another note, I'm going to be out of town until the ninth, so this will likely be the last update for a little while. Hopefully this one can tide you over until then. Enjoy!_

_Axel: "For the millionth time, DarthKingdom doesn't own anything at all. No Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, nothing. Got it memorized, already?"_

_!_

Chapter 101: Hellfire

An hour after the raid, Sora, Kairi, Riku, Yuffie, and Axel sat in a cell in the heart of the Palace of Justice. Their wrists were still bound in Dark chains behind their backs, and combining this with the evil marks on their foreheads giving them all headaches, it made the conditions of the cell very uncomfortable.

King Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Nehrut, and Bariss were in a similar state in the cell across from them. The stone corridor (lit only by a few torches on the walls, so light was scarce) in which they sat was probably just one out of many, because there were very few cells.

"Well, how do we get out of this one?" Donald asked the group at large.

"We'll think of something, don't worry." Sora said, always the optimist.

"As long as we think of it before tomorrow morning." came a voice from the cell next to Sora's.

"Phoebus?" Kairi asked, surprised. "When did you get here?"

"There's a back door to this cell, we were just put here." He answered. "Clopin and Djali are with me."

"No hard feelings for earlier?" Clopin's voice asked.

"No worries, dude." Nehrut said, craning his neck to try and see them from his own cell.

"Do any of you have somebody still outside the palace?" Clopin asked. "Somebody who might be able to break in and free us?"

"Nobody who'd be able to get here before tomorrow, even if we could contact them." Mickey said, referring to their many allies on Radiant Garden.

"Actually…" Sora said, a new light entering his eyes. "Axel, can you get Xonem in here?"

With dawning comprehension, he smiled and nodded. "I can't call him now because of this freaking mark, but he likes to check in on me after a while when I haven't contacted him. He'll probably be here soon."

And so, they waited, formulating vague plans, for nearly an hour. Finally, their patience was rewarded by the familiar sound of a small corridor of Darkness opening up. In the flickering torch light, they saw the Nobody, standing in the hallway mere feet away.

"Yo, Xonem!" Axel said.

The Assassin bowed in front of the cell. "My liege. When I lost contact with you, I thought it best I check in."

"You're about to save our butts, man. If I ever get on your nerves again, just remind me of this."

"I've got a plan, guys." Sora said. "Xonem, can you steal enough sets of chains for all of us?"

"That is a strange request, Keyblade Master, but I suppose I could."

"Good. We'll need you to do that, but first, you've got to wipe off part of the marks on our heads."

"Only part?" Kairi asked.

"Yeah. Just enough to make it lose effect, but for it to still look like they're intact."

Xonem appeared in their cell via another corridor, and reached out with one thin, fingerless arm. Carefully, he just barely rubbed the mark. Sora felt his headache vanish, and strength return to him.

Xonem repeated the process with the rest of the prisoners, leaving just enough of the mark intact to fool anybody who saw it. When Kairi was freed, she used Light to disintegrate the Dark chains around all their wrists.

"Thank you Xonem." Then she looked at Sora. "Why do we need the marks to stay?"

"To fool the Horned King if he sees them. Xonem, could you find us those chains now?"

"Of course." He vanished.

"Now, we'll replace the Dark chains with the normal ones, and say that Frollo wanted them swapped out."

"I hope this plan is gonna make sense soon." Goofy said.

"It will." Xonem returned with armfuls of chains soon afterward, and gave them to the prisoners. "Now Xonem, get to Notre Dame, and free Quasimodo, but tell him that Sora says he's got to stay at the cathedral."

"What should I tell him when he asks?"

"Here's my plan." Sora said, a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

!

The next morning, at the break of dawn, a handful of armed and armored soldiers entered the dungeon to extract Sora, Phoebus, and the others. All of them were wide awake, having just donned the iron chains Xonem had stolen. The Nobody himself was long gone.

They were marched out of the Palace of Justice in single file, where several dozen other gypsies were being loaded into iron cages, equipped with sturdy wooden wheels to make them easy to transport.

Their chains were removed (which normally would have cost them their lives, either by the 'prisoners' or the Horned King) and they were pushed into separate cages. Sora and Riku, Yuffie and Bariss, Kairi and Nehrut, and Donald and Goofy were all put into separate cages. Clopin and Djali were put with another group of gypsy prisoners. Axel was put into his own cell, while Phoebus and Mickey were placed in a noticeably smaller one. Sora suspected that Frollo had made specific orders for them.

By the time the sky was lit orange with the rising sun's rays, the entire procession was moved to the square in front of Notre Dame. A large wooden platform had been placed in the center of it. On the top was a stake, to which Esmeralda was bound by lengths of rope. Packs of dry kindling were being piled around her feet.

It was ironic, they had a plan to rescue her, and she was the only one they hadn't informed of it.

Frollo stood on the platform. A soldier stood behind him, holding a burning torch. Frollo walked up to Esmeralda, and opened up a scroll, which he began to read from in a raised voice, to the enraged crowd that had gathered in the square.

Looking at this crowd (many of which were holding their own torches, as well as shovels and pitchforks in traditional angry mob style) it was obvious that Frollo was not a popular man. Sora had to smile at that.

"The prisoner Esmeralda has been found guilty of the crime of witchcraft. The sentence: Death!"

This proclamation was greeted by angry cries from the crowd, who were being barely restrained by the soldiers guarding the platform. The doors of the cathedral opened, and the Archdeacon who Sora and the others had befriended stepped out. At the sight of Esmeralda tied to a stake, he almost stormed up to Frollo, only to be barred access by a pair of soldiers.

Sora noted all of this as his and Riku's cage rolled to a stop several feet away from the platform. He could see the rest of the group from his vantage point, and soon caught Axel's eye.

He mouthed 'Get ready', and received a nod in return.

Frollo took the torch from the soldier near him, who immediately stepped down off the platform. He held the torch aloft, and walked over to the trapped Esmeralda. He spoke in a voice so low that only she could hear. "The time has come, gypsy. You stand upon the brink of the abyss… Yet even now, it is not too late. I can save you from the flames of this world, _and_ the next."

"Choose me, or the fire."

She spat in his face.

Frollo wiped it away, and snarled before turning back to the crowd. "The gypsy Esmeralda has refused to recant!"

As Frollo went into a long-winded and completely hollow monologue about the threat she posed to society, Sora cast his eyes up to the west bell tower high above them. It may have been his imagination, but he thought he saw a dark, hunched figure standing there.

"Almost." Riku said.

"Any sign of the Horned King?"

"I don't smell him. Probably wants to watch how this plays out from a safe distance, just like Halloween Town."

"That makes our job much easier then."

Frollo's long-winded speech was coming to an end. "-And for her own salvation, it is my sacred duty to send this abhorrent demon _back where she belongs_!" He touched the burning torch to the wood at the base of the stake.

The distant figure of Quasimodo leapt from the bell tower almost before the wood started to burn. Using a very long, very sturdy length of rope tied to the head of a gargoyle, he descended like a lightning bolt half way down the cathedral. He touched his feet to the wall, and ran along it until he was even with the platform, then leapt onto it.

Before he touched down, Axel shot out his hands, and the growing flames around Esmeralda shot from the kindling directly into Frollo, tossing him from the platform, burning.

Quasimodo landed on the platform, and tore off the ropes binding Esmeralda to the stake. Apparently, however, the smoke had gotten to her, because she was barely conscious. He picked her up carefully into his arms, and ran back toward the cathedral.

Soldiers rushed to intercept the two, but that was where Sora's group came in. The massive orange form of the Guardian smashed Sora and Riku's cage into a mangled ball of metal, and the Keybearers ran to meet them.

"Refraction Rays!" Riku shouted, extending his empty hands as he ran. Tiny red-orange balls shot from his fingertips, spiraling at the soldiers, and blowing each one of them off their feet.

The projectiles bounced off of their soldier targets, and repeatedly shot into others. This resulted in five soldiers dead before Riku and Sora even got close to them, and another twelve unconscious. The ones still standing decided to turn their attention to the dangerous newcomers approaching them.

Riku brought his hands together, and the tiny projectiles that had caused so much damage all came together into a single orange ball. He clenched his fist, and it exploded, sending the mangled soldiers flying.

Only one of them could still stand, and he stumbled toward Quasimodo, sword upraised.

He lost four teeth from the hunchback's punch to his face, and fell unconscious to the ground.

Quasimodo ran over him, back toward the door of the cathedral, which the rope he had used from before was hanging over. The two guards in front of it ran to meet him, but were then lifted into the air by Nehrut's telepathic hold, and thrown far away into the city to land in a messy heap a block away.

The hunchback placed Esmeralda over his shoulder, and took the rope in one hand. He scrambled up it as quickly as he could, scaling the walls like a professional rock climber, and arriving at the center walkway in seconds. He stood in front of the massive round stained-glass window, and held Esmeralda up where all could see her.

And at the top of his lungs, he shouted, "SANCTUARY!"

The crowd cried out in jubilation, especially when Nehrut and Kairi flew up there with the hunchback, bringing Donald and Goofy with them to give the gypsy medical help if needed.

"Captain!" Exclaimed a voice Sora half-suspected they had heard the last of. Frollo had gotten to his feet, none the worse for wear apart from his scorched robes. "Secure the cathedral!"

Most of his personal guard of soldiers had been killed or incapacitated in the initial attack, so he evened the odds a bit by summoning several Heartless. As Sora rushed at the nearest Jester, beheading it with one clean swipe, he heard Phoebus's voice from somewhere behind them.

He was hefting an appropriated spear from a soldier that was now too unconscious to use it. "Citizens of Paris! Frollo has persecuted our people, ransacked our city, and _now_, he has declared war on Notre Dame herself!"

Frollo's head snapped around when he heard this. "Will we _allow_ it!"

The resounding cry from the crowd, "NO!"

They surged forward in one massive wave, brandishing the tools they had brought along with them. Some of them had been equipped with weapons beforehand (courtesy of Donald and Mickey) and some stole them from downed soldiers. They were inexperienced when it came to combat, but their righteous passion was fueling their bodies, allowing them to go toe-to-toe with soldiers and Heartless.

To even the odds still more, Xonem appeared with several Assassin Nobodies. They immediately set about the task of destroying their boss's enemies, particularly Heartless.

"This is going to be _good_!" Sora exclaimed, rushing into the mob of Heartless and soldiers attempting to breach the cathedral doors. Riku and Bariss fell into step beside him, and they were upon the forces there before they knew what was happening.

Sora cut an Armored Knight in half, stabbed through a Jester's chest, and beheaded a Shadow before the nearest soldier was able to even turn to face him. By that time, however, it was too late for him. Bariss had come up behind him, and ran her sai through his back, into his heart.

"Hey," Roxas wondered, "A heart pumps blood through the blood stream, so how exactly do Nobodies survive without them?"

_Can we talk about this later?_

"Just don't forget, okay? This is going to drive me nuts now."

Riku blasted a pair of Heartless to shreds with one shot of Dawn, and then blocked an overhand strike from a Jester. Bariss leapt onto its back, and stabbed into its face. She back flipped off of it, and crushed a Shadow underfoot.

Behind her flew a flaming chakram, which cut through an Armored Knight, and stuck itself in the wall. Axel rushed up and reclaimed it, blocking a Dark fireball Frollo had thrown at him.

Immediately, Mickey and Sora ran toward him, Keyblades ready. "Bring it, old man!"

"I don't have time for your games, _brat_!"

He parried Sora's quick blow with a Dark blade, then Mickey's, before leaping completely over Sora's spiky head, directly at the cathedral doors. He seemed to pool Darkness around him in midair, and blasted completely through the foot-thick doors, and into the hall.

He was almost immediately confronted by the furious Archdeacon, who marched toward him with fists clenched. "Frollo, have you gone mad! I will not allow this assault on the house of God!"

"Out of my way you old fool!" He growled, grabbing the man by the collar. He threw him to the ground several feet away. "The hunchback and I have unfinished business to attend to."

He walked up to the nearest stairwell, leading up to the roof. As he did, over a dozen Heartless appeared in the hall. "And this time, you will not interfere."

The Heartless advanced on the Archdeacon, who backed away immediately, crossing himself. The first Shadow leapt.

Then, it met its end when a shuriken cut through it in midair. Yuffie appeared in front of the Archdeacon, and blocked a strike from an Armored Knight. Riku leapt into the fray, cutting into the Heartless before any of them came close to the holy man.

Sora, Mickey, Axel, and Bariss ran inside next, and immediately added their own might to the heated battle inside the church.

"Where's Frollo?" Sora asked the Archdeacon a few moments later, blocking a strike from a Jester that had rushed toward him. He pushed the large axe blade off, and drove Oblivion into its stomach.

"He went up those stairs!" The man shouted over the noise of the battles going on in and outside of the church. He pointed to a the staircase that Frollo had gone up. "I believe he means to do the bell ringer harm."

"Go, Sora!" Riku said, parrying a blow from a soldier that had ran inside. "We'll take care of things down here."

"Xonem!" Axel shouted. "Give Sora some backup, huh?"

Sora ran up the staircase, the Assassin right behind him.

!

Frollo ran up the steps two at a time, intent on murder. He clutched Dark energy in the form of a blade in his hand, leaving a line of char along the stone wall where it touched it. He had locked the stairway door behind him, though he doubted that it was necessary; the Archdeacon was probably a Heartless by now.

He was nearly to the door that led out to the ceiling. He blasted it to splinters with a blast of Darkness, and stepped through the empty doorway.

He had a good view of the square below, which was in chaos. The execution platform had been set on fire (ironically) and was sending flames and smoke into the sky, giving the fighting below a hellish red tint. Unfortunately for those below, the spare kindling, Frollo's carriage, and several of the wooden floors of the cages had caught fire as well, adding to the insanity.

He only spared it a moment's glance, before pacing toward the west tower. He blasted the second door open as well, and stormed through the opening. "Now we end this."

Quasimodo stood there, as he had expected. But Nehrut and Kairi stood on either side of him, weapons ready. Donald and Goofy ran out of a nearby room, closing the door behind them.

"True as you tell it, 'Your Honor.'" Nehrut said, pointing his blade at him.

"But _how_ it ends remains to be seen." Kairi added.

He scowled, and threw his Dark blade at them. It spun through the air, directly at Quasimodo's throat. Goofy leapt, and intercepted it with his shield. The blade dissipated on impact, but by that time, Frollo was running at them with another two in hand.

Nehrut and Kairi ran to meet him midway, so he brought both crashing down on them. Kairi blocked the right one, and Nehrut the left.

The psychic shot his hand out, throwing Frollo back out the door he had come from, and onto the roof. His five opponents followed him out.

Kairi struck at his head the moment he got to his feet, only to be blocked by a Dark blade. Frollo swept at her feet, and came up fighting with two more strikes before Donald sent a lightning bolt flying at him.

He caught the attack with one blade, with enough time to block Nehrut's strike with his other. He leapt directly backwards, and shot his blades at them. Donald jumped in between them, and called up a quick Reflega spell to block them.

From behind the protective barrier, Kairi fired a narrow beam of Light at Frollo. It impacted with his chest, and he flew backwards several feet, nearly falling off the roof. Nehrut sprinted forward, slashing high, then low. Both strikes were hurriedly blocked before Frollo grabbed him by the throat.

He tossed him over the stone railing, and down toward the square below, smiling in satisfaction.

So when Nehrut floated back up and blasted him into the air, he was pretty surprised.

"You didn't think that would be that easy, did you?" He asked when Frollo landed back on the roof with a _thud_.

"No, I didn't." Frollo fired a large blast of Darkness from his palm as he got to his feet, which caught the young psychic off-guard, and threw him backwards, off the ceiling again. This time however, he tumbled through the air toward the fray below.

He was barely able to right himself in the air, and land feet first on top of a Large Body menacing Clopin and three other gypsies. He stabbed down into its head, and decided that Kairi and the others would have to handle Frollo themselves.

Back on the rooftop, Kairi had her blade pinned against both of Frollo's, and was slowly pushing him backward across the rooftop. Donald and Goofy rushed up to either side of her, and attacked Frollo at the same moment.

Unexpectedly, the judge leapt high, flipping in the air to land on Kairi's opposite side. But rather than pressing his attack against her, he ran back to the west tower. Quasimodo stood in the doorway. He was holding a sword that Donald had conjured up for him in one hand, but seemed almost reluctant to use it.

Even now, as Frollo's blade flashed toward his neck.

Kairi leapt over Frollo, landing between the two men. She caught his blade as he slashed horizontally toward the hunchback.

Donald and Goofy leapt at Frollo's exposed back, but he disengaged from Kairi, and lashed at them both with his empty hand, tossing them backwards to the other side of the ceiling over fifty feet away.

The two were dazed, and seemed unable to get up without stumbling.

But it was this of all things that awoke Quasimodo's fighting spirit. He ran past Kairi, and aimed a wide slash at Frollo's chest. The judge leapt backwards, looking furious.

"I kept you, clothed you, taught you, _fed_ you," Frollo spat out, "And now you repay me with treason? You listen to me, boy-"

"NO!" Quasimodo interrupted. "_You_ listen! All my life, you've taught me that the world is a cruel, horrible place. But now I realize that the only thing cruel and horrible about it is people like _you_!"

Kairi smiled at him. And her smile widened when Sora and Xonem ran onto the ceiling behind Frollo, ready for action.

The judge took notice of them. "So, I see that I'll have to commit four murders before I can rid the world of the gypsy girl. So be it. God is on my side."

"Don't think so, Frollo." Sora said, Keyblade in hand. He looked past Frollo. "Quasi?"

The hunchback nodded. "Let's do this."

He and Sora ran toward Frollo at the same time. Quasimodo leapt at the same moment Sora did, and they both buried their blades in the ground when they landed.

The whole cathedral seemed to shake, and Frollo was once again tossed into the air. For a moment, it seemed that he would fly off the roof, and down into the square just as Nehrut had a moment before.

However, he stretched out his hands, and seemed to right himself in midair by blasting Darkness from them. The force of his own blast threw him back onto the roof, landing in front of Sora.

"Nice one." Sora congratulated Quasimodo.

No sooner had the words left his lips than he rushed forward at Frollo. He took two powerful strides forward, and thrust his blade out in front of him into Frollo's stomach. The judge was unable to block it in time, and got the air knocked out of his lungs as Oblivion hit home.

He stumbled backwards, grasping his stomach in obvious pain. Before he could recover from the attack however, Quasimodo did what he had secretly longed to do for over a decade:

He vaulted effortlessly over the Keybearer's head as if they were playing an incredibly dangerous game of leapfrog. Before his feet touched the ground, he drove his fist into Frollo's face, and felt the satisfying crunch of his nose under his knuckles.

Frollo fell away again, nearly collapsing onto the railing, before Sora struck him in the stomach yet again. It nearly threw him over the edge of the roof again, but he was able to push himself off of it, and backwards.

But he only received Quasimodo's second punch in the face.

This happened another two times, and Frollo was bruised all over. Sora and Quasimodo stood side by side. "End it now!" Sora said.

Sora jumped lightly to stand on Quasimodo's opened palms. He took just a second to properly balance himself, before the hunchback tossed him directly up into the air.

As the Keybearer gained height, the blade he gripped in his hand began to shine with a deep golden light. This glow grew in intensity the higher he got. By the time he arrived at the peak of his ascent, it was as bright as a star.

For the brief period of time before he fell, where he seemed to be floating in midair, he took the Keyblade in both hands. For the briefest of moments, it almost looked like there was something floating directly above him. Something bell-shaped.

He struck this barely visible object with all his might, resulting in a loud sound that was both beautiful, and somehow terrifying. It was as if every bell in Notre Dame was suddenly struck at once -with a cannon ball.(1)

The cathedral shook again, and Frollo was thrown to the other side of the roof as a massive golden light burst from the Keyblade, shooting outwards.

"Sweet!" Sora exclaimed as he landed back on the ground.

He fully expected Frollo to stay down. He expected him to concede defeat, and surrender. Or perhaps he would fade into Darkness like a Heartless or Nobody- Perhaps he had become one?

But he never would have expected him to reach up with one hand, and grasp the stone railing. Nor did he expect for him to pull himself up, and get back on his feet in mere seconds.

His once clean, well cared for robes were smeared with dust and a bit of dried blood, and torn in several places. His hat had fallen over the side, and into the fire below, and his hair was ragged.

His expression was one of pure, unbridled rage.

Darkness pooled at his clenched fist. With a furious slashing motion, he released it in a huge burst at Sora, Kairi, and Quasimodo.

Kairi leapt in between the two men, and brought her hands up. She formed a Light shield in front of them to take the full blast. The intensity of it was almost enough to shatter the barrier, but it still held.

Frollo advanced, and fired another blast of equal strength. This time Kairi's barrier faltered slightly, seeming to flicker out of existence for the briefest of moments. And with the third shot, the barrier dissipated.

The judge smiled horribly and pulled more Darkness to his fist. With a cry of triumph, he slashed at Kairi.

Time seemed to stop.

And in this frozen moment, Kairi shouted, "Light!"

As she said it, a bright flash of gold light burst from her body, and the Dark blast flying at her evaporated.

When the light faded, Sora's jaw dropped. Kairi had entered a new Drive form.

She floated slightly above the ground, with her toes just barely skimming the stone. Her outer cloak had lengthened, and brushed the stone below her. It had turned pale gold, with a white trim, and her sleeves were suddenly missing. Her boots had turned white, and from the sides protruded small, shining gold angel wings. Four much larger wings protruded from her upper and mid back. Floating five inches over her head was a gold halo. Around her head there was a thin, golden woven band, with a ruby heart in the center. This was Kairi's Goddess form.

Two Keyblades floated in front of her, point down. The first was the white and blue Oathkeeper. The second had a circular, stone-grey guard, which had the heads of two gargoyles on either side. It turned to bronze at the pommel, where there was a circular mosaic pattern. The bronze shaft was engraved with what appeared to be latin words (reading, 'Our Lady of Paris'). A gold bell emerged from the top of the shaft in place of the key's teeth. The Keychain was a smaller replica of the map to the Court of Miracles.

This particular Keyblade was named, 'Bell of Notre Dame.'

Kairi reached out, and took both blades in her hands; Oathkeeper in the right, and Bell of Notre Dame in the left. Half smiling, she rushed toward Frollo, feet still above the ground.

Her first strike was so fast that her arm couldn't be seen for a moment, and Frollo was just barely able to block it with a hurriedly conjured Dark blade. Even so, it forced him backward a few paces.

Her follow up attack cut his blade in two. For the moment his guard was down, she dropped her blade, and struck at his chest, palm first. Light exploded from her palm upon impact with him, and it threw him backwards into the wall of the east bell tower.

Kairi closed the distance between them inside of three seconds, just as he was struggling back to his feet. She struck at his legs, and he barely reflected it. He quickly summoned a second blade to block the next strike.

They stood there for a moment, their four very different blades locked together in a temporary stalemate.

Then, Kairi beat her wings once, sending a gale of wind ahead of her. Frollo stumbled, and the Dark blades fell from his grasp.

With a shout, Kairi plunged her blades into the ground. A massive pillar of Light erupted from under Frollo's feet, and he shot high into the air. With a single beat of her golden wings, she launched herself upward, passing Frollo on the way up.

She dismissed her Keyblades for a moment, and brought her hands together. Light pooled to her hands, and a ball of Light formed in between them the size of a basketball. She held it for just a moment, and then fired the ball down at Frollo with a shout of, "Shining Assault!"

The ball hit Frollo in the stomach, exploding, and shooting him down into the roof of the east tower. He left a three-inch crater in the tiles and stone upon impact. He was just barely able to crawl out of the crater, and stumbled uneasily to his feet. Kairi touched down in front of him, Keyblades back in hand.

He began to back away, calling a Dark blade to his hand. "You may look like an angel, but I can see through your deception!" He spat. "I know that God is on _my_ side!"

Kairi looked at him with a mixture of anger, incredulity and pity. "Do you hear yourself, Frollo? Can't you realize that _you're_ in the wrong here? You might be the most influential person on this world, but instead of using your position to help people, you're committing genocide only out of hatred for the gypsies!"

"They aren't deserving of my aid." Frollo defended. "They're animals, do you understand me? Vile heathens that reject the rules of society in lue of their own outlandish views! They deserve everything I've done to them! I stand by my decisions!"

"You're insane." Kairi said, sighing in resignation. She adopted a fighting stance. "Let's finish this, then."

She launched herself forward, wings flapping, and struck toward Frollo's neck. When this blow was parried, she struck at his chest, feet, and head. All of these attacks were just barely blocked by his blade, but the judge was slowly being pressed backwards toward the edge of the cathedral's roof.

Mustering all the strength he could, Frollo leapt high into the air, soaring over Kairi to land a few feet from her other side. Fist enveloped in Darkness, he struck at her briefly exposed back...

Only for her to twist around at the last second, and catch it with her open palm, enveloped in Light. She clenched down on it, snuffing out his Darkness, and cracking one of his knuckles.

She dismissed her other blade, took his fist in both of her glowing hands, and tossed him with all her might over the side of the building.

He fell like a rock, screaming his lungs out as he plunged toward his seemingly inevitable death hundreds of feet below. But to his fortune, he had an ally watching the confrontation.

As a last favor to Claude Frollo, the Horned King (who had been watching things unfold from a rooftop a few streets away) applied the subtlest of changes to the air around the judge. This altered his free fall just enough to send him into the path of one of the gargoyles jutting out from the side of the cathedral a few floors below where he had fallen.

Frollo grabbed hold of the structure, and with what small amount of strength he had left, hoisted himself up to stand on it.

Also to the judge's good fortune, when the fighting on the roof had started, Donald and Goofy had hurriedly ushered Esmeralda through a doorway that would lead her to the lower floors. She had just been passing Frollo's gargoyle when he landed on it.

His eyes locked on her, and a deranged smile formed on his lips. With his last reserves of Dark power, he formed a blade of Darkness. He raised it high over his head, his half-mad eyes poring into her frightened ones.

"'And He shall smite the wicked, and cast them into the fiery pit!'"

This, however, was where Frollo's luck ran out. Kairi had followed his progress down the side of the building, and shot down after him. Just before he could bring his blade to bear against the gypsy, she threw Oathkeeper.

It whistled through the smoke-filled air down at the space directly in front of Frollo. The teeth of the Keyblade cut directly through the gargoyle's neck, severing the head on which Frollo stood from the rest of the building.

Both of them fell, and about halfway down, Frollo caught his last glimpse of the gargoyle's face. Perhaps it was a hallucination, but he saw its face twist into a leering expression. Through his screaming, he heard it unleash a roar as he crashed into the blazing remains of the execution platform.

"Precisely." Kairi said.

!

A moment later, Esmeralda, Phoebus, Quasimodo, Sora, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy were in the west bell tower. Sora was affectionately running a finger along one of Kairi's angelic wings (she had yet to revert back to her normal state). She smiled at him, and quickly pecked him on the lips.

Nobody spoke, as Quasimodo walked up to Phoebus, and Esmeralda. He took one of their hands in each of his. He looked fondly at both of them for a moment, before placing them together, and stepping back.

Phoebus and Esmeralda gazed at each other for just another moment, realizing that the hunchback had just granted them his blessing. Esmeralda waited two seconds before throwing her arms around Phoebus's neck, and kissing him.

He eagerly returned it as Goofy gave Quasimodo a pat on his humped back.

As if the kiss was some sort of signal, the nearest bell ('Big Marie', Quasimodo had called her) let off a faint ringing sound, and started to glow faintly. The light surrounding it assembled into one relatively small place on the outside of the bell, forming the shape of a Keyhole.

As Kairi reverted back to her normal form and clothing, she summoned Destiny's Light. She pointed it at the Keyhole, and let the silver light shoot into the world's Keyhole.

"Only one thing left to do." Sora said, looking meaningfully at the bell ringer standing to his left.

!

The day had fully arrived when the seven of them stepped out into the square, and it was to the sounds of tumultuous cheering from over a hundred people who were still standing there. Riku and Mickey were at the head of the cheering crowd, smiling.

Sora and Phoebus raised their fists to the crowd, eliciting still louder cheering. Donald, Goofy, and Kairi came out right behind them.

Last was Esmeralda, who was leading Quasimodo out the doors. The crowd fell silent for just a moment, looking unsure of how they were supposed to react to seeing him. Quasimodo himself looked nervous.

Sora walked over to his side. "I think we've all learned that it's important to accept others for who they are... Otherwise you turn into Frollo."

All was still for another moment or two, before there was a slight stirring near the front of the crowd. To Sora's surprise, it was a little girl that walked forward. She couldn't have been seven years old.

She walked past Riku, and up the steps to where Quasimodo stood. She looked at him for a few frozen moments, with the infinite, innocent curiosity that all small children had. Slowly, she reached up and placed her tiny hands to his cheeks.

She kept them there for just a second, and then pulled his large head down to her in a friendly hug.

"So cute..." Kairi squeaked, as the little girl took Quasimodo's hand, and led him into the crowd.

A voice that Sora recognized as Clopin's came from the crowd, "Three cheers for Quasimodo!"

The cheering began immediately, and the crowd surged forward to accept the hunchback into its throng. Soon, Quasimodo was sitting on two large men's shoulders, and another handful of other people had somehow gotten the off-worlders in the air, as well.

Riku called over to Sora. "So, mission accomplished?"

Sora laughed. "I think so." His eyes sought out Clopin. "So when's the next festival?"

!

_Ta-da! About time Frollo got what was coming to him._

_1) Bell of Miracles_

_Review please!_


	103. Chapter 102: Tale of the Inheritor

_I'm back! And ready to update. Anywho, the origins for Xyran are based primarily off of Spirit Okami's own vague details. So for this chapter, he gets some credit!_

_Xyran: "DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, Xyran, Cossex, or anything else. He's tried."_

_!_

Chapter 102: Tale of the Inheritor

Cossex walked silently through the corridors of the Brotherhood palace. It had been three days since the Horned King had returned from the City of Gypsies. Even though Frollo had died during his mission, the sorcerer hadn't been punished. His actual mission had been to test out uses of Darkness on other beings, rather like he had with Oogie Boogie.

Had the judge survived, and captured the Keybearers, it would have been a welcome bonus.

As it was, things were mostly unchanged around the base. At the moment, it was nearly midnight, and the rain was coming down harder than usual outside. The majority of the Brotherhood was asleep. Cossex had been a bit surprised to discover that Nobodies still required sleep, but apparently 'exhaustion' didn't count as an emotion.

But sleep didn't come easily to her anymore. Her dreams were plagued by memories of the attack on Cynthis. The burning farm, her brother falling, the mass of black creatures storming into the capital…

Cossex shook her head, as if this would help to clear the unwanted thoughts from her head.

She walked on, hoping to find something else to focus her attention on to keep the memories at bay. As it was, she did about five minutes later, in the form of soft music coming from somewhere ahead of her.

Pausing for a moment to try to make out where it was coming from, she followed it to its source.

In a moment, she found it. She had arrived on one of the wide balconies on the seventh floor. A sloped ceiling hung over it, with the rainwater dripping down off the edge one foot in front of the ornately carved railing. Leaning on this railing, gazing out at the ruined Salusis before him, was Xyran.

Soft breezes seemed to flow around him as he absent-mindedly moved his fingers. It took Cossex a moment to realize that this was the cause of the music. He was somehow manipulating the air currents to make different sounds.

Genuinly impressed, Cossex leaned against the doorframe, listening. The music was soft and uplifting, which was surprising considering who was making it.

Xyran's song lasted several more minutes, before it faded off into a deep note, and came to a slow end. Cossex lifted her hands, and clapped softly.

The other Nobody started and turned. He let out a sigh of relief when he realized that it was her.

"I didn't peg you as a musician." She said.

"I didn't peg you as an eavesdropper." Xyran replied jokingly. "You liked it?"

"It was very good." She said, leaning on the railing to his left. "Where did you learn to do that?"

He took a moment to respond. "I learned a lot of things from Organization XIII."

Having learned several things about the Organization from Serndask, and a few more from the revived Saix and Larxene, she was now 'curious.'

"Serndask said that you ran away from the Organization before." She said, being careful how she chose her words. "What did he mean by that?"

Once again, Xyran waited a moment before replying. He took out something from the inside pocket of his jacket, near where his heart would have been, had he had one.

It was a flat, circular medallion on a thin silver chain. It prominently featured the head of a dragon, wrought in silver, with saphire blue eyes.

He held this medallion in his palm for a moment, and looked into it as if he was trying to come up with an answer to Cossex's question. Finally, he said, "Are you sure you've got the time?"

"What else do I have to do around here?"

"Give Saix his rabies shot so he doesn't hurt anyone..." Xyran answered. "But, alright."

!

"I was a part of Xemnas's group for a while, before it was officially called 'Organization XIII.' I joined a bit over a year after that hag Larxene, but before that Roxas guy was born. I wasn't an official member, more of an... apprentice."

_Twilight Town's old mansion was as it always was, old and undisturbed, save for a select few visitors._

_From the twin doors at the front walked a boy who looked to be around the age of sixteen or seventeen. He had spiked blonde hair, blue eyes, and a black jacket with a cross emblem. He took in his new surroundings with what would have been an air of mixed curiosity and confusion._

_As he arrived at the closed, iron barred gates, a tall, muscled figure in a hooded black coat appeared._

_Immediately, the teenager dropped into a fighting stance, summoning an unfamiliar spear through means he didn't know. He gazed at the cloaked figure, as if daring him to challenge him._

_But the man in black merely took a few steps forward, and opened the gates with a simple tug. He held up his hands in a placating gesture, and stood still for a moment._

_Looking at the figure with what appeared to be guarded curiosity, the boy dismissed his weapon._

_The man lowered his hands. "You feel nothing."_

_When the boy said nothing, he continued with, "Your heart is consumed by Darkness. I can offer you a way to reclaim it; To fill the void in your soul."_

_Still no response._

"_Do you want a meaning? A purpose?"_

_Slowly, he nodded._

"_Good." The man said, satisfaction evident in his voice. He raised his hand. Four golden, transparent letters appeared in front of the boy's face, spelling out his former name. These letters began to spin rapidly around his head, until they were a gold blurred ring around his head._

_The ebongarbed man suddenly thrust out his hand, interjecting a large blue 'X' into the spinning letters._

"_Xyran." The newly born Nobody read._

_Xemnas smiled beneath his hood, his amber eyes glinting as he delivered the line he had developed through years of practice. "A brand new you."_

_!_

_Where Nothing Gathers: The meeting place of the Organization. There were currently twelve tall throne-like chairs, of varying height situated around the circular room. In just over a year's time, there would be a thirteenth._

_The highest of these chairs stretched half-way to the ceiling, and sat directly across from the only conventional entrance to the room. Xemnas (hood now lowered, like the rest of the people in the room) sat in this chair, situated in between those of Xigbar and Xaldin._

"_Gentlemen, I've arranged this meeting-"_

"Ahem_..."_

"_What is it, Number XII?"_

_Larxene (practically on the opposite side of the room from him) looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "_Gentlemen_?"_

"_You've got to be kidding me." Axel muttered._

"_Number XII." Saix said. "We have more important things to discuss than-"_

"_Aw, c'mon Saix." Xigbar interrupted, leaning heavily on the arm of his chair. "Show a little courtesy to the only chick in the Organization."_

"_Five to one says this turns violent." Luxord called jokingly to the rest of the room._

_Xemnas lifted one open hand, which was crackling with energy formed of Nothingness. The room fell silent at once._

"_Gentlemen, and _lady_. I've arranged this meeting to introduce the rest of you to our new recruit."_

_The newly named Xyran, in his new black Organization coat, entered the room through its only door. He came to a stop in the center of the room, and looked up at Xemnas._

"_This is Xyran, our new apprentice."_

"_Say again?" Demyx asked, looking back and forth between Xemnas and Xyran in apparent confusion._

"_Superior," Zexion said, "Why an apprentice? We've never had to mentor Nobodies in the past."_

"_Could it be that he has no powers of his own, and so we must teach them?" Vexen began, putting a hand to his chin in thought. "I which case, I hardly see why we should waste any time at all on-"_

"_Be quiet Vexen." Lexaeus abruptly interrupted. As he didn't often speak, it was a good idea to listen to him when he did._

"_Yes, Vexen." Xaldin added. "Still your tongue, or I'll gladly rip it from your mouth."_

"_And wouldn't that be such a shame?" Marluxia threw in._

"Enough_." Xemnas interrupted again. "Xyran's powers lie in a less predictable direction than many of ours. And so it falls to us to develop them, until they manifest fully."_

_He looked directly at Xyran. "And it also falls upon him to take his lessons seriously."_

"_Yes, Superior."_

_!_

"Like I told you, I learned plenty of things from them. Pretty much everything I know about combat today."

"_WRONG!" Xaldin shouted yet again, as Xyran lay on the ground with a new gash across his arm, and his spear lying several feet away._

_Using only three of his six lances, the Whirlwind Lancer had managed to disarm and cut Xyran for the fourth time. The scars on his arms and legs were a clear testament to this._

"_I could have taken your entire arm off with that one, boy." Xaldin said, standing over him. "You need to be vicious in combat to survive. Never hesitate when you strike, always aim to hurt or to kill."_

_Xyran glared at him, and picked up his spear again. Without preamble, he thrust it at Xaldin's chest, only to have it smacked aside by one of his lances. "Faster!"_

_Xyran attacked again, aiming a slash at the older Nobody's shoulder, which was also deflected. He kept attacking, aiming at every place on Xaldin's body, packing a lot of energy into the strikes in an attempt to hurt him in some way._

"I mean _everything_."

"_Wait for your opponent to strike first." Vexen said, as Xyran pounded away against his shield. "Eventually, he will tire himself out."_

_Vexen never lashed out with his shield as the young Nobody came on in a flurry of attacks. He would only ever move it as much as he needed to to catch his blows._

"_The moment you see a gaping hole in his defense," The Chilly Academic said, "Then strike!"_

_As he had predicted, Xyran was beginning to wear himself out. He launched a clumsy strike at his stomach, which Vexen easily swept aside. With his defenses now gone, he attacked with an icy blast to his chest._

_Xyran shot backwards, skidding across the ground. Vexen smiled. "Lesson: learned."_

"Some of them were pretty... interesting."

"_Your eyes can decieve you. As a matter of fact, they often do." Came Zexion's voice, seemingly from everywhere. "Find me."_

_Xyran stood in the midst of a massive storm, in the middle of an old, long-since ruined city. Tall, brick buildings stood all around them, sporting gaping holes or shattered windows. Rubble littered the ground around him on the street._

_But as Zexion had said, the eyes could deceive. It was all one massive illusion, and a very good one. But Xyran could have sworn it was real. He could feel the raindrops pattering against his skin and clothing._

_Obeying Zexion's order, he ran down the street, going on blind instinct in an attempt to find him._

_Mere minutes later, he was attacked without warning. A tall, heavily muscled man covered head to toe in shining red and gold armor leapt down from the top of a nearby two-story building, wielding the single largest blade he had ever seen. It may have been his imagination, but it looked slightly like a Keyblade..._

_A stumbling leap backwards was all that kept him from being smashed under his armored feet. He summoned Edge of the Storm, and thrust it forward into the man's chest._

_The armored man disappeared the moment the blade touched him. In his place was a pebble, which had been dropped from the roof. Mentally kicking himself, Xyran reminded himself that Zexion really loved to mess with people's heads._

But, he's given himself away.

_He rushed up onto the roof of an abandoned car sitting nearby, and leapt onto a ladder leaning on the side of the building. He hurried up it, and onto the roof of the building, only to find that Zexion wasn't there._

_A second armored figure was there instead. This one seemed to be female, and wore blue and silver armor similar to the man's. Her blade was also slightly similar, in the fact that it resembled a Keyblade._

"_Okay, really funny, Zexion." Xyran said, rolling his eyes. "What's this one? Another rock?"_

_The armored woman ran at him with her blade raised. He hurriedly raised his blade, in order to block the strike that was coming his way. But her blade passed harmlessly through his, as did she._

_The feather that was all she had actually been clung to Xyran's wet jacket. Growling in frustration, he plucked the feather off of his jacket, and let it fall to the ground._

"_Okay, Zexion, you've made your point."_

_Apparently he didn't think so, because he then noticed a third armored figure on the building rooftop adjacent to his. He was slightly shorter than the other two, and garbed in bronze and black armor, and holding another Keyblade-like weapon._

_The armored man leapt onto Xyran's building, and ran toward him. Thinking that this illusion was like the last one, he dismissed his spear, and waited for his arrival._

_He ended up flying off the roof, and landing on the roof of the old car that he had used to arrive on the roof in the first place. Zexion stood high above him on the roof, holding nothing but an apple in his hand. He smiled in satisfaction, and took a bite._

"They all seemed pretty eager to take a crack at me during our training. Some of them more than others."

"_All that 'enormous potential' the boss man sees in you won't do you any good if you can't catch your enemy!" Larxene taunted, leaping nimbly aside from Xyran's lunging attack._

"_If your reflexes are sharp enough, you can dance all around him all day long," She continued, quickly leaving a small gash on his forearm, "Dealing a little bit of damage while he weakens ands gets tired."_

_Ignoring the pain, he slashed at her waist, only to have her leap over it entirely, and bring her knee into contact with his jaw._

_He staggered backwards, and Larxene got in two quick jabs to his stomach before he recovered enough sense to slash forward with his spear._

"_You're going to have to work harder than that, kid." Larxene mocked with a short laugh._

"Ugh... I still have the scars."

"_Persevere." Saix said, coming on with huge heavy attacks that Xyran was having a hard time blocking. "Outlast your enemy, and wait for them to exhaust themselves. Vexen has already taught you this."_

"_But you'll find that this strategy can be rendered completely pointless when facing an enemy with great reserves of power."_

_As it so happened, they were having this particular sparring session in Saix's chamber in Addled Impasse. The giant window running alongside one of the walls offered a perfect view of the Organization's own Kingdom Hearts. It was still relatively small, but it had considerable power._

"_Or," Saix continued, "If they have a means of gathering new strength, as I do." He swept at Xyran's legs, barely missing him with he leapt backwards. "Therefore, it is prudent for you to eliminate the source of their power, or turn it against them."_

"_That's what you'll have to do here." He fired a blast of blazing lunar energy at Xyran's chest, tossing him backwards. Dazed, but not defeated, he got back on his feet, using his spear to support some of his weight._

_He knew that he'd have to block Saix's access to the moon outside. But he was still trying to come up with a way to do it with the Lunar Diviner attacking him. All he could think of was blocking it from sight._

_He leapt toward the window, and climbed up the elaborately curved metal window frame. Barely noticeable, there was a small concealed panel near the top of the window itself. He hoped that it did what he thought it would do._

_Edging away from a lunar blast, he moved as quickly as possible to the very top, bashing his fist into the small button on it._

_White metal slammed down over the outside of the windows, casting the room into near darkness._

"_You've done well."_

"_Why was that panel way up there?"_

"Not all the lessons were too terrible, though."

"_You must continue to grow." Lexaeus said. "Speed is important, but so is building a hardened wall of muscle with which to attack and defend."_

_Xyran was in the middle of a more conventional training session: weight lifting. Lexaeus had put him to work with a very impressive, diverse set of weights. At the moment, the younger Nobody was bringing all his strength to the task of lifting a barbell of about eighty-five pounds. He'd been able to lift it a few times, but now he was struggling._

"_Pace yourself." Lexaeus advised. "Pushing yourself so hard that you collapse won't serve any purpose."_

_Abandoning his attempts to lift it for the moment, Xyran took the advice, and lowered the barbell almost to the ground. He took nearly a minute to catch his breath, before lifting it up even with his neck again._

_Slowly he continued for another few minutes, before The Silent Hero put a hand on his shoulder. "That will be enough for now."_

"Some of the guys in the Organization weren't so bad. I almost miss them."

"_Alright, little dude." Xigbar said. "Time for a fun little reflex test."_

"_Didn't the hag already give me that particular lesson?"_

_Xigbar chuckled. "No worries, dude. I'll make sure this one is less, uh... 'informative.'" He summoned his two guns. "Now dodge the bullets."_

"_WHAT!"_

_The moment the Freeshooter opened fire Xyran leapt high into the air, landing on his other side, and stabbing backwards. Xigbar teleported away, and reappeared on the balcony of the Hall of Empty Melodies._

_Chuckling, he fired down at Xyran. Moving as quickly as his legs could carry him, he sprinted out of the way, ducking under or jumping over the hail of bullets when it got too close._

"_Nice job!" Xigbar congratulated, ceasing fire for a moment. "But what about this?"_

_He placed both of his weapons together, and held his finger down on the triggers. Bluish energy gathered at the pointed tips of the weapons. He held it there for a moment, before releasing the trigger, and firing a blast that was about as large as Xyran down at the floor._

_It bounced off of it, and directly toward the young Nobody. He leapt out of its path, nearly getting struck by the second one that Xigbar fired down at him._

_As they bounced around the room, narrowly missing him each time, Xigbar shouted support down to him._

"Granted, the stuff they taught me wasn't all practical..."

"_There's a time to fight, and a time to relax, man." Demyx said, sitting on the ledge that overlooked the Dark City and much of the castle. The two of them were sitting at Naught's Approach._

"_Um..." Xyran began, confused. "So, what? Should I just leave you and go relax?"_

"_Nah, sit down for a while." Demyx patted the space next to him, and summoned his sitar. "I want to teach you how to play this thing."_

_Xyran looked at it for a moment. "Uh, what exactly is it?"_

"_Why does everybody ask me that?"_

"Sometimes, I was actually able to have fun during the training sessions."

"_Let's make this interesting, shall we?" Luxord suggested, drawing his deck of special cards with a quick flourish of his fingers. "Ten munny says that you can't get me in three tries."_

"_You're on." Xyran replied with a grin._

"_Excellent!" The older one said. With a quick flick of his wrist, he threw the cards at the floor of Havoc's Divide. Immediately, they expanded in size, becoming roughly the size of a tall human man._

_They each stood up straight, blocking the Gambler of Fate from view completely. They closed in around him, and parted a moment later. Xyran had a brief view of Luxord's picture on one of them, before they all mixed themselves up._

"_The game has begun." Came Luxord's voice. "Remember, use all of your senses."_

_He carefully tracked the progress of the card he believed to be Luxord's as it glided eerily across the smooth floor. Acting immediately, he threw Edge of the Storm into it, running it through completely._

_The card turned slowly, showing nothing but the number four on it._

"_One down." came Luxord's voice from one of the cards directly behind him._

_He quickly spun around, and stabbed into the card at his back. It turned, revealing the number nine._

"_Almost..." Luxord's voice was now on the far side of the platform. Xyran ran toward one of the cards there, and leapt. He sliced one vertically in half as he landed._

_Two seconds after his apparent victory, he became a large die._

"I gotta tell you, Axel was a surprisingly good teacher."

"_Alright goof ball, here's how this works." Axel said, summoning his chakrams. "Always look for weaknesses before an opponent starts a fight. Look at me, what do you think is my weakness?"_

"_Water?"_

"_What _else_?"_

_Xyran observed Axel's battle stance for a moment, his footing, the slope of his shoulders, but then he noticed the weapons. "Those are long range weapons. So... If I get in close, I have the advantage?"_

"_Exactly." Axel nodded. "But I worked around that weakness, and developed a special combat system to utilize these babies in close-quarters. You should do the same with your own weak points. Got it memorized?"_

"_As always, Axel." Xyran answered, rolling his eyes._

"_That's 'Sensei Axel' to you!"_

"But things got particularly interesting a few months into my training."

_The garden of The Castle That Never Was looked ridiculously out of place among the sterile white walls, and black storm clouds. Rose bushes and sakura trees lined the long, high-walled, open-air chamber. A light rain was falling, as always, providing nourishment to the plants._

"_That's enough for today." Marluxia said, after a lengthy discussion on how patience was necessary in life, demonstrating his point by comparing it to the plants in his garden._

"_Remember what I've said here, young one." The Graceful Assassin said, taking a nearby watering can, and walking over to the nearest rose bush. "You're dismissed."_

"_Great. Now maybe Mansex won't yell at me for being late again."_

_Marluxia looked at him curiously. "'Mansex?'"_

"_Fun little anagram that Axel discovered. I've also got 'Bigrax' if Xigbar ever gets on your nerves."_

"_I see..." Marluxia looked as if he was giving very serious consideration to something. "Tell me, what do you think of the Superior?"_

_Xyran shrugged. "Honestly, he really gets on my nerves sometimes. His 'high and mighty' attitude and constant reminders on our nonexistence. We get it already, we don't exist; moving on..."_

_Marluxia turned back to his rose bush, and carefully added some fresh water. "Did you ever wish that this Organization could have a new command structure?"_

_Again, he shrugged. "Sometimes."_

"_What if I told you that I could make it happen?" The older Nobody asked, not turning away from his roses._

_Xyran stared at him for a moment, not entirely comprehending what he had just been asked. It only seemed to click into place when Marluxia put down his watering can, and walked over to the nearest sakura tree._

"_You're not serious. This is some kind of joke."_

"_I have rarely been more serious, apprentice." Marluxia replied casually, plucking one of the blossoms from a low branch of the tree, and holding it close to his face. "Xemnas's days as leader are now numbered. I'll see to it that this Organization really gets some work done."_

"_I really can't believe what I'm hearing." Xyran half-smiled. "This is a loyalty test, right?"_

_Marluxia chuckled. "I'll have to remember that for future members. But no, this isn't a test. As I said, I've rarely been more serious."_

"_Why do you want to overthrow Xemnas?"_

"_Well, likely it won't be just Xemnas." Marluxia said. "The other five who joined with him will likely side with him, and have to be destroyed, as well... Though I believe that they know a bit about treachery themselves, I doubt they'll tolerate it from the likes of me."_

"_That still doesn't answer my question."_

"_Have you seen any significant progress on our Kingdom Hearts as of late, Xyran?" He asked casually, still not looking directly at him. The sakura blossom he had been holding vanished, and he walked over to another rose bush. "It's tiny."_

"_You know Xemnas's plan, though." Xyran answered. "We just need to wait for the Keyblade to choose its proper master. Once that happens-"_

"When_?" Marluxia interrupted, at last looking him in the face. "The Keyblade is an unpredictable thing. It could be years before the Keyblade Master is finally in action. _Decades_. Do you want to wait that long to get your heart back?"_

_Xyran's silence was the only answer he needed._

"_That's what I thought." Marluxia said, turning his back to him, and walking to another sakura tree. "I have a new plan to gather hearts, but Xemnas remains too set in his ways. If you were to join us, we could- AUGH!"_

_When the traitorous Nobody turned his back, Xyran had summoned his spear. There was a reason it was called 'Edge of the Storm.' Taking careful aim, he fired a bolt of concentrated electricity at Marluxia's 'nether-regions.'_

_He pitched forward into a tree, and held on tightly to it as Xyran turned and paced quickly from the garden. But he didn't notice the pink flower petals dropping from his body, and vanishing shortly after touching the ground._

_!_

"_You are late, apprentice." Xemnas said, several minutes later._

"_Sorry Manse- _Superior_!" Xyran quickly caught himself. "I was held up."_

_The two of them stood alone on the Alter of Naught, directly under the diminutive Kingdom Hearts moon. Xemnas had been looking up into the moon as he often did, when Xyran had arrived from the garden._

_He turned to face him. "And may I ask how you were held up?"_

"_You probably wouldn't believe me if I told you..." He said with a shrug. He didn't expect for this action to bring a flower petal from his ear. It drifted down to the ground, and vanished._

"_How did I do that?" Xyran said, starting. Another few petals fell from his body._

_Xemnas looked at him curiously. A gleam had entered his amber eyes. "What have you been doing differently lately, Xyran?"_

_He racked his brain for a few seconds, before he realized. "Um... I sort of... zapped Marluxia."_

_Xemnas arched an eyebrow. "And _why_ exactly did you zap Marluxia?"_

"_Well, that's sort of the part you probably wouldn't believe if I told you."_

"_You'd be surprised," Xemnas said, leaning toward him, "At exactly how much I can _believe_."_

"_Okay... Marluxia is staging a coup against you and the other senior members."_

_This statement was greeted by a moment of complete silence. "I hope that you're telling me the truth, apprentice."_

"_I swear on my nonexistent life, Superior."_

_Xemnas looked him in the eye for another long, hard moment. Xyran felt like he was on an operating table, looking at a doctor who was seriously considering putting him down. Without totally thinking, he edged away from Xemnas slightly._

_Finally, after several agonizing seconds, Xemnas closed his eyes and turned away, walking to the edge of the alter. "And Marluxia told you this?"_

"_Yes. And there might be others. He used the word 'us.' He said that your plan for building Kingdom Hearts was too slow." He suddenly realized that he may have crossed a line and made things personal._

_But Xemnas seemed not to care. "I'm aware of what he thinks of my plan. He's told me of his own before, but he fails to realize how flawed it is. He refused to listen to reason, though." He was silent for a moment longer. "This is surprising, but not totally unexpected."_

"_It's not?"_

"_Remind me to tell you of Marluxia's past life, sometime, Xyran. You will understand."_

"_Alright... Well, what will you do about it?"_

"_That needn't concern you." Xemnas said, turning around. "They will be dealt with, in time. For now, I need you to ensure that he doesn't know you've told me any of this."_

"_Yes, Superior." Xyran bowed slightly, more flower petals fell from him. He let out a grunt of frustration, and messed up his hair. More and more petals dropped from his spiked blonde hair. "What is with these things?"_

"_Show me your weapon." Xemnas said._

"_Um... What?"_

"_Your spear. Summon it."_

_He did as ordered. Edge of the storm appeared in his hand, and he held it out in front of him in plain sight for Xemnas to examine. Nothing happened for a moment, but then it transformed, taking on the shape of Marluxia's infamous scythe._

_Xyran quickly dropped it. The moment it hit the ground, it reverted back to its original form of a spear._

"_I've suspected this." Xemnas said, his lips beginning to curl into a smile of quiet satisfaction. "Your talents... They are linked to your weapon."_

"_What's happening to me?"_

"_Upon contact with a person, I suspect that your spear retains the qualities unique to them. In this case, the charged particles that connected with Marluxia's body bounced back to the spear, and flowed through it into you. This would allow you access to that scythe, and the flower petals."_

"_Okay... So I have all of Marluxia's powers now?"_

"_Yes." Xemnas thought hard for a moment. "And this could work very well toward expanding our goals..." His eyes flickered briefly to Kingdom Hearts. "I want you to repeat what you did to Marluxia to the rest of the Organization. Dismissed."_

"The rest of the Organization wasn't exactly pleased to learn that I was going to copy all of them from then on, but they wouldn't really argue with Xemnas's orders if they valued their lives. My training got more and more intense as they taught me to use their powers properly."

"But, then things got complicated."

_Xemnas, Saix, Xaldin, Zexion, and Luxord (heads of the Organization) were all seated in their thrones in Where Nothing Gathers._

"_Are you certain he's up to the task, Superior?" Zexion asked. "He's very skilled, even I'll give him that, but we've been monitoring the boy's activity..."_

"_I'm inclined to agree with Zexion here, Xemnas." Luxord agreed. "Remember what happened to the hunter at Deep Jungle. This one shouldn't be taken lightly."_

"_I am aware of the boy's skill, Luxord, Zexion." Xemnas said. "But I believe that Xyran will prove competent enough."_

_The aforementioned Nobody entered via a corridor of Darkness right after Xemnas finished talking. "You called for me, bosses?"_

"_We have a mission for you." Saix said._

"_One from which you may not return." Xaldin added._

"_Ooh, life-threatening. I like it!" Xyran said, grinning. "What do I do?"_

"_As I announced weeks ago, the Keyblade has chosen its master, at long last." Xemnas said. "Zexion?"_

_A life-sized image of a boy of fourteen appeared in front of Xyran. He had brown, spiky hair, and blue eyes. He was about a head shorter than Xyran. In his hand was a silver and gold Keyblade._

"This_ is the guy?" Xyran said, in apparent disbelief._

"_Make no mistake, he's much more powerful than he looks." Zexion said warningly. "He's already destroyed more than his fair share of Heartless across a handful of worlds."_

"_Thanks to this boy, Sora," Xaldin said, "Kingdom Hearts is growing larger all the time. But it's not enough."_

"_We'd like to speed the process along a tad." Luxord said. "This is where you come in, lad."_

"_You'll find him on the desert world of Agrabah." Xemnas said. "Find him. Shadow him. Copy him. Kill him."_

_Silence greeted this statement. "You want me to kill him? I thought we needed him alive to extract our hearts?"_

"_We don't need _him_." Saix said. "Merely the Keyblade's power. Once you can summon it yourself, we will no longer need Sora."_

"_He is a threat." Xaldin continued. "At some point in the future, he could work at cross-purposes to us. Things will flow much more smoothly with our plans riding on an ally, rather than an enemy."_

"_You are to leave immediately." Xemnas ordered. "Even now, the Keyblade Master is en route to Agrabah. Confront him, and see that he doesn't survive."_

_With just a hint of reluctance on his face and in his voice, Xyran said, "It will be done, Superior."_

"Yes. They ordered me to get the Keybearer. Can you imagine how things would have turned out if I had listened to them?"

_The blazing Agrabah sun pounded down on Xyran as he sprinted along the rooftops of the city. His hood was up, obscuring his face from any citizen that might decide to look up and see him on the roofs._

_He had no actual idea of where he was going, so he had just chosen to start his search for Sora near the huge palace that was visible from miles away. The Keybearer wasn't there, but in the courtyard were two equally interesting figures._

_The first was easily recognizable. It was a tall woman with greenish-grey skin and horns. She was garbed completely in black and violet, and carrying a wooden staff topped with a green orb. Maleficent: The self-proclaimed 'Mistress of All Evil.'_

_Next to her was an Arab man of equal height. He had glinting, dark eyes and a twisted little black beard. He was garbed in regal robes of black and deep red, and wearing a tall hat with a blood-red ruby inset in it. He clutched a bronze staff in his hand that resembled a cobra with ruby eyes. A red parrot was perched on his shoulder._

"_Well, if the princess is that important," Jafar was saying, "We'll find her."_

_He turned slightly as a handful of Bandit Heartless appeared behind him. "Find Jasmine, and bring her to me at once." He ordered them._

_They rushed off into the city, led by the parrot, Iago. Jafar walked slowly after them._

"_Don't steep yourself in Darkness too long." Maleficent warned as he departed. "The Heartless consume the careless."_

_Jafar laughed a little. "Your concern is touching, but hardly necessary." And then he was gone._

_Xyran observed all of this from a nearby rooftop. For just a moment, Maleficent glanced up at the building where he stood. She might have seen him, but if she did, it didn't matter. It could possibly serve as a warning that the Organization was watching her. So just for fun, he gave her a little wave._

_Moments after he left the building, he found –to his mixed relief and regret- his target._

_Sora, as well as Donald, Goofy, and a woman that was apparently the missing Princess Jasmine, were in one of the numerous back alleys one could stumble across in Agrabah._

_Unseen by the four below, Xyran observed Sora closely. The way he seemed to take immediately to the princess was almost touching. He appeared even younger than he had when Zexion had shown him his picture. He smiled a lot, and acted as if the fact that the city was infested with Heartless was no big problem. He actually promised to help with the situation._

This mission keeps getting harder.

_He could have struck then; taken Sora's powers and his life with one quick blow before any of them even realized that he was there. But he didn't, and he didn't quite know why._

_The straw that broke the camel's back came in the form of Jafar. He suddenly appeared on the rooftop opposite Xyran's, though he didn't bother to hide his presence, as he did._

"_Jasmine." He said, feigning concern. "Allow me to find you more suitable company, my dear princess. These little rats won't do, you see."_

"_Jasmine, run!" Sora exclaimed (in a surprisingly childish-sounding voice), summoning the Kingdom Key to his hand. It glistened for a moment in the harsh sunlight. On either side of him, Donald and Goofy brandished their own weapons, as Jasmine made her hurried escape._

_But now, Jafar's eyes were fixed on Sora. "Ah... The boy who holds the key."_

_About twenty Heartless (most of them Bandits) appeared in the alley, and immediately rushed at the Keybearer as Jafar walked calmly away after Jasmine._

_The three below defeated the Heartless with surprising ease, and Xyran could tell why. They worked together as a single integrated team; Compensating for each other's weaknesses, and adding to their respective strengths. It was beautiful to see._

_Xyran probably could have leapt upon him them, while he and his allies were distracted, and he still didn't move. He was touched -as much as a Nobody could be touched- by this kid. He was risking his life to save the beings of a world he had never known, and he had still retained a trace of the old innocent kid he had probably once been._

How am I supposed to kill this guy now?

!

"You can guess what happened next. I quit. I abandoned my mission, and let Sora go about his merry way. Though, as you know, the Organization didn't take kindly to traitors, so I ran."

"I ran around to a few worlds, dogged by the Organization at every turn, until I finally settled down for a while on a small world they didn't seem to know about."

Once again, Xyran's gaze had turned back to the dragon's-head medallion in his palm. Cossex now noted that his hand was trembling slightly.

"They found me. Xemnas sent Marluxia and Larxene after me to do whatever they wanted. They offered me one more chance to join up with them. I refused, and they locked me up in Castle Oblivion. I was stuck in there before you and Serndask found me."

"But," Cossex interjected, "You had their powers, and those of the rest of the Organization. How did they capture you?"

"I never said they captured me." Xyran said, still looking into his medallion. "I had to surrender."

"Why?"

He didn't answer right away. And for a long time, it didn't seem as if she'd get a response at all. He lowered his head as if in sadness, and touched the medallion gently to his forehead. "They... made a threat."

"Toward you?"

"No."

Cossex was about to ask what he meant, when he tucked the medallion securely back into his jacket pocket. "I'd rather not tell you that. Not yet, anyway."

"I understand." She nodded, patting him on the shoulder in comradely fashion. "I believe you did the right thing, Xyran." After a moment where she ensured that nobody was around to hear her, she added, "Just as you did the right thing in saving the Resistance members."

"I'm glad you think so, because Serndask will probably disagree." Xyran muttered. "He's probably had the same idea that Xemnas did, and wants me to copy Sora, or that King, or one of the other Keybearers... And this time, I can't just run away."

For a moment, Cossex remembered what Serndask had said when Xyran had first been awoken. '_Join me, or your pretty little friend dies a painful death._'

She had a vague idea of what that had meant. "You met a girl."

He nodded mutely.

"Marluxia and Larxene. They threatened her, didn't they? And Serndask is doing it again."

Again, he nodded. "And I won't let anything happen to her... If helping the Brotherhood means that she stays safe, than so be it."

Cossex's face was the picture of sympathy, and she gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze. The both of them were quiet for another few seconds. "You're smart. You're resourceful. And you're determined. You'll figure something out."

He chuckled. "You forgot brave, handsome, _and_ humble."

She hit him on the back of the head, but she was smiling.

!

_There we go! It's fun writing the Organization. I should do them more often. Anyway, hope that you liked it, and the next world arc starts soon!_

_Leave a review, please!_


	104. Chapter 103: The Party in Agrabah

_Agrabah starts now! Probably my favorite Disney world in the series. Let's get right to it!_

_Aladdin: "DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else. No idea even of how he could get a copyright on the stuff he does own, actually…"_

_!_

Chapter 103: The Party in Agrabah

Agrabah's blazing heat took a few moments to adjust to, but Sora had done it before.

The group had set down less than a mile from the gates of the magnificent Arabian city, in the midst of the desert that surrounded it. From where they stood, the massive royal palace was easily visible. Its ten huge, golden-domed towers stretched up into the sky, catching the sun's rays and making the whole place shine.

Immediately after Sora shed his jacket, slinging it over his shoulder, he realized that something big was happening. Dozens of people were flocking in through the southernmost gate, along with the camels carrying their supplies. Sora noticed a few elephants in their midst.

"Anybody feeling a bit of déjà vu, here?" Riku asked.

"What do you mean?" Donald asked.

"Well, on the last three worlds we've visited," He elaborated, "We arrived just in time to crash a ball, or a festival, or a homecoming thing..."

"Well, ahyuk," Goofy laughed, "Maybe we're just getting lucky!"

"Yeah, Riku!" Sora said. "Are you saying that you're tired of the parties?"

"No, I'm just saying it's a little weird, that's all." Riku shrugged.

"So let's stop talking about how lucky we've been lately, and get down there!" Kairi said, taking off at a jog toward the gate. The rest of them followed her immediately, weaving and juking around the camels and travelers.

Within five minutes, they had gotten to the gate, where one unpleasant-looking guard was standing. He was tall, heavily muscled, had a black beard, and was wearing a black vest and white headdress. A curved scimitar was hanging from his belt.

"Excuse us, sir?" Sora asked. "I've never seen this city so busy. What's up?"

The guard answered as if he was tired of answering the question, and disliked the answer. "Our princess is to be wed."

"Really?" Sora said, a wide grin forming on his face. "To who exactly? A... prince?"

"Not a prince at all." He growled, looking up at the palace. "Just a no-account _street rat_."

"Uh... technically..." Came a voice that Sora had been really eager to hear. In the blink of an eye, the space between him and the guard was filled with blue.

The Genie of the lamp plucked the guard up by the nose with one hand. "WRONGO! Try it phonetically. It's Aladdin!" To emphasize his point, he twirled his fingers, which were glowing with pinkish light. He fired the light up into the air, and it all exploded like fireworks high above the city.

But, these only formed a few blinking neon lights spelling out 'Aladdin.'

Genie looked at them in confusion for a few moments, before turning to somebody that only he could see. He wagged his finger admonishingly. "Oh... some of you don't believe."

"_Ahem_." Came another irritated voice seemingly from nowhere. It echoed out all across the desert. It sounded decisively male, but not yet fully mature. "What did I tell you about the fourth wall?"

"Right, right, to a minimum." Genie said. "Sorry, boss."

"Hey, Genie!" Sora called. "Who're you talking to?"

"The author."

"Author?"

"SORA!" He greeted, ignoring the question completely. He swooped down (dropping the guard unceremoniously into a distant sand dune) and enveloped them all in one big hug that made their faces turn blue in about three seconds. "It has been so uneventful around here since you guys left!"

"What about the wedding?" Nehrut asked.

"Well, there's that." He said quickly. "But still, it's great to see you all back here!"

"So Aladdin finally got up the guts to propose?" Sora said.

"You bet your spiky little head he did!" Genie said, tugging on one of the Keybearer's spikes. "Oh, which reminds me..."

In a quick puff of purple smoke, Genie was in a waiter's tuxedo, with a tweed moustache. He was holding a clipboard. "Chicken or sea bass?"

"Sea bass for me, Genie." Sora said. "But are we on the guest list?"

"Of course you-" Genie began. "Ah... We didn't know you were coming so uh, hold on." He snapped his fingers, and they were all enveloped in a huge cloud of purple smoke.

A few disorienting seconds later, the whole party miles away from the gate. Sora vaguely recognized where they were. He hadn't been here for over a year.

They stood in Aladdin's old home/hideout. It wasn't much; Just a single, humble-sized room on the second story of an old building. A few tattered rugs, blankets, and pillows were scattered about the room. There was a gaping hole in one wall with curtains on either side. It offered a perfect view of the palace, which wasn't too far away.

Crouched near the 'window' with his back to them was a young Arabic man. He had messy, jet black hair, and a red fez on his head. He was wearing loose-fitting white pants, and brown shoes. In his hands, he held a flat, wooden box. Next to him was a small, shaggy monkey in a tiny purple vest and fez.

"Somebody's going to be late for his own wedding!" Genie shouted into his ear, making man and monkey both jump.

Aladdin chuckled. "Hold on Genie. There's something I need."

"I gotcha!" Genie said with a wink. A flash of smoke later, and a now female Genie was exploding out of a cake. "It's a bachelor party, big boy!"

The room's occupants gaped for a few frozen seconds. Somebody gagged, and Sora quickly looked away. "I didn't look, Kairi!"

"I don't blame you." She giggled.

"Sora! Guys!" Aladdin turned around at the sound of Sora's familiar voice, smiling. He set the box down and ran up to Sora, crushing him in a brotherly hug which he returned. "How've you guys been?"

"Oh, putting down Heartless and Nobodies, saving worlds, and loving every minute of it. You know, that kind of thing." Sora answered casually.

"The usual, then?" Aladdin replied with a smirk.

"Pretty much. We hear you're getting married."

"I swear, a guy has absolutely no privacy in this city." Aladdin sighed theatrically, and then laughed. "It's good to see you guys back. And I was looking forward to meeting the famous Riku and Kairi."

Riku immediately put Sora in a headlock. "So what kinds of horror stories has he told you about me, exactly?"

"Well, there was this one time involving a starfish-"

"Nevermind, I think everyone's better off not knowing." Kairi interrupted hastily. That was one incident that probably was better off forgotten. The three of them had all wound up getting stitches in unfortunate places. But then she looked slyly at Sora. "Though I hope you told him good things about _me_..."

"There's nothing but good things." Sora said, struggling to breathe through Riku's hold on him.

"Awww..." Genie cooed theatrically. He conjured a tissue box out of thin air. "That is so _sweet_." He then blew his nose with unnecessary force, which was something that the nearby Donald did not appreciate.

"So, you guys staying for the wedding?" Aladdin asked. "You're all invited, I insist."

"Love to!" Donald spoke for all of them, wiping mucus off of his arm.

"Excellent!" Genie said. "Hang on, I'll tell the caterer!" He vanished, and reappeared in another second. "I told him. Now chop chop, Al! Let's go!"

"In a minute." He said. "I need something for the wedding."

He went back over to the box in the corner just as Abu leapt onto Sora's head, making noises that sounded undoubtedly like a greeting.

Aladdin picked the box back up, and opened it slowly. Looking over his shoulder, Sora could see that the inside was lined with red velvet. Resting on it was a dagger. It was sheathed, but Sora could see that the end was slightly curved. The handle was gold, and engraved into it was a crest of what appeared to be a hand with the four main fingers pressed together.

"Well, that's a nice dagger..." Yuffie said. "Very uh, sharp."

"It belonged to my father."

"Your father?" Sora repeated. Somehow, he had never actually thought about Aladdin's parents. He supposed that they had been unable to take care of him, since he'd grown up on Agrabah's streets.

"You never said a word about your father!" Genie said. "Now, I've got to let the caterer know about him, too! Chicken or-"

"He's not coming to the wedding." Aladdin interrupted. "He died a long time ago."

Genie bit his tongue. "Sorry."

"It's okay." Aladdin tucked the ornate dagger into the sash around his waist. He walked over to the window, and gazed out across the city. "I never knew him... Maybe if I did, I'd feel ready for this."

"Don't tell me you're getting cold feet!" Donald said, moving to the window as well.

"Of course not. It's just that, I've always been a street rat. I'm taking a huge step forward today, into a whole new world."

The end of Genie's misty tail became a microphone. "Today's topic: Fears of the future family man. Al from Agrabah, share with us."

"I never had a father to show me how to raise a family."

"No role model... Get a little deeper."

"What do I know about families?" Aladdin was starting to look panicked. "What if I'm no good at it?"

"Gawrsh, Aladdin, you're not _supposed_ to know anything about families." Goofy said. "You just learn as you go along!"

Sora looked at Goofy. "Um, how do you know?"

"Well gawrsh, Sora! Didn't I ever tell ya I had a son?"

Silence greeted this. "Uh... I'm sorry." Axel said. "Did dog-boy just say that he has a son, or was that one of the voices in my head?"

"Why didn't you ever say something?" Sora asked, greatly shocked. Then he looked at Donald, Mickey, and Nehrut. "Or any of you?"

"Um... I guess I forgot." Donald said, looking embarrassed.

"Yeah, and I kinda figured that he'd already told you." Mickey said.

"Ditto."

"Well, I coulda sworn I told ya about Maxy, but I guess I didn't... I guess I missed him so much that I didn't want to say anything." Goofy didn't seem particularly surprised that he'd forgotten to tell him, so he moved on. "But anyway, Aladdin, I'm sure that you'll be just fine as a dad!"

He looked a little reassured, and looked back at the dagger. "I just wish my father could see me now."

"Al, little buddy," Genie said, putting a large blue hand on his narrow shoulder. "If your father were here, he'd be as proud of you as I am."

"Us, too." Sora said, putting his hand on the other shoulder. "After all, look how far you've come in less than two years!"

Aladdin smiled. "Thanks gu-"

"C'mon, Aladdin, this mushy stuff has got to end!" Came the unmistakable voice of Iago the parrot. The red-feathered little bird was now hovering at the window, looking impatient. He caught sight of Sora, Donald, Goofy, and the rest. "Oh, hey guys. Now let's _move_!"

"Oh, that's right!" Genie slapped himself. "We've gotta get you all dressed!"

Genie tapped Aladdin on the head, immediately changing his clothing into something more appropriate for the wedding ceremony that would start within the hour. He now wore regal robes of white and gold, complete with a white headdress and a golden feather.

With another quick snap of his fingers, Genie had dressed the rest of the group into the exact same clothing they had worn to the ball at Adam's castle.

"How did you know about these clothes?" Yuffie asked. Even the rose that she had worn in her hair was back in place.

"Well, the author was too lazy to make new outfits, or have you go back to the ship to change, so he just decided to roll with this."

"What?"

"GENIE!" Came the voice again.

"Minimum. I know."

"Just listen to him Genie, things will go a lot easier." Nehrut muttered, ignoring the confused looks that Sora and the rest were giving him.

"Yeah, he gets like this sometimes." Bariss added.

!

_So, that happened… I broke the fourth wall… How about that?_

_You know, as far as sequals go, I thought that Aladdin 3 wasn't half bad. Is that just me?_

_Review, please!_


	105. Chapter 104: The Forty Thieves

_Next chapter! Before we get started, I'd like to promote myself a little._

_Nehrut: "Oh, this aughta be good."_

_Shut up. Anywho, I've had a DeviantArt account for a while now, and have done very little with it. Pretty soon, I'm gonna start posting some of my amateurish stuff on there. So, check it out in the next few days if you feel up for a self-esteem boost on your own artistic skills._

_Nehrut: "I'm sure you'll impress everybody. In the meantime though, DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else."_

_!_

Chapter 104: The Forty Thieves

Unseen by the guests to the wedding at the palace, several figures were silently sneaking into its back entrance. They couldn't be seen at all, save for a faint shimmering quality in the air around them. It was as though a heat haze was located there, and in Agrabah, this wasn't hard to imagine.

They only became visible when they were sure they were out of sight.

There were no less than forty-two people in the small storage-room like entrance to the palace. For the most part, they were a diverse collection of dirty thugs, cutthroats, bandits, and the like, though four stood out in particular.

The first of these was a tall man. He wore a loose-fitting black tunic and pants, with a violet sash around his waist. He wore a long travelling cloak of midnight blue, held in place by a gold pendant. This expanded into a hood and cloth covering that obscured all of his head, aside from his dark, calculating eyes.

The second man was even taller, and looked ridiculously different from the first. He was heavily muscled, with a shaved head, and skin that was almost grey. He had a thin moustache and stubble on his chin. He wore a black and violet vest, and loose-fitting blue pants. He had brown arm bands and a golden claw-like weapon in his left hand.

The third was a tall man with long brown hair that went down his shoulders. He had sickly yellow eyes, and a long scar running across his face; a memento of some battle long-past. He wore an outer robe of beige, with the Brotherhood's emblem on the back, and a black tunic and pants: Klaxam.

The last was the shortest. He wore the black coat of Organization XIII. His hair was some strange color between grey and black, and one long lock of it hung over the right side of his face. Only one of his blue eyes could be seen. It was Zexion; the Cloaked Schemer, and number VI of the Organization.

"This had better not be another wild goose chase." The large man growled to the one in blue, brandishing his claws threateningly.

"Rest assured, Sa'luk," The man replied, in a voice that suggested the claws didn't scare him, "The oracle is the real thing. This time I'm sure."

"I should hope so, Cassim." Klaxam said. "We're offering you a great deal of resources, here. I'd be very disappointed if I learned that it was all for naught."

"My friend, you needn't worry. Once the oracle leads us to it, you will have our full support."

"Let's hope that you're worth the effort." Zexion added.

!

Sora had only ever been inside the royal palace once, and that had been in the deep basement where they had entombed Jafar's lamp (not that that precaution had done much good, in the end).

As such, he had had no idea just how extravagant the inside was. The pavilion where the wedding was to take place was on the south end of the palace. Colorful banners hung from the ceiling and walls. Three large bronze chandeliers hung from the ceiling, directly over the aisle that had been cleared in the center. An elevated alter sat at the very end of the hall, with a dome-like structure reminiscent of the palace towers built around it.

A mass of people were in the room, standing in rows on either side of the aisle. Aladdin was standing up at the altar, fidgeting slightly in anticipation, but not worry. Sora and the party of off-worlders stood in the front row.

Once again, Sora was having a hard time keeping his eyes off of Kairi in her pink dress. He interlaced his hand with hers, and gave it an affectionate squeeze. She smiled at him, and pressed her lips to his cheek.

"Do you... think we'll get married?" Sora asked.

"What, right now?" Kairi raised one eyebrow. "I think that'd be stealing Aladdin and Jasmine's thunder a bit, don't you?"

Sora smiled, and blushed. "I mean, you know... eventually. When we're both ready."

Kairi's response was to cup his face in her hands, and turn it toward her. She pulled his face to hers, and touched their foreheads together. "Nothing would make me happier. When we're ready."

Sora smiled, and kissed her.

Genie appeared at the altar, next to Aladdin. "Bad news, Al. The boutonnieres clash with the cummerbunds."

"Genie," The groom muttered, "Isn't it a little _late_ for that?"

"What? What're you trying to say? Out with it!" He only now seemed to realize that the eyes of everyone in the room were upon them. "Oh..." He chuckled. "They're here."

He suddenly transformed into a shockingly familiar little white rabbit in a colorful suit and monocle. He clutched a disproportionately large pocket watch in his tiny hands as he hopped quickly down the center aisle.

"I'm late, I'm late! For a very important date…"

A flabbergasted Sora turned quickly to Donald and Goofy, who registered their own surprise to him in the form of nodding and gaping mouths. But no sooner had he turned back around than the White Rabbit look-alike had vanished through the double doors at the other end of the room.

When Genie stepped back into the room, he was himself again, though garbed in an elegant red military-style uniform. Conjuring a bugle from thin air, he blared it a few times, signaling the band to begin playing. The doors opened.

Three flower girls (not children, but somewhere around Jasmine's age) entered the pavilion, each dressed in light pink, and carrying baskets of flower petals. Following right behind them was a ring bearer of about five years old.

Moments later, the Sultan of Agrabah entered. He was being carried in on a throne-like chair, supported by four of the royal guards. Sora had never met the Sultan before (Aladdin had explained that he'd been away on royal duties during his previous visits) but he wasn't quite what he had expected.

He was a small, round man with a kind face. He had a puffy white beard and moustache, and twinkling eyes. He was dressed in gold robes, with a violet-striped sash, and a yellow hat with a violet feather. Sora really couldn't see any resemblance between him and his daughter.

Several people bowed low to him as he passed, but he displayed the kind of character he had, when he waved the bows off. He chuckled lightly when he saw Abu waving enthusiastically to him, and waved back.

The guards lowered his throne to the ground when they reached the head of the aisle. He half-walked, half-skipped off of it, and over to Aladdin, who bowed.

"Oh, don't look so solemn boy! This is a happy day!"

"Aw..." Genie went. He conjured up a camera (which didn't even exist on Agrabah) and took a quick picture.

The doors parted again, and all eyes in the room slowly traveled back to them. Jasmine stood there, just as pretty as always. Her long black hair flowed down her back, in stark contrast to the white and gold dress she wore, and the pink flowers she wore in her hair. She locked eyes with Aladdin from across the room, and beamed.

Her future husband smiled at her as she made her way up the aisle. She barely registered that Sora and the others were there, let alone the rest of the people in the room. She stopped in front of her father.

"I never thought this day would come..." He said, looking a bit teary. "Now, I'm afraid it has come all too soon."

Jasmine bent down to his level, and wrapped him in a tight hug. The Sultan handed her over to Aladdin, who held out his arm for her to take. She did, and they walked up to the altar together.

They had no idea how bad things were about to become.

!

"You distract the guards." Cassim said to his allies.

"Part of your plan, I take it?" Klaxam asked.

"A large part." Cassim patted the trunk of a nearby elephant, which had been resting with several of its fellows in the courtyard by which they were hiding. He beckoned to Zexion. "Await our signal."

The two of them left the forty other men where they were. Zexion restored the illusion they had used to get them onto the palace grounds unnoticed.

Minutes later, they got the signal: A bright flash from the highest tower.

Sa'luk smiled horribly, and turned to the nearest elephant.

!

Aladdin and Jasmine were just moments away from 'I do' when everything went crazy.

"It's all so magical." Genie was saying, tearing up. "But I'm not gonna cry, I'm not-"

He burst into tears. His hand shot out and took ahold of a familiar flying carpet. He brought the poor thing up to his face, and blew his nose into it.

"Uh Genie," Sora muttered quietly. "I don't think he appreciates that."

"Sorry."

That was when the earth started shaking all around them.

"I thought the earth wasn't supposed to move until the honeymoon." Axel said. The shaking grew more and more intense, and in seconds, what must have been a dozen different panicked elephants could be seen rushing toward the pavilion.

"Stampede!" Genie exclaimed, as the guests began to scramble to safety.

The elephants crashed into the pavilion. Some brought down pillars before they entered the room itself, and began to wreak havoc amongst the people. Their constantly trampling feet made it difficult to stand, or even to get _away_ from said trampling feet.

As such, Sora, Kairi, and the rest of their party took it upon themselves to run crowd control. Using a combination of magic and force, they were able to keep the scared animals away from the civilians, though they couldn't stop them from smashing a few more of the structures in the room, including the alter. Aladdin and Jasmine had to leap off of it to avoid being crushed.

The palace guards (most of which hadn't been in attendance at the wedding) burst into the room moments later, attracted by the noise. They arrived just in time for the second wave of the assault.

Several well-armed men sprinted into the pavilion, weapons drawn. Immediately, they began terrorizing the guests who hadn't fled the building, stealing anything of value that they had on them, including jewelry, articles of clothing, purses, and pocketbooks.

Dispersed among them were Nobodies of a sort that Sora hadn't encountered before. The Fencers were around Axel's height, and had lean, silver bodies. Their faces were completely obscured by a grey Nobody emblem. Their shoulders were spiked upward slightly. Each of them had cape-like ornaments hanging down their backs from their right shoulders. Each one carried a single long, grey saber.

Immediately, the off-worlders rushed to meet them. Aladdin shrugged off his outer cloak, 'borrowed' a scimitar from a guard (who never realized it was missing until he stopped running several minutes later), and joined them.

Riku was the first of the group to attack. His blade met that of a Fencer's, and was deflected. It thrust out with its saber, nearly piercing the Keybearer's chest. He was barely able to smack the blade aside at the last moment, and then twist it through the air to take its head off.

Yuffie came up right behind him, and threw her shuriken into the group of attackers. A Nobody fell to the spinning weapon, and one of the human attackers was clipped in the shoulder, but then it collided with something seemingly in midair.

A cloaked man rushed in almost too fast to see. The ninja's shuriken had collided with the weapon he held in his hands. It was a double-bladed pike weapon, which was nearly seven feet long. The two feet on either end were very sharp, gleaming silver blades.

This man made a ridiculously fast beeline toward Riku, one of his blades coming up to his neck. He hurriedly summoned the Guardian to block the shot with its fists. The man stopped for a moment, and twisted his weapon free of the creature's grasp. He leapt completely over it, and landed on Riku's other side.

"Riku, I take it? And Yuffie Kisaragi." He asked casually, rather than striking. Several of the thieves encircled them, but he raised his hand. "Leave these two to me."

"Why the interest in us?" Yuffie asked, twirling her reclaimed shuriken between her fingers.

"More in Riku, actually." He shrugged. "But we could always use another captive. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Klaxam. You would do well to remember me."

"Thanks, we will." Yuffie threw her shuriken again, along with two kunai, in less than a second.

The Nobody deflected each of them with just a few quick flourishes, and advanced toward Riku with his weapon spinning before they had even hit the ground. The Guardian saved him at the last instant by throwing itself in the way of the strike.

Riku leapt over it, intending to bring Way to Dawn crashing down on Klaxam's head. He had enough power in the blow to split him in two, but Klaxam was no longer there when he landed. He'd rushed around to flank him, and delivered a kick to his back that sent him sprawling.

With Yuffie unprotected by the Keybearer or the Guardian, he twisted around, intending to finish the slightly-less-dangerous enemy while the stronger one was out of the picture. But he was met with the sight of the girl's heel rushing toward his face.

He wove aside from the attack, and managed to land a glancing blow on her shin, but this didn't appear to slow her down. She landed on her feet, and nimbly leapt back toward him, a kunai in each hand.

He raised his pike, and caught her twin strikes. She seemed frozen in midair for a moment, before he threw her off, and into the air. She landed directly behind Riku, who had gotten to his feet at last.

On the other end of the room near the remains of the altar, Nehrut and Bariss were holding off a great deal of attackers. The thieves, he was guessing, had been attracted to the glittering armlet Bariss was wearing. It looked arguably more valuable than anything else in the room, including the jewelry worn by some of the royal guests.

They weren't going to get it, though. Nehrut parried a rather clumsy blow from one of them, and sent him flying across the room with a thought, directly into the side of an elephant, which fell over onto a Nobody that Goofy had been fighting.

Bariss used her sai to parry the strikes of two separate men, and leave a narrow gash across the stomach of one of them. She twirled her whip once, and it caught the second one in the hip, flooring him.

Even as he fell, the two were in motion, rushing across to the center of the room to where Axel, Donald, and Goofy were battling Fencers and thieves alike. Gripping one of the humans with his mind, Nehrut threw him to the end of the pavilion, into a trio of thieves who were just now rushing in.

Axel threw one of his chakrams at a Fencer, who swatted it aside with its blade. But it left its guard open just long enough for Donald to fire a Blizzard spell into its chest. Before the icy crystals covering its body stopped hurting it, Goofy's shield collided with it, making a mess of its chest before it could react.

A second Nobody, and two humans rushed up to the group. Another of Donald's Blizzard spells knocked a thief backwards, while Bariss knocked his partner unconscious with the face of her shield. Axel ducked underneath the Fencer's strike, and sent his chakrams slicing vertically up its body.

The pyro shot out his hands, and engulfed a pair of the Nobodies in fire, toasting them before they had any chance of getting close to them. "Xonem!"

The Assassin leader appeared in front of him, and blocked the strike that a thief aimed at him with his bladed arms. He threw his sword off, and swiped at his legs, bringing him to the ground. "Yes, my liege?"

"You and your buddies run crowd control, make sure the guests get to safety."

Nearby, the guard who had guarded the city –named Rasoul- was trying to hold his own against three opponents. He was failing miserably. After he was knocked over for the third time by the same Fencer, it looked like things were about to end.

The Nobody raised its blade, and suddenly found Oblivion protruding from its stomach. As it faded away, Sora ripped the Keyblade out of its vanishing side, and beheaded a second Nobody. A blast of Kairi's Light blew the third one to shreds.

"Hey, Junior?" Sora said, looking down at Rasoul. "No offense, but let the grown-ups handle things here, huh?"

Leaving the shocked guard where he lay, Sora rushed back into the fray, noting Riku and Yuffie locked in combat with a Nobody who matched Klaxam's description. He shot a quick fireball in Klaxam's direction, before turning his attention back to where Kairi, Mickey, and Aladdin were fighting alongside a pair of palace guards.

They were fighting against an assortment of Nobodies and thieves. They were apparently being led by this giant of a man with golden claws. Sora leapt at his exposed back, and would have driven Oblivion in between his shoulder blades if he hadn't ducked.

Sa'luk slashed his claw at the Keyblade Master, but the blow was blocked by Kairi's blade. Mickey leapt over her, and struck the man in the side of the face with the flat side of his blade.

He staggered backwards, and was forced to leap and dodge away from Sora's follow-up blows. Two guards ran past the Keybearer, intent on taking the man down. Sa'luk slashed twice, and their swords flew from their hands. They backed away as Kairi and Mickey ran to engage him.

"They fight like demons!" One said.

"Worse than demons!" The other said. "These are the Forty Thieves!"

Genie was up on the ceiling, apparently trying to keep the roof from collapsing around them. "Really? I count thirty-nine."

Sora didn't know for sure how he could have taken such a quick head-count through all the chaos, but he took his word for it. Next to him, Aladdin deflected a quick strike from a Fencer, leaving it open for Sora to finish off.

The older man then apparently noticed something. Using his scimitar, he pointed through the fray, into a small side chamber. Several guests had retreated through it early on in the battle, and it was being used as a place to keep the incredibly valuable wedding presents.

Inside was a single man dressed in black and blue, rummaging through the valuables.

"Forty." The future prince said.

"Keep these guys busy!" Sora exclaimed to Mickey and Kairi, as he and Aladdin took off toward the side chamber. On the way there, they shot under an elephant's trampling feet, were saved by Yuffie from one of Klaxam's strikes, and beheaded a Fencer.

"It must be here somewhere..." Cassim was muttering, oblivious to their approach. He hadn't expected a golden plate to fly at his head from _inside_ the room. He looked around, and saw Iago, clutching a golden candle stick.

"Meet your match, Zorro!"

He approached slowly. "Good birdie. Polly want a-"

"Say 'cracker' and I'll let you have it on principle!" He swung the candle stick, but Cassim merely caught it, and yanked it from his grasp.

"You have a lot of spirit." He said, sounding almost complimentary, before throwing him into a pot, and putting the lid over it. "And a lot of mouth."

He went back to his search, and had finally seemed to find what he was looking for, when Aladdin and Sora entered the room. He had picked up a short golden rod, topped with a shining, egg-shaped emerald. He held it up to the light as if to better examine it.

That was when he was knocked off his feet by the 'street rat' and dropped it to the ground with a clatter. Sora quickly scooped it up, and threw it to Aladdin, who caught it one-handed.

"Can I see your invitation?" Aladdin said, grinning and pointing his scimitar at him. He tucked the rod into his belt. Sora pointed the Keyblade at the man on the ground.

"Stay out of my way, boys." He said. "And you won't get hurt."

Quicker than the eye could blink, he had scooped up a golden cat statue that had fallen to the ground, and thrown it at Aladdin's chest, knocking him to the ground. He was back on his feet with his sword in hand before Sora could strike.

"You don't stand a chance against the King of Thieves!"

"When we're done, I'll bow to you." Sora rushed in first, aiming low.

Cassim parried the blow, and lunged ahead, aiming at Sora's face, thinking he'd end the fight quickly. He obviously didn't completely comprehend how dangerous his opponent was.

The Keybearer ducked under the sword, and swept the thief's legs out from under him with the Keyblade. He fell gracelessly to the ground, but was back on his feet before Sora could strike again.

He was clever enough to reevaluate his strategy as far as the fight was concerned. He kept farther back from Sora, stabbing at him from a safe distance –just out of reach of the Keyblade.

But then Aladdin darted around to flank him, and slashed at his neck. He ducked under it, and quickly turned to engage his second opponent. With his attention divided between two deadly enemies, he was at a disadvantage, but this didn't mean he was going to surrender.

He leapt nimbly around Sora and Aladdin, keeping just out of reach. The two realized that they were facing a very deadly opponent, and attacked as a team.

Together, they probably could have beaten him, but the conflict remained undecided.

Back in the main room of the pavilion, the wall had mostly crumbled, and Genie realized that his efforts to keep it from collapsing were all for naught. He floated away from it, looking at the Genie-shaped portion of the roof that was almost all that was left. "I guess there's really no point to this now."

He teleported to the ground, his immense form blocking the path of a handful thieves attempting to escape with bags of munny. He grinned down at them as they dropped the bags, and took up fighting stances.

Suddenly, there were ten Genies, each of them garbed in black ninja clothing and carrying a pair of sais. All they had to do was stand there and strike an intimidating pose, and the thieves ran away screaming like small children.

"You are _awesome_!" Yuffie called to him, still fighting with Riku against Klaxam. Nehrut and Bariss had joined them, and the four warriors now formed a ring around him, denying him space to escape. Even with the added assistance, none of them could seem to land a solid hit against the Nobody, and it was all they could do to avoid his own attacks.

Nehrut tried again to force him backwards with a mental blast, but didn't even have enough time to concentrate on the act before Klaxam had rushed toward him again, sweeping at his neck. Bariss saved him at the last instant by parrying the man's blade with her own.

"I owe you." Nehrut said to her, stabbing forward at Klaxam, and missing yet again as he rushed back to strike at Yuffie.

"Don't mention it." She replied.

All around them, the invading forces were being torn apart by Genie's magical efforts, though Nehrut had time to note that the humans were all still alive. Over all the noise, he heard the large man whose name he had learned was Sa'luk through snippets of conversation. "Cassim said nothing about facing the powers of a genie! Get the others out of here. We'll leave the 'king' to his plans."

"Calling a retreat, Klaxam?" Riku taunted. "Guess your friends aren't as confident as they let on, huh?"

"'Retreat' isn't the same as 'surrender', my friend." He pointed out.

He was suddenly much, much faster. In one fluent movement, he bypassed Riku's guard, and left a gash across both of his legs. Riku cried out, and fell forward. Finally able to escape, he leapt directly over the Keybearer, slashing deep into his left shoulder blade as he passed overhead.

As Riku fell to the ground in pain, Yuffie rushed to his aide, and Nehrut and Bariss sprinted after his attacker, Klaxam cut an elephant on the hind leg.

Spooked and injured, the elephant's panicked run became an all-out rampage. It rushed headlong through the chaos, trampling Nobodies underfoot and injuring men on both sides. Mickey and Kairi were forced to jump out of its path, and away from their fight with Sa'luk, who used the opportunity to bolt away from them.

The elephant rushed into the side room where Sora, Aladdin, and Cassim were still locked in combat. They noted the approach of the elephant, and leapt apart; Sora and Aladdin to one side, and the King of Thieves to the other.

As the massive animal passed, Cassim jumped onto the howdah on its back, making his own escape on top of it. "I'll see you again, boys."

Naturally, the party and the palace guards attempted to follow the escaping thieves and Nobodies. They had nearly caught up with them, when a massive sandstorm blew in seemingly out of nowhere.

While their pursuers were blinded for a few critical moments, the thieves disappeared from sight due to aid that had nothing to do with the sand. The moment it cleared, they were nowhere to be seen. But instead, there was the black-cloaked figure of Zexion.

He half-smiled, and gave a mock salute, before vanishing as well.

!

_Zexion, every fangirl's favorite (last time I checked, aside from our favorite pyro). Well, hope you liked this chapter!_

_Review please!_


	106. Chapter 105: Oracle

_Bariss: "DarthKingdom would like to apologize for not replying to your reviews as he usually does. He's suffered a personal tragedy lately with the passing of his grandmother. We'd like to open this up with about ten seconds of internet silence, if we may."_

_-10 seconds-_

_Bariss: "Thank you. But now, we can move on. Smile! DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else."_

_!_

Chapter 105: Oracle

As the last of the pillars (and about half of what was left of the ceiling) in the pavilion collapsed, Genie announced to the room, "This is not my fault! This was not built to code!"

The building was a complete mess. The pillars had all been toppled, and there were chunks of the walls and ceiling strewn all across the room. The colorful banners that had been hanging proudly were in shreds, and lying on the floor in a pathetic mess. Fortunately, apart from a few Nobodies, there seemed to have been no casualties as a result of the attack. The guests and all of the elephants were gone.

Yuffie was tending to Riku's wounds as best she could. Since she couldn't subtly carry a pack of potions to a wedding, she only had one of the magic little parcels on her. She'd used it on his legs, staunching the bleeding, but leaving the scars.

She gently tried to nurse the bleeding injury on his shoulder, and it seemed that she had at least stopped the pain with some old technique. His bleeding was very slow, but she called over Donald as soon as she saw him, anyway.

"Curaga." He said, waving his staff. Green light seeped into the wound, closing it.

Stretching out his arm to test it, Riku said, "Thanks, Donald."

Yuffie ran a finger across the thin scar that was left, making him shiver a bit. "Are you alright?"

"Fine, just keep doing what you're doing." Riku said, grinning slightly.

She laughed, and wrapped her arms around him from behind. She kissed the nape of his neck, making him shiver again. "You had me worried for a minute. _Don't_ do that again."

"Next time a Nobody is running at me with a blade, I'll get out of the way... Or maybe I could push Nehrut into him."

"I heard that."

The Sultan walked past them, Jasmine was following him, and Iago was perched on his shoulder.

"Good luck getting back the catering deposit." The bird muttered, irritated.

"Oh dear, oh dear." The old man was repeating to himself over and over.

"Fear not, O father of the bride," Genie said, appearing out of nowhere again, "We can rebuild!"

"Oh please Genie, whatever it takes. We can't have a wedding without a pavilion." He wiped away the sweat from his brow. "I am sorry about all this."

"_You_ have nothing to apologize for, sir." Nehrut interjected, walking back into the pavilion after the failed attempt to follow the thieves. "It was the Brotherhood and the Forty Thieves that did this."

"What were they after...?" Jasmine wondered, walking toward the side room where Sora and Aladdin still stood. "The gifts?"

"Not all of them." Sora picked up the golden rod from where it had fallen when the fight with Cassim was interrupted. "This was what the King of Thieves wanted."

Donald snatched it from his hand, and Iago landed on it. The duck asked, "Who was he?"

"And with all the other great stuff, why go for this thing?" Iago added.

One second later, when all of the group had entered the side room, the emerald on the rod broke out into a blinding silver light. It floated from Donald's feathery grasp, and into the center of the room. Several of them drew their weapons.

A woman's soft voice emerged from the glowing jewel. "Your questions are mine to answer."

The glowing, semi-transparent form of a woman burst from the rod, which was hovering a few inches off the ground. She towered over them all, and appeared not to have legs. She wore robes, and a headdress that looked Egyptian. Her eyes were blank, with no pupils or irises.

"His name is Cassim." She said. "And he sought my sight to find the ultimate treasure."

"Did someone say 'treasure?'" Iago suddenly asked, eyes gleaming with greed. Sora was slightly uncomfortable –but not totally surprised- to see the same gleam in Donald's.

"Genie?" Aladdin began.

"Looks like an oracle..." He said, answering his unspoken question.

"I see all that has been, and all that will be." The woman said.

"Yep." Nehrut said, deadpan. "Oracle. Tells the future."

"How do you know tha-" Axel began, but cut himself off. "You know what? I'm just not gonna ask anymore."

"Where were you registered, Jasmine?" Kairi asked, about to laugh.

Donald and Iago didn't care. "Okay, you know all so tell all! Where's the treasure?"

"You know, the ultimate one?"

"I am bound by the rule of one." The oracle replied calmly. "One question, one answer."

"We only want one answer!" Donald quacked indignantly. "Where is the ultimate treasure?"

"_You_ two have already asked your questions."

Donald's face fell, but Iago would not be deterred. "You mean before? That wasn't a question, that was uh... Thinking out loud!"

"_Very_ loud." Sora plucked Iago from midair, and dragged Donald off to the side of the room.

Now that the surprise had worn off, Jasmine was very excited. "Aladdin, we could learn anything! About our lives and our future!"

"You have but to ask."

Aladdin gazed up at the oracle for a moment, before he replied, "I know what my future is Jasmine: You." He tenderly linked his hand with hers. "But my past... It's a big blank."

He seemed to step out of himself for a moment, and talked more to himself. He took the dagger he had taken from his home, and looked at it. "My mother died when I was just a kid. I never even knew my father or his name. I have no idea where I come from."

"Your question is your choice." The oracle said. "But remember the rule of one. Choose carefully."

He was silent for a few moments, and then looked down. "I don't think you can help me. My past isn't just one question, it's a million."

That was when the oracle calmly dropped the bombshell. "Ah, but mere questions about your past can be answered by your father."

Aladdin's head shot back up. The oracle spread her arms out. Directly in front of her appeared the image of a man's face. He had long, slightly shaggy black hair that was turning grey around the temples. He had a well-trimmed graying beard and moustache, and familiar dark eyes.

"My father is alive?"

!

Several hours had passed since the Forty Thieves had escaped, and the oracle had been discovered. The sun was setting on Agrabah, and the sky was completely orange and yellow. The cleanup of the pavilion was underway, with the off-worlders working alongside Genie.

"Has anybody seen Aladdin?" Goofy asked.

"Not since the whole oracle thing." Nehrut replied, telekinetically sweeping large chunks of rubble into a pile they had set up outside the pavilion.

"Well, it's not every day that you learn your long-since-thought dead dad is actually alive and never tried to contact you." Axel said.

Nehrut threw a smaller piece of rubble into his chest. "What was that f-"

"Hush." Nehrut growled, nodding silently toward Bariss, who was cleaning not ten feet away from them; Someone who had lost her father before really getting to know him, just like Aladdin.

"Thanks for the consideration, Nehrut," She said, having heard everything already, "But actually my situation is much different."

"Just trying to be sensitive." He shrugged. His sensitivity was rewarded with a quick peck on the cheek.

As she walked into the other room, Axel rolled his eyes. When she was out of earshot, he looked the telepath dead in the eye. "When are you going to fess up, already?"

"To what?"

"Oh, don't give me that." He countered. "Everyone here can see that you two have something going on."

"I have no idea-"

"What I'm talking about, yeah yeah. Dude, stop lying to yourself, we _all_ know."

"You're exaggerating."

"Am I?" He looked across the room. "Hey Riku?"

"Yeah?"

"Nehrut has fallen for who, now?"

"Bariss." He replied, deadpan. He went back to his work.

"And now, Riku's _Guardian_." Axel said. The creature was hovering over its master, lifting some of the larger chunks of rubble. "Who is Nehrut crazy for?"

To Nehrut's embarrassment, and great surprise, the Guardian nodded silently toward Bariss, who had just reentered the room.

Axel grinned while Nehrut slapped his palm to his face. "And there you go."

!

Sora was sitting on a bench, in a small back street like many of the others in Agrabah. This one happened to be across the street from Aladdin's little home. He, Abu, and Carpet had left the palace moments ago to find the former street rat.

He could see him from where he sat. He was sitting at his gigantic hole of a window, looking out at the palace. Sora could make out the shape of his father's dagger in his hand, and also saw the oracle's rod leaning by the wall next to him.

The Keybearer was debating on whether or not he should go up there to talk to him. It seemed necessary, and he had done well enough with Beast and Quasimodo, so why not Aladdin, whom he was closer to? All that was stopping him was the fact that he didn't know quite what to say. At least _he_ had gotten to know his father before his death when he was eight.

He was on the verge of walking up there, when two figures appeared on the end of the street. He recognized them right away. "Where's Aladdin?" Jasmine asked.

"Up there." Sora said, inclining his head to the window. "He's just been sitting there for who knows how long."

"Should we go up there?" Kairi wondered out loud.

"Leave it to us." Jasmine said. She walked toward the door at ground level, and was soon out of sight. Abu and Carpet followed.

Sora scooted over on the bench, and patted the empty spot next to him. Kairi sat down. Out of habit, they held hands.

"It makes you think, doesn't it?" She asked, gazing up at the window. Aladdin had turned his head, meaning that Jasmine had entered the room.

"About what?"

"Well, Aladdin never knew his parents." She elaborated, sounding embarrassed. "And I've barely even thought of mine back on the islands."

"You know, neither have I... There's just been so much else happening." Sora pictured his mother –all five feet of her- crushing him in a hug the instant he had walked through the door after he got home.

_And you left three months later, leaving nothing but a sticky note on the fridge._

"We're dead when we get home, aren't we?" Kairi asked, giving word to his own thoughts.

Sora chuckled. "Well, we probably could have given them a _little_ more notice." A look of pure horror crossed his face. "Oh my God, we shared a bed. Your dad is going to _murder_ me."

Now she laughed. She wrapped her arms around him, and leaned into his shoulder. "Well, he'll have to go through me first. Besides, he's the mayor. Murder is frowned upon for somebody in his position."

"I still don't think he'd think twice about the murder thing."

"He's not _that_ serious, Sora. But if it helps you sleep at night, then _I'll_ break it to him." She replied, grinning. "It was my idea, we haven't done anything that would get us on Santa's naughty list, and he won't kill his sweet little girl."

"That could work." Sora admitted. "Still, if I go missing after you tell him, then either I'm dead, or I've gone into hiding."

She shook her head. "Relax, he's not that serious Sora. That thing back on the islands was just to scare you, and keep you from-"

It was at that moment that Carpet flew out of the window above them. Aladdin, Jasmine, and Abu were riding on it.

"That didn't take long." Kairi noted, lifting into the air.

Sora summoned the Keyboard, and the two took off after Carpet. They followed it back to the palace, where it touched down on a large balcony built into the side of the central tower.

Aladdin looked much better than he had when Sora had seen him in the window. Whatever Jasmine had said to him had obviously helped. "Done moping?" Sora asked, grinning.

"Yeah." Aladdin was clutching the oracle's artifact in his hands. "I know my question now."

The rod floated out of his hands, the head of it glowing again. It migrated over the edge of the balcony, and stopped several feet away. The oracle burst into being again, much larger this time.

She was silent for a moment, and gazed down at them with a slightly unsettling gaze. "Have you chosen your question?"

"I have."

"Then ask."

Aladdin took a deep breath as if steeling himself. "Where is my father?"

She stretched out her hand, and pointed out into the desert. "Follow the trail of the Forty Thieves. Your father is trapped within their world."

"What!" This clearly wasn't what he had prepared for. "Is he hurt? How long has he been their prisoner?"

"I am sorry. I can only answer one question." She vanished, and the rod floated into Aladdin's outstretched hand.

He looked at it for a moment, and then at Sora. "I'm going after him. I could use some help..."

"You don't even have to ask." Sora said.

He looked at Jasmine. "I'll be back in time for our wedding. I promise."

She looked at him with infinite understanding, and pulled him into an embrace. She looked over his shoulder at Sora. "You bring my fiance back in good condition Sora, or the universe won't be big enough to hide from me."

He bowed, grinning.

It took a bit of debate to decide who would accompany Aladdin to the thieves' lair. Eventually, everybody settled on Sora, Nehrut, and Bariss. Nehrut would be able to sense the thieves if they managed to lose their physical trail, and Bariss had skill in tracking, as well as dealing with underworld characters. The rest would stay behind to continue the cleanup of the palace.

Before he left, Kairi caught Sora in a final embrace. "Come back in one piece. Otherwise that bed is going to feel very lonely."

!

The sun had set just over an hour ago, and the countless stars were shimmering like so many diamonds. Aladdin, Abu, and (for some reason nobody could comprehend) Iago, were sitting on Carpet, riding south after the Forty Thieves. To their right, Sora rode the Keyboard. Nehrut flew to the left, Bariss floating above him.

"I should have stayed with the genie." Iago was complaining. "Manual labor beats danger any day."

"Maybe in your book." Sora said.

"I agree with Sora." Nehrut added. "Now hush, we're getting close."

They were following the trail of the thieves via Nehrut's telepathic abilities. They had been able to confirm that all forty of them were still alive, and that Klaxam and Zexion were with them.

They had gone several miles –all the way across the desert- to a mountainous area. Sora soon glimpsed something that he thought he'd never see in Agrabah: an ocean. Moments later, they could hear the sound of voices, and the distinctive sound of several galloping horses.

Soon, they were within sight of a small mass of bodies moving rapidly across the beach along the side of a sheer cliff face. Ahead of them, the beach ended.

"Well," Aladdin said, grinning, "They have nowhere to go. We've got 'em trapped."

Bariss quietly interrupted. "We can't attack yet. If we strike now, they won't be a threat anymore, but we'll be right back where we started. We'll have no idea where to find your father."

"So, I'm getting the feeling you've done this before?" Sora said, half-smiling.

"I picked up a few things over the years." She replied, the corners of her mouth twitching.

They landed behind the thieves, and hid on the other side of a large, wet boulder, out of their sight. Peeking his head out, Sora could see that the thieves were all sitting astride horses, and were staring out at a very tall rock formation jutting out from the water, around a hundred feet away from the shore.

He saw the King of Thieves at the front, on his own horse. Sa'luk was on his own, next to him. Klaxam and Zexion were on foot.

"They're just standing there." Sora said.

"Why?" Aladdin wondered. He had changed from his robes into more appropriate traveling clothes of blue and deep red, with a beige cape. He'd traded in his familiar fez for a light-blue turban.

Cassim rode up to the front of the thieves, to the point where his horse's hooves were in the shallow water. He raised his hand, and called out two words, "Open sesame!"

For about three frozen seconds, nothing happened. But then, the sea started churning, starting at the point where the ocean water met the rocky island. The earth trembled underfoot, and a high crack appeared in the side of the island. The waters split apart at this crack, and separated.

In seconds, there was a path of sea bed leading to the very base of the island, with high walls of salt water on either side.

Wasting no time staring, Klaxam, Zexion, and the Forty Thieves rushed down the path toward the new opening in the rock. It seemed to be glowing. The moment the last one entered, the walls of water began to fall into the opening that they had formed.

"Move!" Sora shouted, taking off on the Keyboard again. Aladdin and the rest were right behind him.

They made it inside half a second before the opening in the rock slammed shut.

!

_So, the Aladdin storyline continues. I read that some of you haven't actually seen this movie. Hope this does it justice!_

_Leave a review, please!_


	107. Chapter 106: Challenge and Treasure

_Next chapter. Let's go!_

_Sora: "DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else… Uh, that's it, I guess."_

_Yeah, we couldn't think of a joke, sorry._

_!_

Chapter 106: Challenge and Treasure

The inside of the cave was extraordinary. Sora was slightly reminded of the Court of Miracles.

It was as if some great civilization long past had attempted to build their own city in the massive cavern underneath the island. Ancient structures were all around, perfectly preserved for the most part. The only sign of damage was the rubble by the entrance they had come through.

"Incredible." Bariss breathed.

"How old do you think this stuff is?" Sora asked.

"About twenty-five hundred years, maybe somewhere in that general area." Nehrut guessed.

"How do you know that?" Aladdin asked, surprised.

"Bookworm friend... huge library... way too much pointless information." He visibly shuddered.

"C'mon." Sora walked as quietly as he could in the direction the thieves appeared to have gone. They inched along, not touching anything, and avoiding large puddles that would probably have made noise if stepped in.

"Shouldn't we have run into Heartless or something by now?" Nehrut asked. "Not that I'm complaining, but it seems a little convenient."

"Traps usually do." Bariss said. "Never let your guard down."

"Oh, that's really reassuring." Iago grumbled.

It only took moments to find the Forty Thieves. They were all assembled in an area that resembled something of a city square. Huge pillars stretched from the ground to the rocky ceiling above. Elaborately carved statues lined the area.

The Forty Thieves were all assembled around an empty wooden table sitting in the center of the cavern. Klaxam and Zexion were sitting on a flight of stairs nearby, enjoying the show.

"We could have had all the loot at the wedding." Sa'luk was raving. "But we followed the _King's_ plan! And how this is what we have to show for our trouble in Agrabah."

He slammed his fist down onto the table, actually breaking it in two. "NOTHING!"

The big man stomped over to the King of Thieves, who had pulled down his hood. "Your time has come to a close, Cassim."

Aladdin practically fell over when he finally saw Cassim's face. It was the exact same one that the oracle had shown him.

"Your dad is the..." Sora began.

Before he got any further, Cassim replied to Sa'luk's threat, and they listened. His voice revealed no trace of fear when he said, "If you're talking about spilling my blood, well I just don't see that happening."

"Then let me open your eyes!" Sa'luk raised his claws to strike.

"Don't do anything stupid-" Nehrut began.

But Aladdin was already in motion, leaping from their hiding place, and sprinting across the room to the large man whose back was to him. He crashed through the thieves before they were aware that he was there, and leapt onto Sa'luk's back, bringing him to the ground before he brought the claws down onto his father's head.

The remaining thieves gaped in surprise for a moment, while Aladdin said, "Run! I've got him! I'm Aladdin, you're my father!"

But it only took a few seconds for the heavily-muscled Sa'luk to throw the scrawny young man off of him. He advanced toward him.

"Hero time." Sora said. He, Nehrut, and Bariss rushed from their hiding place, leaving Abu, Iago, and Carpet under cover, and closing the distance between them and the thieves in seconds. Sora dove in between Aladdin and Sa'luk, blocking the golden blades with Oblivion. Nehrut and Bariss flanked him. The big man snarled at him.

"STOP!" Cassim suddenly shouted. All eyes turned to him.

His expression was almost disbelieving as he looked at the dagger resting in his palm. Apparently, it had fallen from Aladdin's belt during his attack. "The boy is my son."

Sa'luk backed away, but Klaxam and Zexion had joined the group now, so Sora, Nehrut, and Bariss didn't lower their weapons. The two Nobodies had curious looks on their faces. Sora had expected something like triumph, or smugness. Instead, they looked more thoughtful, as if they were curious as to how things would play out now.

Cassim held the dagger up. "I gave this dagger to my wife years ago. I told her to give it to our newborn son, Aladdin."

Aladdin got to his feet. He looked like he was trying to process several conflicting emotions at once. Ignoring the thieves' surprised whispers, he blankly stated, "_You_ are the King of Thieves?"

He shrugged, as if this wasn't anything very important. "Like it or not boy, we are blood." He tossed the sheathed dagger to him, and he caught it. Slowly, Cassim walked past Sora, who didn't let his guard down. But, he didn't try to attack him, and instead, placed his hands on his son's shoulders.

He looked him up and down for a moment, his eyes filled with emotion. "Look at you. I never thought I would see you again... Has it been so long?"

Aladdin began to smile, but Sa'luk spoke up again. "Blood or mud, the boy is an intruder. And so are his little friends. We have _rules_ about intruders."

Wonderfully timed, a pair of thieves stepped forward. One was holding the squirming pair of Abu and Iago, and the other gripped Carpet in both hands, despite its best efforts to escape. "They've found our secret lair." Sa'luk continued. "They've seen too much. They must all die."

While most of the thieves agreed with raucous applause, it was clear that Iago wasn't too happy about the news, and tried to appeal to the King of Theves. "_Die_! He's your son! I'm his friend! Cast a vote for mercy here!"

"Yes, Cassim." Sa'luk taunted. "Mercy would be so like you. Soft and weak."

The silence hung in the air for a few seconds, but Sora heard someone mutter very quietly, "Maybe Sa'luk should be king..."

"Kill them." Cassim said with a shrug.

This was instantly greeted with cheering from the thieves. Sora's grip on the Keyblade tightened as Sa'luk raised his claws...

"Or..."

All eyes were once again drawn to Cassim, who appeared to be thinking very hard about something. "Yes, the boy could... Yes, and his friends –nah."

"The boy could what?"

"Nothing. Probably a bad idea."

"Let's hear it!"

"Well, it seems to me that... _Oh_, never mind."

"What?" Sa'luk finally asked.

Sora noticed the grin that Cassim was doing a good job of hiding. "My boy could represent them, and take the _Challenge_."

This was greeted by even more enthusiasm than the prospect of an execution. The thieves were smiling, and laughing excitedly.

"That's that!" Cassim announced. "My son will face the Challenge, and the fate of the others will depend on his success."

"And I shall be the one to test him." Sa'luk offered, smirking.

"You're on." Aladdin said, glaring into his eyes.

Klaxam and Zexion were silent throughout the whole affair. Sora looked closely at them, wondering why they were making absolutely no effort to capture the Keybearer they needed.

!

The Forty Thieves 'escorted' them to the top of the island. Cleverly concealed from sight to anybody from the ground by strategically placed boulders, was an arena-like area. It was just a large, flat, torch-lit place on the island, clearly intended for something like the Challenge.

The thieves were all clustered around the arena, talking eagerly among themselves, and placing bets on who would come out the winner in the fight between Aladdin and Sa'luk. From what Sora was hearing, the odds were steeped heavily against his friend.

He, Nehrut, and Bariss were standing by Zexion and Klaxam, who still hadn't said a word to them, but seemed not to want them to escape. Iago and Abu were in a small cage nearby, and Carpet was being sat on by a particularly heavy-looking man.

Sora finally decided to say something to the Brotherhood's second-in-command. "What are you planning?"

"Can't a Nobody simply enjoy a fight to the death?" He replied casually.

"No, he can't." Sora said, deadpan.

Klaxam chuckled. "Fair point. You're wondering why I haven't tried to apprehend you yet, aren't you? Well, you're not the only prize I'm after, Keyblade Master."

The Nobody turned to Nehrut, smiling. "Go ahead, try to read my mind. Try to see what I want."

"So you do have another motive." Nehrut said. He reflexively adjusted his body into something resembling a fighting stance, and moved slightly to block Bariss from his sight.

"Well, isn't that obvious?" Zexion said. He looked between Nehrut and Bariss for a moment, and smirked. "_Love_ won't protect her, you know."

That brought a blush to both their faces, as well as expressions of anger. But before they could do anything else, they noticed Aladdin and Cassim walk to the arena. Sa'luk came after them.

"What's going on, _Dad_?" Sora heard Aladdin mutter.

If Cassim was hurt by the way his son spoke, he didn't let it on. "Oh, the Challenge is simple enough. Only one man survives." The two looked at Sa'luk, all six-foot-something of him, snarling down at the young man.

Cassim handed his son his dagger. "But you're my son. You'll be that man. Knock him dead, kid." As he backed out of the arena to stand by Sora, he added, "Seriously."

He raised his voice to address the thieves. "Aladdin verses Sa'luk. The winner is part of our ranks, and decides the fate of these prisoners here."

Sora gulped, slightly nervous. One of the thieves stepped into the arena, and raised a scimitar high into the air. When he brought it down (leaving a scratch on the ground) the fight was on.

Sa'luk moved first, charging at his opponent with a roar. He was faster than he appeared, and nearly took Aladdin's head off with his first strike. Fortunately, Aladdin was quick enough to dodge it, and deliver a quick jab into his stomach.

While this should have at least hurt a normal man, it barely even slowed down Sa'luk. He delivered a punch to Aladdin's stomach with his empty hand that knocked him off his feet. He moved in to finish the fight quickly.

Aladdin's leg shot out, tripping Sa'luk. He fell onto his back, as Aladdin got back to his feet. Before he could do anything, however, the thief was back on his feet, and very angry. He lunged forward, swiping thrice as he approached him. The young man leapt away from the onslaught, narrowly avoiding the glinting claws as they came close to cutting across vital organs.

"He's your son. Why are you making him do this?" Sora asked Cassim. The older man was watching the battle, and he noted that he looked both nervous, and slightly hopeful.

Cassim shot him an irritated sidelong glance. Very quietly, he said "He has a chance at survival this way."

Sa'luk struck toward Aladdin again, and missed by a hair's breadth. "Oh yeah." Nehrut muttered, deadpan. "You're father of the year."

Aladdin unsheathed his dagger, and waited for Sa'luk to make a mistake. He just needed one narrow window of opportunity, and found it. His opponent had become frustrated, and put too much of his weight into an attack that missed.

The dagger flashed, creating a narrow gash in Sa'luk's weapon arm. He grunted briefly from the pain, and drove his elbow into Aladdin's chest, knocking the air from him, and shoving him close to the edge of the arena.

He looked behind him, seeing nothing but a huge drop into the ocean below. By now, all the thieves were cheering, save for one. Cassim finally looked afraid, as did Sora, Nehrut, and Bariss. The latter three were getting ready to leap to his rescue if he went over the edge.

Using his dagger, he blocked another of Sa'luk's claw strikes. However, the pure force behind it pressed him back to the very edge. His heel hovered over the precipice, just one inch from certain doom.

One final punch, and Aladdin plunged over the side toward the water.

The thieves' cheering was deafening, and Sora immediately rushed forward to help. Klaxam barred his way, his staff in hand. Cassim ran past him.

"He's still there!" One of the thieves exclaimed.

"Say again?"

Sora darted around Klaxam (who wasn't trying to block him any longer) and shouldered his way through the thieves to get a view of the side of the rock. Cassim, Nehrut, and Bariss were behind him.

"Smart guy." Roxas said, admiringly.

It seemed that Aladdin had plunged his dagger into the rock face as he fell, slowing his descent, and allowing him to gain a foothold on a narrow rim of rock on the side of the island.

Sa'luk snarled, and leapt down himself. He used his golden claws in similar fashion to Aladdin, and slid down the rock toward him.

"Can he do that?" Bariss asked Cassim.

"Anything goes in the Challenge." Cassim said.

Sa'luk touched down on the narrow rock outcropping that Aladdin was standing on. He smirked, and advanced slowly toward the young man, claw raised for the kill.

Sora fully expected his friend to die, but once again, he underestimated the street rat's ingenuity. His dagger was still lodged into the rock over his head. He jumped up to it, and grabbed it with both hands. He kicked his feet forward, catching Sa'luk in the stomach before he realized what he was doing.

Sa'luk screamed as he fell, until he hit the water with a loud splash.

Things remained like that for a moment, until one of the thieves finally lowered a rope down for Aladdin to climb up. He wrenched the dagger free, and took it.

Moments later, he was back at the arena. Sora, Nehrut, and Bariss got to his side. The eyes of the Forty Thieves were on them. Cassim stood in their midst, arms crossed, and expression unreadable.

"You killed Sa'luk. The code of the Forty Thieves is very clear on this point..."

There was complete and absolute silence for exactly one suspenseful second.

Then, he smiled. "You're in."

The thieves cheered. But not a soul noticed the two Nobodies looked at each other with smiles on their faces. "You know what to do." Klaxam said.

Zexion nodded, and disappeared.

!

It took nearly two hours for things to calm down at the den of the Forty Thieves. Zexion and Klaxam had disappeared in the time since then, and Sora was careful to keep an eye out for them.

Cassim had pulled the off-worlders, Aladdin, Abu, and Iago away from the thieves. Carpet was somewhere else, doing whatever it was that magic carpets did during their down time.

The seven of them were in a cavern that formed a sort of passageway. In the dim, flickering light provided by Cassim's torch, Sora could see the warped, water-polished rock structures lining the walls. They were walking through something of a stream, where water had gotten trapped in the cavern during high tide.

They often found themselves tripping over rocks despite the torch's light. Sora found himself missing Kairi, and not just because her Light would have been better to guide them along the tunnel.

"You have it bad, dude." Roxas said. "It's been less than twelve hours, and you're missing her like crazy."

_Well, at least you never have to be separated from Namine. Can you tell her to tell Kairi that everything is going fine?_

"No prob."

"I find my son, and lose my enemy." Cassim was saying from ahead of them all. "You've done your old man proud, Aladdin."

"I was just trying to stay alive." Aladdin spat.

Cassim let out a short laugh. "If you didn't fight, you would have been killed, along with your friends. So says the code of the Forty Thieves."

"Does this code by any chance have any rules that don't end in horrible death?" Sora asked.

"It's a strict code." Cassim said, shrugging.

"Oh, well as long as you're _consistent_." Nehrut said, deadpan.

They had arrived at the end of the tunnel. The stream was gone, and ahead of them was a stone wall with odd symbols on it. Cassim walked directly to it. "But there is one thing that I added. We never hurt the innocent."

"Uh, for future reference," Iago said, "I'm as innocent as the day I was hatched."

Abu chittered something that sounded suspiciously like, 'Oh brother.' And Bariss added, "That would have sounded much more convincing if you hadn't been drooling over the treasure at the wedding."

Cassim chuckled, and removed the golden crest from his cape. Now that Sora had a better look at it, he recognized it as the same one that was on Aladdin's dagger. He touched it to a small gap in the stone wall, and it slid aside.

They all stepped into a small chamber that looked like it might have once belonged to someone of importance. Several ancient, impressive ornaments were strewn about the room. These included what appeared to be a globe made of gold, and a shining wooden wardrobe.

Cassim lit some extra torches in the room with his own. "Listen, my young friends, there is a treasure. The ultimate treasure... compared to this, a pharoh's tomb is a pauper's grave, a sultan's fortune is nothing but lunch munny!"

"And I am this close to it." He hissed, holding his index finger and thumb a centimeter apart for emphasis.

"That's tantalizingly close." Iago observed, eyes gleaming.

Cassim was rummaging through the wardrobe. "But, it is on an island that is never in the same place twice. The Vanishing Isle."

"What is this 'ultimate treasure?'" Aladdin asked bitterly. He had been this way toward Cassim since his fight with Sa'luk had ended.

"The big one, boy." He unfurled the large piece of cloth he had found in the wardrobe. Sora instantly recognized the symbol from the dagger, of the golden hand. "The Hand of Midas."

Sora had a feeling he knew where this was going. He had heard his mother tell the story plenty of times: The myth of the king who had loved his wealth so much that he wished that everything he touched be turned to gold. Unfortunately for him, this also included his food and drink, and his daughter.

Apparently Aladdin knew the story as well. "It's just a myth."

"It's not a myth, boy!" Cassim barked. He pulled aside a curtain on the far wall of the chamber, revealing an underwater cavern far below them. "It was once right here. Look, there's your proof!"

Sora, Nehrut, and Bariss had all seen crazy things in their lives, but they were still surprised at what they saw by the light of Cassim's torch. There was a ship beneath the calm water, one about half the size of the _Black Pearl_ and with the head of a ram at the stem.

It was made completely of shining, glimmering gold.

"From stern to stem, every piece of rigging, every peg and board, all of it! Solid gold!"

"Adopt me, Daddy-O!" Iago exclaimed, his greedy eyes fixed intently on the ship.

"Touched by the Hand of Midas." Cassim said.

"And sunk by it." Aladdin muttered, turning away, seemingly unimpressed by the amazing treasure below them.

"Oh, you don't understand." Cassim retorted. "You don't know what it's like to have nothing. To stare up at the palace and know you deserve more!" He tossed his torch into the water. "To be called 'street rat.'"

"Where do you think you left him?" Sora shot out.

This apparently deflated Cassim's anger a bit. He sighed, and walked over to Aladdin. He placed a hand on his shoulder. "I knew what I wanted for my family: The best. I couldn't go and come back empty-handed."

He walked over to the golden globe. "But, the weeks turned to months, and the months turned to years." Now he looked as if he was going to cry. "I came back to Agrabah one night, but I couldn't find my wife, or my son. I thought my family was lost forever... At that moment, I would have traded anything to get your mother back."

The bitter note in Aladdin's voice had disappeared. "We never wanted gold. We wanted you." He walked up to him. "I wanted a father. I still do." A spark entered his eyes. "Come to my wedding. This time, you have an invitation."

"Aladdin, I just don't know."

"Dad, we're not going back to Agrabah until morning. At least think about it?"

He left the room, and Abu followed him. Sora, Nehrut, and Bariss, however, remained behind.

"Now that you've answered his questions, maybe you'll answer ours." Sora said.

"What could I tell you that would be of any value?" Cassim asked, not quite understanding.

"The Brotherhood of the Dark. Why did you ally yourself with them?"

He shrugged. "Those two men offered their resources to us, in exchange for our own services."

"Why would they want the Forty Thieves?" Nehrut wondered. "It's not like they'd be particularly dangerous to us."

"Excuse me?" Cassim quirked an eyebrow.

"No offense, but with the exception of a few, most of them are just thugs. They're more of a danger to civilians, not warriors."

"Did they want the oracle for themselves, do you think?" Bariss asked.

"Whatever the case, Cassim," Sora said, "You should break off whatever bargain you've got with them. None of them can be trusted, and they'll turn on you in a second."

"Well, they seem to have forsaken us already." Cassim said, with a shrug. "Normally, that Klaxam man would be here."

"Just make sure you don't turn your back on them." Sora warned, and walked away with Nehrut and Bariss.

"What do you think?" Bariss asked, once they were out of earshot, and making their way back down the cavern. Far ahead of them, they could see Aladdin holding a hushed conversation with Abu.

"He's a hard guy to read." Nehrut answered. "But he seemed to be telling the truth."

"I still say we keep an eye on him."

"Agreed."

"Agreed."

!

Unbeknownst to those in the caves, a heated battle was raging in the ocean just outside, between one man, and two fully grown bull sharks.

This large, muscular man drove his claw-like weapon into the base of the first one's neck, ending its life. As the other one rushed toward him from behind, all predatory drive, the man snarled.

Three seconds later, it was over. The shark's immobile form lay sprawled out on the beach.

Sa'luk stepped out of the ocean, panting but uninjured. Two people stood on the beach by the shark, applauding sardonically.

Klaxam and Zexion walked up to Sa'luk, hands extended to shake.

!

_Dum, Dum, Duuuuuuummmm…_

_Sa'luk's going to have the EPA all over him for that. Anyway, hope you guys liked this!_

_Please review!_


	108. Chapter 107: Second Chances

_Oh god, this is a sucky week. Thankfully, at least I can look forward to the release of Batman: Arkham City on Teusday._

_Zexion: (Flipping casually through his tome) "Just don't kill yourself until this entire story is posted."_

_You're such a nice boost, Zexion._

_Zexion: "You expected me to care? DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else."_

_!_

Chapter 107: Second Chances

The streets of Agrabah were dark, lit only by the pale light of the moon and stars. The homes were all dark, and the streets were completely empty.

This suited Rasoul just fine. As he approached a street corner, scimitar in hand, he heard, "Captain. Over here."

"Show yourself!"

"You're alone. Good."

He approached the short, shadowy figure in the doorway of an abandoned house. He brandished his sword threateningly, but the figure didn't seem intimidated.

"So, you're the one with information about the Forty Thieves?"

"Captain, what would you say if I _handed_ you the King of Thieves?"

Rasoul sheathed his weapon. "I'd say, 'What's in it for you?'"

"Oh, I'll just sleep better knowing that he's off the streets, and hopefully on the executioner's block. That's reward enough for me, Captain."

He scoffed. "Everyone knows that the King of Thieves cannot be caught. What miracle do you possess?"

"Two little words that will make you Agrabah's greatest hero." Zexion said, stepping into the street. "'Open sesame.'"

!

It was a bright morning back at the island of the Forty Thieves. At the top stood Sora, Nehrut, Bariss, Cassim, Iago, and Abu. From the shore, Aladdin cruised toward them on Carpet.

"Hop on, Dad!" He said.

"Oh no, I'm not getting on that thing." He said. "It's a rug. You sweep dirt under it, you don't fly on it. At least I don't."

"Ah, don't be afraid, it's fun!"

"I am not afraid! Now get off that thing before you break your neck!"

Sora found himself struggling not to laugh, and by the way that Nehrut and Bariss looked, it was plain that they felt the same way.

"We'll take horses." Cassim said, in a decisive tone. "Horses were good enough for my father, and for his father before him. And they were _always_ good enough for me."

"This guy is definitely his father." Sora muttered, summoning the Keyboard.

!

The beautiful pavilion had been completely restored since the Forty Thieves had attacked the wedding. This time, however, there were noticeably fewer people around. There were only eight people at the pavilion stairs, and they seemed to be waiting for them.

Kairi was the first one off the stairs, flying toward Sora. He leapt off the Keyboard, and met her halfway. She immediately crushed him in her embrace, and planted her lips on his. They collapsed onto the polished tiles of the pavillion walkway, as the rest of the group came out to greet the new arrivals.

"Alright Kairi, you've had him long enough, now let him breathe." Riku said, smirking.

Reluctantly, she removed herself from Sora, and Riku helped him to his feet. He immediately put him in a headlock and gave him a noogie. "We missed ya, Spiky."

"What, nobody missed _us_?" Nehrut asked, in mock hurt. When Donald and Goofy hugged him after they had done the same to Sora, he added, "Eh, I'll take it."

"Oh, Al!" Genie was saying. "You're back, and your front! You're both here!"

"That's great Genie, uh-"

"Security's tight. No big crowd. Immediate family and closest friends only."

"Perfect! Because this is my-"

"No lowlifes this time! Other than the parrot and duck, of course." Genie didn't seem to be hearing anything he was saying. "Observe!"

From beneath the ground a few meters away, a panel opened, and a large blue, very futuristic robot with Genie's face emerged from it. Arming two laser cannons on either side of its 'head' it said, "You have violated the perimeter of the Aladdin and Jasmine wedding. Prepare to be vaporized. Thank you!"

It fired, and Nehrut threw up a hasty telekinetic shield. "Armed and dangerous!" Genie said, proudly. "I'd like to see one of those Forty Thieves or Brotherhood agents get within an inch of this wedding!"

"Allow me to introduce-" Iago began.

Cassim chuckled. "The King of Thieves."

While this news surprised the majority of the group, Genie took it to the extreme. After a second of stunned silence, a walkie-talkie appeared in his hand. "All units, we have a code red!"

Within seconds, several dozen Genies in SWAT team uniforms, and carrying assault rifles were swarming over the area. Somewhere, an alarm klaxon was going off. Helicopters that shouldn't have existed in Agrabah were hovering overhead, snipers inside. Aladdin watched it all with an expression that suggested he had seen it all before.

Dozens of Genies surrounded Cassim, clumped close together, and rifles aimed. "Do not attempt to move, or we will be shooting ourselves."

"Genie." Aladdin interrupted, squeezing through the mass of Genies.

"Back off Al, this creep's got a yellow sheet as long as my arm."

"Genie, meet my dad."

He gaped at Cassim in surprise. All but one Genie disappeared, and this one got rid of his SWAT uniform. He marched up to him speaking quietly. "If you're Al's dad... And the King of Thieves, I just want to know one thing."

"Yeah?" Cassim asked defiantly.

Genie put his waiter's suit back on. "Chicken or sea bass?"

Breathing a sigh of relief, Aladdin took his father by the arm. "Come on Dad, you've got to meet Jasmine and the Sultan."

"Hold on." Genie interrupted, indicating Cassim's very recognizable clothing. "Don't you think we should lose the 'Agrabah's Most Wanted' look, first?"

"Yeah, besides, the blue cape thing is mine." Nehrut added.

As Genie worked up a new outfit for Cassim, Sora pulled his off-world party to the side.

"He claims that he's turned over a new leaf, but keep your guard up. He might still try to pull something even if he does really care about his son."

"You're the boss." Donald said.

!

One wardrobe change later, the group stood in the Sultan's throne room. Sora had the same sort of feeling that he'd had in King Mickey's audience chamber. The Sultan was a small man, in a very large room.

Cassim was knelt down in front of the Sultan's throne. The tiny man was getting up from it, and Jasmine was standing in front of Cassim.

"My boy Aladdin must have been born under a lucky star to find such a treasure." Cassim said to Jasmine, getting to his feet, and kissing her hand in a gentlemanly gesture.

"You are most definitely Aladdin's father." She said with a sly grin.

"Oh, it must have been dreadful!" The Sultan exclaimed. "Trapped by the Forty Thieves and that awful Brotherhood."

"Oh boy..." Goofy muttered, standing with the rest of the group at the side of the room.

"I try to block out the memories." Cassim said, placing his hand to his forehead, and squeezing his eyes shut.

"Say no more!" The Sultan said. "Not another word on the subject."

"Yes, yes. Let's turn our attention to happier thoughts. The blessed union of our children!"

He scooped the small man up into a brotherly hug.

"Man, this guy can act." Axel muttered, impressed.

"They love him!" Aladdin said excitedly. Looking at him, Sora thought that he had never seen Aladdin so happy. "All he needed was a second chance."

!

"You Brotherhood rats sold us out!" One of the thieves exclaimed from behind the dungeon door. "You'll pay for this!"

Klaxam and Zexion weren't moved by the threats and accusations, and merely walked away back down the hallway of the palace dungeon.

"The palace guards performed surprisingly well." Zexion admitted. "But that doesn't change the fact that we're still short one King."

"I wouldn't have put it past them to have missed a few of them." Klaxam shrugged. "It's not unexpected, but we may as well put on a show for them."

He opened the door to an interrogation chamber, where Rasoul and two of his fellow guards were waiting for them. "You failed to capture the King of Thieves."

"That's because he was not at the hideout." Rasoul spat.

"Really?" Zexion said. "Where else would he be?"

The door leading to the main palace buildings opened. A skinny, nervous-looking guard stepped inside. "Um, captain Rasoul?"

"What?"

"Well, the Sultan said he won't be able to sentence your prisoners until tomorrow."

"What's more important than sentencing my prisoners?" Rasoul asked, sounding as though he didn't believe it possible.

"Why, the wedding!" He said, as if he was surprised that he didn't know. "Princess Jasmine and Aladdin are finally getting married!"

"Aladdin?" Klaxam said, grinning. "You didn't capture him along with the others?"

"Why would he have been with the Forty Thieves?" Rasoul asked.

"His father is the King of Thieves." Klaxam said.

"And didn't you know?" Zexion added. "They just arrived at the palace an hour ago."

!

The wedding (much, much smaller this time) was minutes from starting. While the participants in the main room of the pavilion above were nearly ready to begin, there were two in the palace treasury with different plans.

"Here's the monkey's lock pick." Iago said, handing one of Abu's old 'toys' to Cassim.

Quickly, the father of the groom picked the treasury lock, and pushed the door open. All of the wedding gifts, as well as a great deal of royal treasure were stored in this room. The oracle's rod was sitting on a golden pedestal in the center of the room.

"I promise you, bird," Cassim muttered, reaching for the rod, "After this, I go straight."

"Straight to the dungeon."

Rasoul emerged from behind a golden sarcophagus, looking unbelievably smug. "We've been expecting you."

Cassim reached for his sword. But no sooner had he placed his hand on the hilt, than he had a blade to his throat. He glared at Klaxam from the other side of his double-bladed weapon.

A dozen palace guards strode into the room, weapons ready.

!

The pavilion was ready and everyone was in place, except for the father of the groom. People were starting to get worried.

"If he's tried anything, he could be half-way back to his hideout by now." Riku muttered to Sora.

"If he's not here in five minutes, we go looking."

"Do you think something is wrong?" Jasmine was asking Aladdin.

"Genie, could you find him?" Aladdin asked the magical being floating near the reconstructed alter.

The doors to the pavilion burst open. The Keyblade had appeared in Sora's hand before he could even think. He nearly threw himself in that direction before he realized what he was looking at. The room's occupants all looked shocked.

Three guards were there, and one of them had Cassim in chains. He marched the King of Thieves into the room, his two lackeys flanking him.

"Rasoul, what is the meaning of this?" The Sultan asked.

"Your Majesty," He said smugly. Sora suddenly found himself disliking the man very much, similarly to how he had disliked Beckett, Clayton, and Larxene, "Meet the King of Thieves. We seized him in the treasury."

Aladdin tried to approach his father, but Axel held him back. Rasoul was holding the oracle's rod. "He was after this again. And here is his accomplice."

Sora wasn't as surprised as he thought he should have been when another guard showed them Iago –stuck inside of one handcuff with his feathers sticking up at odd angles. "Big misunderstanding! It's a slap on the wrist and community service kind of thing."

"Now I know why you really came back." Aladdin said, bitterness and anger in his voice.

The Sultan looked slightly dazed. "Your father is the leader of the Forty Thieves?"

"Aladdin, did you know?" Jasmine asked.

"I thought I could change him. I had to try."

Cassim lowered his head. "You can change my clothes, Aladdin. But you can't change what I am."

"And the law is now crystal clear on what we must do." Rasoul said.

The Sultan sighed, and looked as if he was seriously about to regret what he had to say. "I'm afraid that there is no other way. Take the prisoners to the dungeon... For life."

Iago's objections were silenced when the guard holding his cuffs snapped the other one shut around his beak. As they walked away, Sora called, "Rasoul! How did you find out about them?"

"Hmph." He scoffed. "It's hardly your business, but we received a confidential tipoff from two men."

"Klaxam and Zexion." Bariss growled.

!

It occurred to Sora that Aladdin might have been spending more and more of his time in his old home than he was in the royal palace these days. That was where he, Genie, Abu, Carpet, and the off-worlders were now.

Nobody had said a word for a while, each of them trying to process his or her own thoughts.

Finally, Aladdin spoke his own, "The oracle was right. My father was trapped within the world of the Forty Thieves. Trapped by his own greed." He moved the curtain from the window, and looked out at the palace yet again. "I was so _stupid_ to think I could change him."

"Aladdin," Kairi said, "Trying to show him a better life wasn't stupid. It was noble."

"But leaving him alone with the parrot..." Axel added. "_That_ was stupid."

Kairi threw a rock at him, which he caught. So Sora threw another rock, which got him in the chest.

"Everything was perfect before he came back into my life." Aladdin went on, oblivious to the rocks. "I just want things the way they were." A kind of fierce determination came into his eyes. "Genie, I need my father's clothes."

"Um, Al? Have you wrapped the turban too tight? C'mon why do you wanna dress in the King of Thieves ensemble?" But he summoned the blue cape, hood, and black tunic anyway. "Might I suggest something that doesn't say, 'Arrest me!'"

Aladdin paid him no attention as he hurriedly put the clothes on over his own. When he pulled up the dust-guard that covered the lower half of his face, Sora could have sworn that he was looking at Cassim himself.

Genie had turned into the oracle. "I'm seeing... I'm seeing NOTHING in your future if you dress like this!"

"I'm breaking my father out of that dungeon. The guards will never realize I was there." He stalked toward the exit. "Tonight, the King of Thieves will make his most miraculous escape ever; Out of my life."

He was gone for just a few seconds. "We have to help him, don't we?" Riku asked.

"Afraid so." Sora muttered. "Genie, could you give us some more capes?"

Genie created some differently sized robes for all the human males in the room. While they didn't look exactly like Cassim or Aladdin even with the hood and face guard, they seemed passable imitations, despite the height differences.

"I know I'm going to regret this." Axel muttered, before he followed Aladdin, Sora, Riku, and Nehrut out onto the streets.

!

_Not a lot going on here if you've already seen the movie. More action next chapter, though! Stay tuned._

_Review, please!_


	109. Chapter 108: Breakout

_I meant to update this sooner, but wow, Arkham City is addicting. I just finished the story mode, and still have about forty percent left. But enough excuses!_

_Genie: "DK here doesn't own a single thing! Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, Batman, yada yada yada!"_

_!_

Chapter 108: Breakout

The five fake Kings of Thieves made it to the palace in minutes. They all entered the dungeons together, a rough plan already in mind.

Almost as soon as they arrived in the dungeon, they heard the approaching voices of two guards. They immediately hid around the nearest corner. In the dimly lit corridor, they saw them walking past. One of them had a ring of keys on his belt. There was a good chance that they'd be unnecessary, with two Keybearers in their midst, but it didn't hurt to take chances.

One of the Kings raised his hand slightly. The ring of keys silently floated slowly off of the belt, and into his hand. They waited until the two guards were out of sight (totally unaware that they'd just been robbed) and crept down the hall from which they had come.

Seconds later, they came to a door. The Oblivion Keyblade appeared in the hands of the shortest of the Kings, and he tapped the knob of the locked door. It slid open easily, revealing a small, deep cell. Its human and parrot occupants looked surprised to see them.

The second tallest of the thieves entered, pulling down his hood to reveal himself as Aladdin. The other two that entered the cell pulled their hoods down as well: Sora and Riku. Their partners –Nehrut and Axel- were standing watch just outside.

Cassim stood up as Sora tapped the chains binding his wrists with the Keyblade. "We're here to say goodbye."

"But why are you-"

"We don't have much time." Aladdin said. "While the guards chase us, you get out."

"I can't let you-"

"Forget it." Aladdin said, already donning his hood and face guard again. He added, somewhat smugly, "They can't catch us." He tossed him the ring of keys that they had taken from the guard, and they all took off down the hall.

!

In the guards' makeshift break room, Rasoul was being a blowhard, as always. He was smugly telling his comrades in the room, "When the Sultan gives me my due, I'll put the good word in for you. You know, the little people who would-"

Five figures in blue dashed past the door, and his jaw dropped. "It can't be."

He and the other two guards in the room rushed into the hallway. At the door on the far side stood not one, but five images of the King of Thieves. Regardless of the height difference, their identities couldn't be determined beneath the hoods and capes.

"I told you he wasn't a man!" One of the guards exclaimed, terrified. "He's a demon!"

"Sound the alarm!" Rasoul shouted as the Kings ran out. "I want him or them dead or alive!"

Once outside, the five Kings split into three groups. Axel and Nehrut rushed left, Riku went straight forward, and Sora and Aladdin to the right. Dozens of guards poured out of the palace after them.

"The chase begins." Nehrut muttered. He looked at Axel as they ran. "Let's not make it too hard for them. They have to follow us, or they'll go back to the cells and might run into Cassim. Then this is all for nothing."

"Give 'em a nice jog through the streets. Got it."

The two ran into an alley. Axel jumped onto a wicker basket loaded with something heavy, and onto the rooftop of a small building. Nehrut flew up to it once they were out of sight of the guards.

"We'll just knock them out when we're far enough from the palace." Nehrut said.

Three guards followed them up to the ceiling, and they ran again, their pursuers following close behind. They leapt from their rooftop onto the next one in line on the street. For them, jumping a ten-foot-long gap wasn't a big deal, but for the slightly out-of-shape guards, that was another matter.

One of them fell ten feet down into an open crate, and the other two were barely able to find handholds on the wall, which they climbed up on slowly.

Axel put a hand to his forehead. "The temptation to fry these guys for making this too easy is just too big."

"Evasion, _King of Thieves_." Nehrut muttered, irritably. "Not murder."

!

The eight guards tailing Riku were more competent. The Keybearer had ducked into several alleys, but had still not managed to shake them. At any time, they were between ten and twenty feet behind him.

He turned sharply into another alley, and sprinted down it toward a dead-end brick wall. Behind him, he heard the guards cry out in triumph.

Their cheers became moans as he leapt onto a nearby crate, and then jumped completely over the wall. He took a moment to catch his breath, and leaned casually against the wall of a nearby building.

When the guards finally got over and around the wall thirty seconds later (time in which Riku could have been a mile away) they formed a ring around him, with their swords pointing inward. Riku had to admire their confidence, and the fact that they had had enough sense to cut off all of his escape routes.

_Well, not all of them._

He ran toward the nearest one, empty handed. When the surprised guard swung his weapon at his midsection, he leapt completely over him, landing lightly on his other side. He took off out of the alley, and broke into a hard sprint down the main street. They followed him immediately, the one who had swung apologizing up and down to his companions.

Riku was nearly to the city gates, when he decided that the chase had gone on long enough, and that he had bought Cassim enough time. He cut into yet another alley, every inch of which seemed to have been crammed with various storage containers. Crates, vases, pots, baskets, and jugs filled the whole space.

Riku leapt high over them, and landed on the other side. There was another wall here. Turning, he fired a small blast of Dawn into the mass of objects. Several containers exploded, sending their contents flying all across the alley.

In the midst of this temporary cover of debris, Riku leapt into a window of the house next to him. He found the room beyond mercifully unoccupied, and closed the shutters of the window behind him.

He could hear the guards outside shouting, talking amongst themselves, trying to determine where the King of Thieves had escaped to. Silently, he crept through the empty house, and out the back door before any of them had thought to search it.

Riku made his way quickly through the city back toward Aladdin's home, being much more careful to hide his presence from any citizens wandering the streets at night. He hoped desperately that the others hadn't been discovered, and that Cassim was well out of town by now.

_Otherwise things are going to get real uncomfortable for us here in Agrabah._

!

Things were getting a little uncomfortable for Sora and Aladdin, but in a different way. They had shaken off pursuit moments before, but had immediately fallen upon a group of Heartless in a back alley.

Ironically, this was the same place where Sora had gotten his first glimpse of Jafar over a year previous, and he was surprised at how much different it looked at night.

Among the Heartless were the common Shadows and Neoshadows. There were also the Fat Bandits that Sora had come to loathe, and the deadly Luna Bandits that had nearly taken his heart before Iago of all people had saved him. There were also Fortunetellers, and the newer Snake Charmers.

The latter Heartless resembled small humans, with the typical black Heartless skin and yellow eyes. Their heads were large, and appeared to be wrapped in red turbans. They hovered over the ground, with their legs crossed. In both hands, they held a small pipe-like instrument. Whenever they played this instrument (making very, very soft music that could barely be heard) something would shoot out of the basket in their laps. It resembled a cobra made into a Heartless, with black skin, yellow eyes, and red markings along its body. This seemed to be the Snake Charmer's only method of attack, but those 'snakes' were very fast.

The eerie thing about this battle was that it was almost completely silent. The Heartless were voiceless, and the only noise came from Sora and Aladdin's own muffled gasps of exertion or pain. But this suited their needs just fine. They didn't need the guards to hear the commotion and see one of the supposed King of Thieves wielding a very distinctive weapon that would be easily traced back to the Keyblade Master –and by relation, his off-world allies, and likely the Sultan's soon-to-be son in-law.

Aladdin darted around the small covered area, his new cape billowing around him as he ran, scimitar in hand. With nearly every swipe, he cut Heartless down to size. He ran directly toward a Fat Bandit, and leapt toward its head when it belched fire at him. He stabbed his sword through its face, and leapt backward off of it.

He landed next to Sora who had just beheaded a Fortuneteller. Its fellow launched an icy blast at him, which barely missed, and instead froze an abandoned fruit stand. He ran toward it, ducking under another attack, and leaping into the air to behead it. As he returned to the ground, he barely avoided a Snake Charmer's strike. He landed behind it, and stabbed backwards, piercing its forehead.

His friend rushed past him, taking out a Neoshadow that attacked him, and briefly dueling with a Luna Bandit before he cut it in half at the waist. In one quick sweeping motion, he destroyed four Shadows, and cut the legs out from under another Luna Bandit.

Sora vaulted over him, and drove the Keyblade into the neck of a Fat Bandit looming over him. He fell through the vanishing Heartless, and landed in front of a Snake Charmer. He dodged to the side of the snake as it shot out of the basket, and rushed toward it, taking its head off.

Aladdin repaid a debt that was only seconds old when he leapt over Sora, and cut the two Fortunetellers that had been targeting him in half. As he landed, he took the head off of a Shadow, and blocked the two strikes of a Luna Bandit. He ducked under a third, and stabbed it through the stomach.

The Heartless kept pouring into the alley, until the walls of the surrounding buildings were completely obscured from view. They practically filled the space, and they were pushing Aladdin and Sora to their very limits.

Quickly, Sora reached under his cape and outer tunic, and grabbed the Impossibility charm from the City of Gypsies. He tossed it into the air, saying, "Kim!"(1)

_It was just an ordinary high school gym. It was mostly empty, and was only occupied by a handful of people: about a dozen high school girls in violet and red cheerleading uniforms._

_To end the afternoon's practice, they formed a typical pyramid, with the captain standing at the very top. This girl was slightly tall and slender, with fiery red hair down to her waist. She had bright green eyes that lit up in triumph as the squad pulled off a successful practice._

_Over on the unnocupied bleachers, where her backpack was sitting, there was a beeping noise. She ran over to it, and pulled out a small blue device from it, which was emitting the noise._

_She looked at it for a second, before rushing into the locker room. She emerged seconds later wearing more practical clothing: a black top and gloves, and cargo pants._

_Muttering a quick apology to her squad mates, she dashed toward the double doors, and out of the school._

_In a ridiculously short amount of time, she was hovering over the battleground on a military-style chopper. She leapt out of the side door, and landed easily right next to Sora. They exchanged quick high fives before she asked, "What's the sitch?"_

Kim Possible, as she was known, leapt into action first. Sora half-expected the attack to end in disaster, but was pleasantly surprised. In a kung-fu-like maneuver, she dodged a lunging Neoshadow, and kicked it in the stomach as it passed by. She back flipped over a Luna Bandit, and drove her hand into its neck, breaking it.

Sora rushed into the battle after her. He struck down a Fortuneteller in mid-step, and leapt over a Fat Bandit just before it burnt him. He took its head off in the air, and stabbed Oblivion down into a Shadow as he landed.

Kim leapt over his head. She flipped in the air, bringing the heel of her foot down onto the head of a Neoshadow. She straightened up, and dodged to the side of a Snake Charmer's attack. Her hand shot out, and clutched the throat of the 'snake.' Sora pointed his blade at the actual Heartless, sending a fireball into its face.

The two ran toward a group of four Luna Bandits. Sora ducked under the strike of the first and struck upward, destroying it. The next two struck at him with all four blades, but he successfully blocked them all with his. Kim leapt at one, smashing her fist into its face. Sora threw the other off of him, and cut in in half. He impaled the fourth.

The red-haired teen leapt onto the shoulders of a Fat Bandit. With three quick punches to the face, she brought it to its knees, where Sora finished it after beheading a Snake Charmer. Kim leapt off of the fading remains to smash a Neoshadow under her feet. She took care of another one with a single hard jab to the face.

Sora ran at a Fortuneteller, which fired a large shard of ice at him. Without breaking stride, he shattered the ice with a swipe of the Keyblade. Before the frosty shards even touched the ground, he had leapt, and cut the Heartless in half. He landed directly in front of a Luna Bandit, which slashed at him with both blades.

He slipped to the side to avoid the attack, but before he had even begun to counter-attack, Kim was in action. She leapt over the Heartless' blades, and landed behind it. She roundhouse kicked it in the back of the head, and twisted back around to punch a Snake Charmer so hard that her fist went through its chest.

Sora beheaded a Fortuneteller, and then stood back-to-back with Kim. The latter teenager reached into one of the deep pockets on her pants, and grabbed a fistful of tiny, marble-sized objects. Without hesitation, she threw these little objects high into the air.

They scattered, and fell to the sandy ground all around the alley. There was nothing for a few moments, and even the Heartless seemed to be waiting for some results.

Then, each of the tiny devices exploded, with a destructive blast radius of three feet. They made very little noise (less than an average firecracker might have made) but the effect was impressive nonetheless. The mass of Heartless were eradicated in seconds, leaving nothing but scorch marks behind.

Sora smiled in satisfaction. "Nice job, Kim."

"_So_ not the drama." She shrugged, and vanished.

Sora and Aladdin were alone again. The street rat looked at him. "You think that noise attracted the guards?"

From a few streets over, "I heard _lots_ of noise over there! We might have found them again!"

"You just had to ask, didn't you?" Sora replied, deadpan. He pointed to a nearby building, which looked almost like a tower. A long banner that had been put there for the wedding hung from the side, and nearly touched the ground. The two of them ran up to it, and climbed up the banner as quickly as they could.

Moments later, the alley below was occupied by nearly a dozen guards. Sora and Aladdin were on the roof of the tower, all alone. A narrow bridge led from it to a twin tower three streets away.

Aladdin leapt down toward this bridge, and would have landed easily on it, if somebody hadn't emerged from the tower doorway behind him. He grabbed Aladdin's ankle, and brought him crashing ungracefully to the floor.

Rasoul loomed over Aladdin, sword in hand. "The King of Thieves. Your charmed life is over, 'Your Majesty!'"

He brought his blade down. He narrowly missed him as he rolled out of the way, but was able to inadvertently tear open the hood, fully exposing Aladdin's face.

He gaped at him for a moment, shocked. "You..."

Aladdin and the unseen Sora groaned inwardly. But Aladdin merely shrugged off the remains of the hood. "Yes, me."

"Well then," Rasoul growled, "I guess I'll have to settle for the Prince of Thieves. We shall see if the Sultan wants you in his family _now_."

Sora leapt at Rasoul's exposed back at the same moment that somebody else did. A familiar figure rushed from the door behind him, and tackled the unsuspecting guard in the back, sending him crashing to the ground head first. He was rendered unconscious.

Cassim stood over him, teeth bared. "Keep your hands off my son."

"What?" Sora asked, dumbfounded, but Cassim ignored him.

"Hurry, we must move." He beckoned to them both, and they ran across the bridge.

Minutes later, they were galloping out of town on the same horses that they had rode in on, a few guards following several feet behind, and losing ground fast. Iago was perched uneasily on top of Cassim's mount.

They didn't stop until they were nearly a mile outside the city, and the faint glow of the palace seemed very dim. They slowed to a halt, and Sora dismissed his Keyboard. Aladdin and Cassim remained on their horses.

"They won't be able to pick up the trail until morning." Cassim said. "And by then, we'll be long gone from Agrabah." He looked at Aladdin. "I'm sorry for what you lost. But you can't go back now. You know that, don't you?"

Sora remained silent, but was still surprised when Aladdin got off of his horse. "I'm not going with you. I can't."

"You can't just go back!" Cassim protested. "The moment they saw your face, your life in Agrabah was over!"

"I have to go back. Jasmine is there."

Iago spoke up. "Kid, it's over! You're a criminal now."

"I _won't_ do what _he_ did. I won't run away."

Cassim got off his horse, and advanced angrily toward him. "I've never run away from anything in my life!"

"You ran away from your family!"

"I told you what happened. What else could I do? What else can _you_ do?"

"The right thing." Aladdin took the familiar dagger from his belt, and threw it on the ground at Cassim's feet. "You should take that back. I won't walk out on Jasmine... I'm your son, but I can't live your life."

Since Cassim had been stunned to silence, Iago spoke for him. "Al, they'll lock you up!"

"If there's a punishment, I'll take it."

"But we have the oracle! The treasure's just waiting for us!"

"The oracle?" Now it was Sora who spoke.

Cassim lowered his head. He'd gotten back on his horse, and now Sora could see the familiar golden rod in a pouch attached to his saddle. "I had nothing left to lose."

"Yes you did." Aladdin began to walk away, and Sora joined him.

Iago pursued them for a short ways, "It was supposed to be a father-son outing!"

Aladdin stopped in his tracks. He held out his hand, and the parrot settled on it. "Go with him, Iago."

"What?"

"Go with him. Whatever makes you happy."

Looking slightly reluctant, Iago saluted him. "Well... Good luck, kid." And he left his hand.

Aladdin never looked back as Cassim and Iago galloped away, with the rider-less horse tethered to theirs. Sora joined him as they began the long walk back to Agrabah, and a certain punishment.

!

At this same moment, something of a meeting was being held in the hideout of the Forty Thieves. Seven people stood in the square; All that remained of the infamous band of criminals after the Agrabah guards raided the caverns.

These were some of the toughest of the bunch. The first was a large, round, dim-witted man with bad teeth. The second was a thin man with several blades in his arsenal at any moment. The third was a bony, pale-skinned man with a dirty black beard, and several lengths of rope on hand. The fourth was a short, Asian-looking man in robes. The remaining three were triplets with matching thin moustaches and chipped teeth.

"Forty thieves down to seven." The big man said. "What are we to do?"

"How did they find us?" The blade-obsessed one wondered. "How did they learn the magic words?"

Suddenly, on the far side of the square, there was a strange noise. It was as if the air itself was being warped. A corridor of Darkness appeared.

Immediately, the thieves prepared for a fight. "It is a good day to die." The Asian-looking one said.

"Or to come back from the dead." Three men stepped through the corridor, and they were all people that they had never expected to see again: Sa'luk, Klaxam, and Zexion.

"Sa'luk?"

"You're alive?"

"How is that possible?"

"Why, I'm a survivor!" He replied, walking toward them casually. "Like all of you. But no thanks to that dirty traitor, Cassim."

"You saw the King? What does he want us to do now?"

"He wants you to rot in a palace dungeon, while he keeps the Hand of Midas for his own." Klaxam said lowly.

"Exactly." Sa'luk said, bracingly. "He betrayed us! He sold us out!"

"You've always hated the King! Why should we believe you?"

"Why, how do you think the guard got the magic words?" Sa'luk asked innocently.

"Why would he give them the magic words?"

"To get you out of the way! Now he doesn't need to split the limitless treasure of the Hand of Midas! But we're better off anyway... After all, don't you remember what life was like _before_ Cassim?"

"We used to be smart! Heartless! And that was why we were great! But then along came the so-called-King with his soft-hearted principles. And now, he's ratted us out and made us weaker than ever!" Sa'luk roared. "But now... Now we'll turn the tables on him... Are you in or out?"

!

_Hope you liked it!_

_1) Probably the only cartoon after 2000 that wasn't total crap! I kind of miss this show, and I don't even watch cartoons anymore._

_Please leave a review!_


	110. Chapter 109: The Vanishing Isle

_It's a good time to be a gamer. Soon, we shall be graced with more Call of Duty, Elder Scrolls, and Assassin's Creed, all within one week of each other! They're going to have to drag me away from my PS3!_

_Namine: "I have your intervention scheduled for next Friday. DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix or anything else."_

_!_

Chapter 109: The Vanishing Isle

"I _know_ the treasure's limitless, but I'm not crazy about a forty-way split."

The sun had yet to rise on the world, and Cassim and Iago had just arrived back to the lair of the Forty Thieves. The King of Thieves was ascending the stone steps that would lead them directly to the square of the city inside the island. He gazed into the emerald gem of the oracle's staff as he walked.

"If it was just uh, you and me-" Iago continued.

"I would never cut my men out of a deal." Cassim interrupted. "They're my family. My only family now... And I can always count on them."

They entered the square, which was suspiciously empty, apart from a few scattered possessions of no apparent value. "I'm home!" Cassim called out.

There was no response for a minute, but then everything came crashing down around them. Heartless appeared around them, along with Dusk, Creeper, and Fencer Nobodies. Next, seven of the deadliest the Forty Thieves had ever known emerged, all holding swords. Klaxam and Zexion walked up to them, ready for a battle.

Cassim backed slowly away from this obvious show of force. Perched on his shoulder, Iago looked terrified. "Why don't they look happy to see you?"

"Oh, but we are!" The supposedly dead Sa'luk stepped through the crowd of creatures and humans, smirking, and with claws bared. "We're thrilled!"

!

The likely stolen ship was small, but this was a good quality in a pirate's vessel. It sailed through the rough ocean waters, jerking back and forth as the waves rocked it. On board were twelve beings.

Klaxam stood at the stern of the ship, gazing out across the waters with one hand resting on the railing. Zexion joined him.

"How much longer must we continue this?" The Silhouette asked quietly.

"Just until Sa'luk finally succumbs to his greed." Klaxam replied. "Though I am beginning to reconsider our mission on this world..."

"Elaborate, would you?"

"This Hand of Midas..." He thought out loud. "If it truly can turn anything into gold, then why allow it to merely sit with these belligerents as a source of income?"

"You want to take it, don't you?"

"An item that can transform even living matter into gold would be an interesting weapon, wouldn't you say?"

"I should hope so." Zexion agreed. He looked across the ship, where Sa'luk and his seven colleagues were assembled at the stem. "But we should wait for a while longer, and ensure that these imbeciles don't realize until it's too late."

"Until then, we play the part of Sa'luk's little friends."

"I'm growing impatient, Cassim!" Sa'luk growled. The de-throned King of Thieves was tied to the mast of the ship by several thick ropes. His parrot friend was tied on the opposite end, squirming and struggling to free himself. He thrust the oracle's staff into his face. "Ask the question!"

Only Klaxam noticed Iago slip one wing free of his restraints. "Just a little further." He hissed.

"We must be further out to see." Cassim said.

"Ask it _now_!" Sa'luk barked.

"Now's good." Iago whispered.

"Where can we find the Hand of Midas?" Cassim asked the staff. It began to shine, as it always did before the oracle revealed herself.

The great silver light emitting from the staff was enough to blind all aboard the vessel for a few seconds, before it faded, revealing the oracle. She was larger than ever before and floating several feet in front of the boat's stem.

"The Vanishing Isle will appear at dawn. I will show you the way."

She compressed herself into a tiny ball of light, and shot off to a distant point beyond the horizon. There was a flash of light, and a massive pillar of silver shot up from where the magical being had stopped.

"There's your setting, 'Captain.'" Cassim said.

Sa'luk smirked. "Set sail."

Among them, only Klaxam noticed the small red parrot flying away from the boat after escaping his bonds. And he decided to remain silent, guessing where he intended to go.

He smiled to himself.

_That should make things interesting once we reach the isle._

!

Dawn was only minutes from breaking, but everyone standing on the main balcony of the palace's central tower was wide awake, not having slept for most of the night.

The Sultan fixed Aladdin, Sora, and the rest of the off-worlders with a stern gaze. Jasmine, Carpet, and Abu all stood behind them. Rasoul (looking more smug and satisfied than ever) stood by the Sultan's side, arms folded over his chest.

"Frankly, my boy," The Sultan said at last, "Your actions were most disappointing."

"It is tragic, Your Highness." Rasoul agreed. "But the street rat has obviously followed in his father's footsteps. Aladdin and his friends are criminals."

"Yes, you'd just love to throw the guy who was brave enough not to listen to every trumped-up order you gave in jail." Nehrut said. Sora was beginning to notice that he _really_ didn't like corrupt people in power. He'd seen him regard Frollo and Beckett in the same manner.

"You impudent little _criminal_." Rasoul snarled, grinding his teeth. He looked as though he wanted to say more, but stopped when Riku fixed him with an equally fierce snarl.

Genie appeared, breaking the moment, and wearing a cream-colored suit and carrying a briefcase. He spoke in a southern accent. "I object, Your Honor! I object to that outrageous statement regarding my clients as criminals."

He stood by Rasoul. "And I also object to a minor tertiary character having any lines during my big courtroom scene." He handed the guard a briefcase. "Here, take this to a higher court. Ciao!"

A snap of his fingers, and Rasoul was flying away in a red jet of rocket exhaust. Nehrut and Riku started clapping.

"Now, Your Honor, if I may enter a plea of insanity." Genie continued, pulling Aladdin, Sora, Riku, Axel, and Nehrut into a large hug. "Because I'm crazy about these kids!"

Aladdin broke free of his grip. "Genie, I can handle this myself." He walked up to the Sultan. "Sir, I convinced my dad to come here. Please don't blame Sora and the others for this, they were just trying to make sure I didn't do anything really stupid. This was all my fault, and I would have been better off if I had never _known_ my father."

Before he got any farther, Jasmine stepped forward. "Aladdin, your father risked his freedom to see your wedding. And you risked everything to help him. That's nothing to be ashamed of. I'd have done the same for my father."

Sultan looked touched, and slightly red. After a moment of inner conflict, he cleared his throat softly. "Aladdin, I could not overlook your father's crimes, but what you have done... Well, you did it out of love. And you came back to take responsibility for your actions. Now, let's just put this matter behind us."

Everyone on the balcony breathed a collective sigh of relief. They all grinned when the Sultan added, "I believe we have postponed the wedding long enough."

"Alright, good call!" Genie cheered. "Everyone give a big, big hand for the wise and generous Sultan!"

As the group of off-worlders bowed to the Sultan, a 'big, big hand' resembling Genie's escorted the little man off the balcony, and into the room beyond.

"It's nice to know that there are good leaders out there." Kairi said.

"Really, the Sultan is as far from Claude Frollo as you can get." Mickey said.

"Hey, what's his real name?" Donald asked Jasmine.

She looked about to respond, but a shout from above them interrupted her. Everyone looked up, and saw a tiny red speck approaching quickly –and swerving slightly.

It was soon revealed to be Iago; half flying, and half falling to the balcony. Acting on instinct, Nehrut reached out his hand, and grabbed him in midair, setting him gently down on top of Carpet. The group gathered around him, hearing him gasping out words in between deep breaths.

"Al's [gasp] dad [gasp] Heartless!"

"Deep breaths, Iago." Goofy said, picking up the bird in both hands. "What about Cassim?"

Iago took in a few harsh, deep breaths before he was able to say a complete sentence. "It's Sa'luk, the guy Al beat. He's not beat! He's back with those Brotherhood guys and he's got Cassim!"

Aladdin scowled. "That's his problem. He chose to go back to that life."

Sora walked over to his side, choosing his words carefully. "Aladdin, your father may have made plenty of bad choices in his life, but it doesn't mean that you have to."

"Going after Cassim is the right thing to do, and you know it." Kairi added. "And deep down, you still want to help your dad."

"He's your father." Jasmine said, taking one of Aladdin's hands. "How could you do anything else?"

Aladdin was quiet for a moment. He muttered to himself, "I'm being as stubborn as him..."

He put one hand on the balcony's railing, and looked out at the city for a moment. When he finally turned around, he had an adventurous spark in his eye that Sora was all too familiar with. He had to smile. "Show me the way."

"Road trip!" Genie exclaimed.

"We'll need a bigger ride." Axel observed.

"Never a fear, my good pyromaniac!" Genie said. "Welcome back to Keybearer Airlines! For all your destructive, reckless, and highly dangerous journeying needs!"

He grabbed hold of Carpet with both hands, and held him over the side of the balcony as if he was going to shake the dust off of him. He was, but as he did, Carpet quadrupled in size, becoming large enough to accomodate every one of them comfortably.

"I never get tired of this stuff." Sora said with a wide grin, stepping onto Carpet.

Genie floated into the center, and sprouted several arms. "The exits are here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and anywhere! But keep your arms and legs inside the carpet at all times, and we are _outta here_!"

!

The oracle hovered in front of the vessel, unmoving, and larger than life. The thieves and Nobodies gazed up at her, waiting anxiously.

"You have arrived." Was all she said, before disappearing in a flash of bright light. Almost instantly, the waters ahead of the vessel churned violently, producing massive waves that threatened to capsize the ship.

"I've had enough of your trickery!" Sa'luk snarled at the still-tied-up Cassim.

"No, this is it! The Vanishing Isle. Just watch."

!

"Oh my God..." Yuffie breathed.

From where they all sat on the giant Carpet, they could see the Vanishing Isle. It's strange nature suddenly made sense.

The first thing they all saw as it emerged from the ocean's depths was a bright, shining city built into the sides of a mountain. All of the buildings were built with the same white, polished stone. Occasionally there was a gold-domed roof like those at Agrabah's palace. And all of this was built onto the shell of what must have been the single largest turtle that had ever been born. Its head rested lazily on the surface of the water.

The ship of the thieves had washed up on the shell just below the mountain.

"Uh... Uh..." Sora gaped. "You know what? I'll just say, 'uh.'"

"So the Vanishing Isle is a turtle." Kairi said. "That explains why it's never in the same place twice. But what I want to know is how anybody built a city on the back of it."(1)

Far below them, they could see a few little specks, which were Klaxam, Zexion, Sa'luk and his thieves. They were pushing Cassim along ahead of them, his wrists bound behind his back by ropes.

As they stepped onto one of the smooth, polished streets which wound its way through the city and up the mountain, the group riding on Carpet decided it was time for action. If one counted Carpet himself, there were sixteen of them in all. Jasmine, Iago, and Abu had come along with Genie and Aladdin.

"Okay, get the old man out, kick some Nobody backside, get the Hand of Midas, and get out." Riku stated their objectives. "Easy, right?"

"Let's find out!" Sora (in one of the recklessly fun and brave moments he was so prone to) leapt over the side of Carpet, and dropped like a stone toward the group below. He landed directly in front of them, which was clearly something they hadn't expected. Sora had never questioned why he'd been blessed with coordination enough to survive jumps from ridiculous heights and land on his feet, but he wasn't about to complain.

He smiled at their expressions, and summoned Oblivion. "You want to just skip the hassle, and let Cassim go?"

"I don't think so, Junior!" Sa'luk rushed forward. But Klaxam beat him to it, dashing past him with his pike at the ready.

The Keybearer intercepted his blow just as Genie descended from above on a parachute, wearing a camo jacket and pants and carrying a large laser rifle, which he began to empty toward the thieves and the numerous Heartless and Nobodies that had just appeared. "Time to rock and roll, dude!"

The rest of the group fell out of the sky, and the fight was on.

Kairi moved first, and beheaded a Fencer before it knew she was there. The blade-loving thief rushed toward her, holding two vicious-looking swords. He struck at her neck with both of them at once, intent on decapitation. She blocked his blades with hers, locking them in an 'X' shape.

With one hand, she threw his blades off. The other glowed with Light energy, which she fired into his chest, sending him flying backwards into the side of a white building. A Snake Charmer attacked her from behind, but she ducked under the snake, and sent a second blast of Light into its face.

Axel stood defensively in front of Princess Jasmine, keeping approaching Heartless at a safe distance. Despite his care to keep her out of harm's way however, one Neoshadow was able to get past him. It leapt towards the Princess of Heart, claws extended. But it met its end when the woman punched it between the eyes with surprising force.

The Flurry of Dancing Flames had a moment to nod in appreciation before turning back to the fight. He threw one chakram at a Fat Bandit (beheading it) and used the other one to block a Fencer's strike. He held it there for a moment, before Xonem emerged from the ground behind it and cut it in half.

"Nice timing, dude." Axel said, gesturing to the fight in general before his other chakram came back to him. "Go nuts."

"Yes, my liege."

"Again, you don't need to call me that every time."

Goofy leapt onto a pair of Shadows, crushing them beneath his shield. A Dusk charged at him, head first. The knight got back to his feet, and smacked the Nobody away into the side of a Fencer, which turned its attention toward him. It raised its blade, and brought it down on Goofy's head, only to meet his shield again. Before it could strike again, Goofy had cut it in half with the shield's sharp edge.

Donald scrambled past him, firing Thunder spells into the enemy ranks. The overweight thief suddenly loomed over him, holding a large club, rather than a sword. He smiled stupidly, and raised it high over his head. Before he brought it down on the duck, however, he raised the head of his staff.

"Blizzaga!" Frozen ice particles sprayed from the tip, and into the man's stomach and chest. They froze over his entire front side, freezing him in a painfully cold position. "Firaga!" Donald exclaimed, firing a large ball of fire from his staff, and throwing him to the ground.

Mickey jumped over him, and ran toward Zexion, who was standing slightly apart from the battle, observing it closely. Nehrut and Bariss fell in beside him, each of them with weapons ready to go against the Silhouette.

Something curious happened next. He split into three separate versions of himself. All three became transparent, and shot at their three opponents, floating slightly above the ground. They passed through each of them, leaving a slightly cold feeling behind.

When the three turned around, the three Zexions were solid again. One held a copy of Kingdom Crown. Another held a twin of Presul. The last had a matching Rose Thorn to complete the set. Each of them fell into fighting stances identical to those of their enemies.

"That's just plain unoriginal, Zexion." Nehrut said.

"I don't particularly care if you see it that way, telepath." The Zexion holding Presul charged at him, and the matching blades met in a flash of blue light. Nehrut struck low at his legs, forcing him to leap over him.

While he was in the air, Nehrut sliced upward, cleaving through his chest before he landed. He fell to the ground behind him in a heap, and faded away into the blackness almost instantly.

But about three seconds later, there were two replacements, each one holding a copy of Presul. "Okay, this might be more difficult than I thought..."

Bariss was holding off three copies on her own, each one holding one of her three weapons. The one holding a whip lashed out at her head, but she blocked the strike with the shield in her left hand. At the same instant, she parried another one's sai, and lunged forward to stab him in the chest where the heart should have been.

She ran toward the one with the shield, using her own to dislodge it from his hand. She slashed with her sai, cutting his throat open. Before the final one could attack, she threw her blade into his chest.

Mickey was battling three copies himself, one of which was likely the real Zexion. All four Keyblades (false and otherwise) met with sparks and loud _clangs_. He leapt into the air over one strike, and struck one of them in the side of the face, taking him out of the action.

The other two slashed at his exposed back, but he blocked both attacks at once. Nehrut mentally threw the one he had been fighting into them with the force of a speeding car. All three faded away immediately. Zexion hadn't been there.

Fifteen Zexions carrying copies of their own weapons appeared around the three warriors. Every one of them was smirking.

Meanwhile, Sora, Kairi, Riku, Yuffie, and Aladdin were all fighting Klaxam at once. Things were proceeding similarly to the disastrous first attempt at the wedding. Klaxam had somehow gotten trapped in a ring of warriors, none of which could seem to land a decent hit against him as he slashed at them several times per second.

Stalemate.

It was one of the most frustrating battles Sora had yet been in, and this included fighting two large, invisible Heartless, pirates that were invulnerable in daylight, and a Nobody that kept turning him into playing cards (mostly for laughs, he suspected).

He struck at where he believed that Klaxam's head had been, but the space was empty when his blade passed through it. In fact, the Nobody had already struck twice at Yuffie in the amount of time it took for Sora to swing. He twisted around, and swept at Sora's legs.

The Keybearer leapt over it at the last moment, and the blade left a narrow scratch across the stone beneath. Riku struck at Klaxam's back, but missed as he turned his focus on Aladdin. Spinning his weapon in two hands, he lunged at the street rat with his weapon acting like a propellor.

Aladdin dove backwards, narrowly avoiding the blades that would have cut him open in three different places inside of one second. Unfortunately, Klaxam now had space to escape the ring of warriors he had been stuck in, and rushed through the gap directly toward Axel, who was still holding the Heartless aiming for Jasmine at bay.

He stabbed his blade toward Axel's face. The ex-Nobody was barely able to bring his two chakrams up to catch the weapon between them. The very point of the weapon was stopped exactly two millimeters from the scar on his forehead.

The two stood frozen like that for one stunned moment. Then, Axel threw Klaxam off with his chakrams, and threw both burning weapons at him. He dodged both of them, and quickly blocked Sora and Kairi's attacks from behind. Riku and Yuffie had gotten involved fighting Heartless and Nobodies with Donald and Goofy (the seven thieves that Sa'luk had deceived were all unconscious on the ground).

Many feet away, Mickey, Nehrut, and Bariss were still fighting multiple Zexions. Alone, these copies weren't nearly as skilled as the original, but by coming in such great numbers, and never allowing their opponents much rest, they were starting to gain the upper hand.

"Zexion!" Nehrut shouted as he cut down another copy. "Come on out and fight us yourself!"

When the real Zexion spoke, all of his duplicates spoke with him, giving it an odd echoing quality. "Oh, I entered the battle minutes ago. You've simply yet to find me."

One Zexion leapt over the main action, aiming his Presul at King Mickey. The Keybearer back flipped away from him, landing lightly three feet away. He quickly spun around and cut another fake in half.

Bariss bashed the end of her whip into the skull of another copy, and then quickly used the other end to catch another one in the neck. One that was also carrying a whip lashed out at her, and she did the same. He was struck in the face, and faded away immediately. Bariss, though, was clipped in the shoulder, and half-fell to the ground.

One copy –perhaps thinking he saw an opening- leapt in to finish her off with a Keyblade replica. Before Bariss could raise her shield to keep him away, an invisible force caught him in the side, and he crashed into the side of a building, leaving a small crater.

Nehrut was at her side in an instant, helping her fully to her feet. She gave him a smile, and then drew her sai.

Suddenly, she jerked her arm out of his grasp. She leapt onto him, and pinned him to the ground beneath her, holding the blade at his throat. And all Nehrut could do was stare up at her in shock.

The instant before she slashed his throat, the end of a whip collided with the side of her head, and she fell off of him. Nehrut looked to his right, where the attack had come from. There stood another Bariss, whip and shield in hand. He looked to his left, where his attacker had fallen, and discovered that she was changing shape.

As the genuine Bariss pulled him to his feet, she said, "What? You can't tell the difference between me and that ugly thing?" She grinned. "Please, look at that hair." The Bariss that had attacked him had turned into Zexion –the _true_ Zexion.

"Your sense of humor is developing well, I see." He smiled approvingly. All around them, the Zexion copies vanished as their leader's concentration was broken. Mickey ran over to Nehrut's side, and held his Keyblade over Zexion's barely moving form.

The Nobody tilted his head slightly, and gazed up at them with an expression of distaste. "I won't just come along quietly, you realize."

A corridor of Darkness wrapped around him, and he was gone.

"Where's Sa'luk!" Sora shouted over the noise of the battle. He, Kairi, Aladdin, and Axel were still stuck fighting Klaxam. They had had a bit of good luck in the battle so far, scoring a hit on his left arm and leg. But they were still tiring, and han't come close to hitting the Nobody in the past several minutes.

"I saw him run down the street, dragging Cassim." Riku shouted over his shoulder, stabbing a Fencer through the stomach. Yuffie leapt past him, swinging her shuriken in a single wide arc to destroy a Dusk and three Shadows.

"Somebody want to go after them?" Axel shouted, blocking one of Klaxam's attacks, and then tossing one of his weapons into the face of a Fat Bandit.

"I'm going." Aladdin said. "Can anybody back me up?"

"I'll go." Riku said.

"I'm with you." Sora added. "Somebody cover us!"

"Can do, Captain Spiky-Head!" Genie was suddenly in between Sora, Riku, and Klaxam, arms crossed in front of him, and glaring angrily down at Klaxam. The Nobody took up a fighting stance, and gazed calmly up at his large opponent.

"You've messed with my friends, hurt a whole bunch of people, _and_ ruined the wedding that I spent like a _year_ preparing!" Genie bent over slightly to look him square in the face. "And for that, you're in for a world of pain the likes of which you've never seen before."

"Really?" Klaxam didn't seem afraid.

"Oh yeah."

Suddenly, Genie was gone, and Klaxam was surrounded by small, hovering Moogles. They simply hovered there, beating their tiny little wings softly, and staring at the Nobody in their midst.

Klaxam looked at them in dull surprise for a moment, dropping out of his fighting stance. "Is this supposed to be a joke?"

"You wish it was a joke... Well, okay it is, but it doubles as a legitimate move!"

Nothing happened for a moment. Suddenly, the Moogles all grew wide, gaping, toothy, foaming mouths with forked tongues. They uttered a combined, unearthly shriek, and rushed inward toward Klaxam.

"Demon Moogles..." Kairi gaped in astonishment.

"You'd be amazed at the characters that you can find hanging around Traverse Town this time of year." Genie said, grinning. "Or what the author can come up with if he's bored enough."

"What?"

"Oh, watch out for that."

Genie casually pointed his finger at a Fat Bandit that was about to belch fire onto the Princess, and sent a blast of energy shooting through its stomach.

!

_Dear God, I did it again! Somebody stop me! I just need to stop watching _Aladdin_ when it comes on TV. Maybe that will help?_

_1) Thoughts? Speculations? Anybody?_

_Well, review please!_


	111. Chapter 110: The Hand of Midas

_The last chapter of Agrabah! I love this world. Maybe I should write more later. I don't know. I'll stop before I start rambling._

_Riku: "DarthKingdom doesn't own anything in this story, as you all know full and well right now. If anybody from Square or Disney is reading this, stop panicking and get back to working on Dream Drop Distance… And explain why Sora and I look younger in the game, even though it supposedly takes place after KH2. It makes no sense, and-"_

_Okay stop, now _you're_ rambling._

_!_

Chapter 110: The Hand of Midas

Sa'luk was practically dragging Cassim down the shining street. Things were falling apart all around them just as soon as they were looking up. The only thing he could do now was grab the Hand and try to salvage whatever was left by escaping.

And of course, he could see to it that Cassim was worth his weight in gold.

He dragged him to the top of the mountain on the giant turtle's back, making his way toward the temple-like structure sitting at its summit. It was very tall and polished white like everything else. The entrance was flanked by the large gold statues of two birds, ready to take flight.

"Get a move on, 'Your Highness.'" Sa'luk barked when they had reached the arched entrance. "We haven't got a lot of time."

"No, you don't." Cassim said.

"What's that supposed to-"

He was cut off in mid-sentence when a blast of Dawn struck him in the chest. He flew backwards into one of the bird statues with enough force to actually leave a dent in it. He wore a dazed expression for a moment, but through his blurred vision, he saw the figure of Aladdin looming over him.

"It took me years to find my father. I'm not losing him again."

One last punch to the face, and Sa'luk was out like a light.

Sora and Riku freed Cassim from his bonds. But the older man only saw Aladdin when he could finally move his hands. "You came to help me?"

"How could I do anything else?" He replied with a smile. He hiked a thumb over his shoulder toward the temple entrance. "Now let's get that treasure of yours."

Cassim smiled, and walked in first. As Aladdin followed, Sora patted him on the back, and smiled approvingly. "That's the Aladdin I know."

The four people walked into the temple, first along a long, dark, hallway with a stone floor, walls, and ceiling. There was a faint light coming from the very end, coming from an unknown source.

The first thing that Sora could think was also the first thing that Cassim said, "Amazing."

They stood in a massive, round chamber with very high stone walls. Two massive black statues of what appeared to be griffons stood at either side of the chamber, standing high enough to where they were halfway to the ceiling. Lining the room were columns that ended halfway up the height of the griffon statues. The doorway they had entered through was the head of an eagle with an open beak. Interestingly, a large stone structure that resembled the oracle's staff sat atop it. And one of the oracle herself was looming over the room, behind it.

As Sora wondered if there was some kind of connection between the oracle and the Vanishing Isle, he caught sight of something truly miraculous. There was a circular hole in the roof through which the sun was shining. There was a large, floating, golden hand floating high up in the center of the room, palm up and rotating slowly. The sunlight shining off of it was a beautiful effect. Sora saw something sitting on it, but couldn't make out what it was from ground level.

They walked into the center of the room, eyes fixed on the floating hand. Suddenly, there was a high pitched sort of cry. It was definitely far away, but it echoed throughout the chamber. Less than one second later, the whole temple shook with enough force to knock them all over.

"Okay, who wants to bet that that was Genie's fault?" Riku asked, remembering seeing what looked like demonic Moogles as he and Sora had ran in pursuit of Sa'luk. He had silently reminded himself to stay on his good side.

"No!" Cassim contradicted, a trace of panic in his voice. "It's the Vanishing Isle. The turtle is diving, we must climb higher!"

It was only then that Sora heard the unmistakable sound of rushing water. Knowing that he'd regret it, he turned around to face the entrance. A massive surge of saltwater was shooting down the corridor.

!

At this same moment, Sa'luk was regaining consciousness. He slowly got to his feet, , popping his weary bones back into place. He took a few ragged gasps of air, trying to regain some energy.

He looked down the mountainside, and could see the fighting far below. His thieves were nowhere to be seen, and it looked like the ranks of the Heartless and Nobodies were rapidly thinning out. Klaxam was fighting off some strange floating creatures at the same time he was attacking the off-worlders.

Sa'luk growled to himself. Things had been going so well.

He suddenly realized that the ground he was standing on was wet. He realized with a start that the giant turtle on which they all stood was starting to sink. From somewhere behind him, he could hear shouting. Turning around, he saw the entrance to the Hand's temple was filling up with water.

"Get higher! I can see the Hand!" Cassim was saying.

And now Cassim and his son were about to become rich beyond anyone's wildest dreams. Sa'luk trembled with anger, he snarled, and finally released his anger in the form of a beastly howl.

Darkness exploded around him.

Amidst the fighting below, Klaxam smirked as he parried a strike from Yuffie. "Finally."

!

Thanks to Sora and Riku's convenient means to defy gravity, they, Aladdin, and Cassim were currently standing on one of the massive griffon statues in the Hand's chamber. Water was filling up the room quickly, pouring from the entrance to the chamber, between the columns on the lower level, and even out of the griffons' mouths.

Directly across from them over ten feet away, was the large, floating golden hand. From this angle, Sora could see that the thing resting in its massive palm was a stone statue of an Egyptian man in fine clothing. In one hand, he held what appeared to be the oracle's rod.

On the end of the other arm was the treasure that Cassim had searched so long for. The Hand of Midas's fingers were pressed together, and it was made of pure gold. Beneath the layer of stone, there appeared to be a wooden handle connected to the wrist.

Sora saw tears of happiness in Cassim's eyes. He quickly wiped them away with his sleeve. He crouched slightly, as if getting ready for the great leap over to the hand. "Pity I didn't find this place years ago. This would be much easier if I was much younger."

Aladdin took a running start, and leapt from the statue they stood on. He landed on the very edge of the hand. For just a moment, he looked as if he were going to fall backwards into the churning water below.

But he was able to recover his balance quickly, and was fully on the hand a moment later. Sora leapt after him, landing almost directly on the statue in the center.

"It pays to have junior partners!" Aladdin called back to Cassim.

"Be careful!" He warned. "Don't touch the golden hand!"

Very carefully, Aladdin took a hold of the wooden grip below the hand that protruded from the statue. He lifted it up from the stone arm, and held it in the air to observe it in the sunlight.

He hadn't expected it to start glowing. A beam of narrow golden light shot from it into the face of the massive oracle statue on the wall behind him. Its eyes started glowing, and a golden keyhole shape appeared before it, shimmering lightly.

Riku (still on the griffon statue with Cassim) immediately summoned Way to Dawn. Red-orange light gathered at the tip of the Keyblade, and compressed into a tiny ball before shooting into the heart of Agrabah's Keyhole.

For a moment, it flashed, filling the room with gold light. When it faded seconds later, the Keyhole was gone, and everything was as it had been.

Aladdin and Sora smiled. "Heads up!" Aladdin called to Cassim, throwing the Hand of Midas to him. He probably didn't realize that that was a very bad idea, but Cassim was ready to catch it.

He held out the cape which was part of his new outfit, and caught the Hand in it. For a moment, it crackled with what appeared to be electricity, and then it spread to the cape itself.

The dark blue turned gold, spreading across it until the whole thing was a heavy, silky gold material hanging from Cassim's back.

He held the Hand by its wooden handle, and admired the cape, laughing in a mixture of relief and triumph. "The Hand of Midas!"

He bent down, and touched the golden hand to the surface of the griffon statue beneath his feet. The effect was almost immediate. Inside of five seconds, the statue was completely solid gold. And within one minute, the entire room was glimmering, shining gold. Even the water had somehow become cool, liquid gold.

The overall effect in one room was both staggering and beautiful.

Unfortunately, the moment was ruined when a large figure broke the surface of the water with a loud shout. It was some form of Heartless, that much was clear.

It had the rough shape of a large, muscular man, with jet black skin. Its burning yellow eyes had black irises, with no pupils. Its mouth looked like a jagged, toothy line. Its large feet seemed to be nothing more than three powerful, grasping talons. Above each of its large fists were three long, golden blade-like protrusions that looked capable of slicing clean through metal.

These were what made Sora realize what he was looking at.

"Cassim!" Sa'luk's Heartless bellowed; his voice had changed slightly, holding a deeper undertone. His feet dug into the side of the nearest statue, which was at the opposite end of the room from Cassim and Riku's. He began to run up it, and soon reached the top of its head.

He took up a fighting position, crouching down, and holding his claws out to either side of his body. "Give me the Hand of Midas, or you all die!"

Sora summoned Oblivion, and Aladdin drew his scimitar. "Heartless or not, Sa'luk, you're still no match for any of us. Only a poor third, at best."

Sa'luk leapt over to the floating hand, his echoing animal howl louder than the roaring water pouring into the chamber. When he landed on the hand, it rocked under his new weight.

He struck at Aladdin with one claw and at Sora with the other. While they both blocked the attack, the force of it was enough to buckle their knees and nearly knock them over. Sora swept at Sa'luk's legs, only for the new Heartless to leap high over him, and land on his other side.

He raised both claws to strike him down, but a blast of Dawn to the back stopped him, and made him stumble. Riku flew over to the hand, and struck with his blade at the back he had blasted. Sa'luk displayed a surprising talent, turning his left arm completely around to block the attack with his claws.

Sora had gotten his bearings back, but Aladdin moved first, moving to strike Sa'luk. The Heartless lashed out before the street rat could reach him, nearly taking his head off. A last minute duck was the only thing that saved him.

But Sa'luk brought his knee flying up to smash into Aladdin's stomach, sending him to the ground, gasping for breath. Sora stepped in, striking at Sa'luk's chest before he could act on his friend's moment of weakness.

He slipped to the side to avoid both his and Riku's attacks, and crouched in a fighting stance again. Riku moved first, striking quickly to behead the Heartless. Sa'luk blocked it without even standing to his full height. He thrust his other set of claws forward, and would have stabbed them through his stomach if he hadn't disengaged and leapt backward to the edge of the hand.

Sora moved in then, feigning a strike at his head, and then aiming low. Sa'luk deflected this blow, but was forced to give ground when Sora continued his assault. Unfortunately for him, there wasn't much ground left to give. The hand was only about ten feet long from fingertips to base.

When he reached the last finger, he was forced to start a new tactic. After parrying one last blow from Sora, he leapt backwards. He kicked off hard enough to rock the floating hand again, and made it all the way to the wall behind him. His talon-like feet latched into the wall despite the fact that it was pure gold.

He grinned, and stretched out his hands, with his claws aiming at his enemies. From his golden claws, he fired golden energy in the form of spikes at those standing on the hand.

By this time, Aladdin was back on his feet, and Riku had summoned his Guardian to catch the golden blasts shooting at them. The muscular creature hovered in front of the three combatants, taking each blast in the chest with barely any movement.

The moment Sa'luk let up in his energy attack, Riku ordered it forward. It rushed toward Sa'luk, fists clenched before it. The Heartless leapt to the side, adjusting his grip on the wall as it approached.

The Guardian's fists left identical deep dents in the gold wall, barely missing its target. Sa'luk lashed out at it, slashing one of his claws at its arm. He had probably been expecting this to remove the arm completely, because he seemed very surprised when the Guardian merely continued punching at him, not at all hurt.

Faced against an apparently invincible opponent, Sa'luk had no choice but to retreat backwards across the wall. Unfortunately for him, the Guardian wasn't the only one that could fly.

Riku took to the air on his Dawn, and Sora got into the Keyboard. Both flew to Sa'luk's other side, the side of him that the Guardian wasn't attacking. He tried as best he could to block all the attacks, even resulting to stabbing one set of claws into the wall, and freeing one set of talons on his feet.

His foot shot out, and the talons gripped Sora's blade as it swung at his face. He released his grip on the wall, and fell toward the rising water below, dragging Sora after him. Instantly, Sora dismissed the Keyblade, and stopped his descent as Sa'luk fell into the water with a loud splash.

Riku dismissed the Guardian, and hovered next to him by the floating hand. Aladdin walked up behind them, peering over the edge into the water. Apart from the fact that the water continued to rise, nothing happened for several seconds. Normally, this would have been a good sign for Sa'luk's opponents, but Sora reminded himself that it was a Heartless they were dealing with.

Finally, his massive form shot from under the water, colliding with the bottom of the hand. Perhaps he had been hoping to knock Aladdin from the perch, but he failed. He swung himself up a second later, and slashed at the young man's head.

His attempt at a surprise attack failed, as Aladdin brought up his scimitar to catch the blow before it made contact. Sora and Riku ran toward him, blades ready to strike. Sa'luk leapt into the air, and landed on their other side.

Using both sets of claws, he swept horizontally at them. While they were able to block the attack, there was enough power behind the blow to knock them over. Aladdin leapt to their aide, slashing wide at Sa'luk's head before he could deliver the coup de grace. The large Heartless took two steps back to avoid the attack, resulting in Aladdin over swinging, and leaving a gaping hole in his defenses.

Sa'luk smirked, and prepared to drive his claws into his chest.

Before he could act, he discovered that there was a familiar dagger wedged in his shoulder. As he cried out in pain, his combatants looked over at the statue where Cassim stood. He was smirking slightly, having just hit his target after several years with no practice at knife-throwing.

Sa'luk ripped the knife from his shoulder, and tossed it to the ground by the statue on the hand. Aladdin leapt at him, blade swinging, and leaving a large gash across his chest. The Heartless fell backwards off of the hand, barely managing to get a grip on the side before he plunged into the water.

Using only his feet, he thrust himself back up, flying into the air, and intending to drop down onto Aladdin from the air like a bird of prey. But when he reached the highest point of his ascent, the massive Guardian shot forward, ramming its fist into his stomach with enough force to send him flying into the opposite wall.

He just barely managed to get a grip on the wall using his claws once again. But rather than attacking from a distance with an energy assault, he opted to push forward with his feet, soaring back toward the hand, directly toward Sora.

"Aladdin!" Sora shouted.

"Moving out!" Aladdin crouched down, holding his scimitar in a reverse-handed grip where the blade faced the opposite direction it usually did. He leapt directly at Sa'luk.

For a few seconds, the young man seemed to vanish from the room, moving so fast that it would have taken a special camera to see him for even one nanosecond. Suddenly, Sa'luk was hit by something that the naked eye couldn't see.

He was thrown backwards into the wall yet again, but less than one second later, he was struck again, and knocked high into the air, out of the circular hole in the ceiling. But he was suspended above the island for only the briefest of moments, before something struck him in the back, sending him flying to the palm of the hand with the force of a meteor hitting the earth.

Fortunately, the hand wasn't damaged, but it did rock violently. Sora nearly fell off, but was steadied by Aladdin; the invisible force that had smacked Sa'luk around a few times within the time span of three seconds.

He leaned on Sora's shoulder casually. "I'm back!"

Sora was amazed as he always was at the sheer speed at which Aladdin moved during their Limit, but didn't have time to dwell on the point. Sa'luk was stumbling to his feet, rubbing the top of his bare head.

Utilizing the same blindingly fast speed that Aladdin had utilized, Sora leapt at Sa'luk. He struck once at his face, sending him reeling backwards, and then a second time at his chest, within the space of one second.

He reversed the momentum from his last attack to push himself backwards off of Sa'luk in midair, and back to the point where he had leapt from. By then, Aladdin had already leapt in a similar fashion, plowing the flat side of his blade into Sa'luk's chin to knock him spinning into the air.

Sora leapt again the moment that his large feet touched the ground, shooting into the air. His first attack caught him in the stomach, sending him higher, and he pushed off of his back down toward the ground.

Aladdin quickly jumped onto the statue on the hand, balancing effortlessly on its head, and shot at Sa'luk again, hitting him in the hip, and knocking him toward the wall.

His Keybearer partner leapt at the Heartless yet again, and they repeated this process of unnaturally fast leaping strikes against the hapless Sa'luk twice more before deciding to finish their Limit.

"Time for a little teamwork." Aladdin said, jumping feet-first toward Sora. The Keybearer mimicked him, and the soles of their feet met in midair. They turned in midair, their weapons ready at their sides.

They launched themselves off of the other while in midair, seeming to temporarily defy the laws of physics. They were lost from sight temporarily, and were only seen for the smallest possible instant connecting with the walls on either side of the rapidly flooding chamber.

Then, as they kicked off of them, aiming directly for Sa'luk, they were lost from view once more.

A mere fraction of a nanosecond afterword, Sa'luk was struck from all sides while still floating in midair. The sounds of Sora and Aladdin's weapons could be heard striking the Heartless over and over again inside of two seconds. He flailed around hopelessly under the onslaught, and ended up being thrown back onto the hand, smacking his head against the statue.

Sora and Aladdin landed back on it at the same time, and slapped hands as they came out of their crouch.

The fight appeared at last done, and Sa'luk was fading rapidly into Darkness. Using what little strength he had left, he raised his arm, fist clenched, and claws glowing. He growled weakly.

"If I can't have the Hand of Midas, then I'll see that it sinks with all of us." With a surprising amount of power, he fired one large golden bolt of energy into the nearest griffon statue, blasting a gaping hole in it, through which water poured through even faster than before.

As Sa'luk vanished at last, the water had reached the golden hand, and was beginning to drip into its giant palm. "Time to go!" Cassim beckoned from the top of the statue he had been stuck on during the fight. He had torn free a piece of his sleeve, and wrapped the Hand of Midas in it (the material had turned gold, naturally) and tucked it into his belt.

They didn't need telling twice. Riku's Guardian appeared, and grabbed Aladdin and Cassim in its massive arms. Sora took to the sky on his Keyboard, and they followed him out of the hole in the ceiling, and into the salty air.

They touched down for a moment on the roof of the temple. Cassim took out the Hand to examine it in the light. "After all these years," Aladdin said, "You've finally got your treasure."

"This thing? No." He looked at the Hand with an expression of distaste. "This wretched thing almost cost me the ultimate treasure."

He looked at Aladdin for a few moments, and then handed the Hand to Sora. He then crushed Aladdin in a fatherly embrace, which he returned. "It's _you_, son. You are my ultimate treasure. I'm just sorry it took me this long to realize it."

After Aladdin returned his hug, he broke away, and took the hand from Sora, once again fixing it with an expression of disgust. "The Hand of Midas can take its curse to the bottom of the sea!"

On his last word, he threw the hand with all his might over the edge of the temple roof, and flying out toward the ocean.

By complete coincidence, the hand landed on the small vessel that the less-than-Forty Thieves had used to travel to the Vanishing Isle. It bounced across the deck twice, and worked its magic the moment it touched the mast.

Its magic spread across the entire ship, turning it gold until it looked shockingly similar to the one that still sat on the ocean floor at the thieves' base.

Klaxam had collected the seven thieves during the battle (while dodging attacks from all sides) and deposited them onto the ship. Most were conscious again, and preparing to set sail while the Nobody held off the attackers on his own. The Heartless and Nobodies he had brought with them were all gone.

"It's turned everything to solid gold!" One of the thieves exclaimed joyfully, admiring one of the golden rigging ropes. But seeing as the ship was several meters out to sea at this point, anyone with common sense could have guessed what happened next.

The golden ship was completely underwater six seconds after the first traces of water flowed in, leaving the thieves treading water desperately.

Klaxam noted this with what would have been annoyance if he could still feel it. Swiping one final time at Kairi (and missing the top of her head by an inch) he bolted off the street they were fighting on, and off the island altogether.

He moved fast enough to sprint across the water for nearly twenty feet, and into a corridor of Darkness that he opened up on a whim.

So only the off-worlders and Agrabah natives were left on the Vanishing Isle as it sank into the waves with an amphibious wail.

"Where the heck are they!" Iago screamed to the sky, referring to Aladdin, Cassim, Sora and Riku. The whole group was assembled together at the base of a tower. Nehrut lifted them up to stand on top of it, and they found that there was just enough room for all of them to stand. Genie and Carpet were also missing somewhere.

"Up there!" Kairi shouted, pointing toward the temple roof. Four specks appeared (they soon became five), and immediately left the roof, aiming directly toward them.

Cassim's voice carried over to them from across the water. "Get over here, you blasted rug!"

Out of nowhere, the still giant-sized Carpet surfaced from the ocean several meters away from the sinking Isle like a bizarre whale. It intercepted the figures from the temple as they approached, and they settled down easily onto it. Carpet continued toward the tower where the rest of them were standing (Axel was holding his thumb out comically like a hitchhiker).

The giant rug shot by the tower, and they all leapt onto it. They rose into the sky, to where they had a fantastic view of the Vanishing Isle as it sank beneath the waves.

"You actually trust this thing?" Aladdin asked his father sarcastically, referring to Carpet.

"With my life, son."

"What happened to Genie?" Sora asked. He received several shrugs in reply. But then, Nehrut's eyes caught sight of something, and he immediately turned Donald and Goofy's heads to face a certain spot down below in the water. They broke out in peals of laughter, and as soon as Sora and Mickey saw what they were looking at, they knew why.

They were looking down at a small steamboat. It was completely black and white, and sending quick puffs of dark smoke into the air as it tugged along across the water.

"Gotta love it when someone breaks the fourth wall." Nehrut commented.

"What?" Axel asked.

"Hey!" Genie interrupted, making the steamboat vanish, and appearing beside the Carpet. "Hate to interrupt what I'm sure would have been a wonderful explanation, but I do believe that we still have some unfinished business to attend to."

!

They made it back to Agrabah in a little over an hour. And later that evening, when the sky had turned black and silver with night and bright shining stars, the palace pavilion was once more packed with people.

There is an old expression, 'The third time's the charm.' These words rang true in the case of Aladdin and Princess Jasmine's wedding.

At long last –in the sight of all their friends- they shared their first kiss as husband and wife, amidst the soft light of several candles.

Cheers broke out all across the room, which was suddenly filled with Genie's magical fireworks exploding overhead. Those cheering the loudest were the off-worlders, who were situated in the front row once again.

Unseen to all but a few as the newlyweds walked down the aisle, hand-in-hand, an older man garbed entirely in dark blue smiled proudly, while leaning against one of the pillars ringing the pavilion.

"Out in the open? No mask?" Iago had joined him outside. "Pretty risky, if you ask me."

"Even a wanted man can risk a bit to see his own son's wedding." He bent down to Iago's level. "So, you little turkey, come to say goodbye?"

"Nah, I already said my goodbyes... Of course, the monkey had to cry, and that got me going..." He sniffed once.

"You're not going to live in the palace?"

"With the newlyweds? It'll be all lovey-dovey! I'd just as soon keep my will to live."

Cassim saddled up on a horse that had been waiting patiently for him nearby throughout the entire wedding ceremony. "Well, I don't know where I'm going, but you're welcome to come along for the ride."

"You're a good guy, Cassim." Iago complimented, landing on his shoulder as they rode away. "But not _too_ good!"

!

_You can do this. You can do this. You can freaking do this!_

Nehrut walked quietly into a side chamber of the pavillion, where the wedding reception was already in full swing (Yuffie had caught Jasmine's bouquet, and sent a wink at Riku). He closed the door silently, and pulled something from his belt that he had somehow kept hidden from everyone.

He had found the oracle's staff floating in the ocean right by the Vanishing Isle during a short lull in the fighting. He hadn't quite known at the time what had made him had recover the little thing, but now he had an idea.

The telepath held it out in front of him, hoping desperately that nobody would see him. The short rod floated from his hand, and into the center of the circular room. The oracle appeared above it, slightly smaller than the last few times she had been called.

"I should thank you for saving my home, young man." She said.

"No problem. I have a question for you."

"Then ask."

He was silent for a moment, gathering all the courage he had. His thoughts drifted back to the events that had transpired in the pavilion after the first botched attempt at the wedding. "Does Bariss love me... romantically?"

He could have sworn that the oracle _smiled_ at him. "At the moment, the feelings of the young woman named Bariss are confusing her. She is uncertain as to how she feels about you right now. _But_... in time, her feelings will become clear. And yes, young telepath, they will be those of love."

She vanished into the staff, leaving a stunned Nehrut behind.

Then, he heard quiet chuckling behind him. He twisted around, and saw Axel. Somehow, the ex-Nobody had managed to enter the chamber unseen and unheard, and close the door behind him.

"Well... What did I tell you?"

"Shut up, Axel."

"What's to stop me from walking into the other room and yapping to Bariss about this little episode, huh?"

Nehrut sighed, and looked up toward the ceiling. "A little help, please?"

"Uh... Who are you talking to?"

"Just me, Axel." came a voice.

There was suddenly a third figure on the far side of the room, walking toward the two. He looked to be about eighteen or nineteen, was exactly six feet tall, and had extremely messy dark brown hair that covered the top part his green eyes. He had to brush his hair out of his eyes merely to see properly. On his left wrist was an aging digital watch, and a small silver shield emblem hung around his neck. He was wearing blue jeans, and a blue-grey T-shirt with white writing on it, reading 'I got out of bed for this?' He was wearing black tennis shoes that were only slightly dirty.

"Hey, Darth." Nehrut greeted casually.

"What's up?"

"As if you didn't already know."

"Standard question, you know." The author stopped by Nehrut, and Axel noted that there were a few shocking similarities between the two. Though, Nehrut was slightly taller, better built, and his hair was a bit shorter, and lighter-colored. In fact, DarthKingdom looked scrawny and slightly unkempt by comparison.

"Who are you, and why do you look a little like him?" Axel asked.

"Simply put, I'm the most powerful being in your universe right now." Darth answered casually. "Call me DarthKingdom. Or just Darth, or DK if you want. I'm the author of this story... I'm also the reason you're alive right now Axel, and not lingering in whatever afterlife Nobodies go to."

"Um, thanks?"

"You're welcome. Anyway Axel, I'm afraid that I can't let you tell Bariss or anybody else what happened in here."

Axel suddenly bolted toward the door, which –not surprisingly- refused to open for him. He twisted around, and summoned his chakrams. He tossed them both at Darth, and they hit him dead-on.

But, to Axel's horror, the projectiles bounced harmlessly off of his face, and landed on the floor with a clatter. Darth looked at them, and they vanished in a flash of gold light.

"You'll get those back, if you behave yourself." DarthKingdom moved one finger, and Axel was lifted into the air, and floated over to him, upside-down. He looked the ex-Nobody in the eyes with a lop-sided smiled that almost –but not quite- resembled Nehrut's.

"What part of 'most powerful being in your universe' don't you understand?" He asked. "Relax, I'm not going to kill you or anything. I wouldn't bring you back from the dead just to kill you over something as dumb as this."

"My love life is dumb?" Nehrut asked.

"Well, mine is, you irritating Doppelganger." He commented. "Although yours is a lot more interesting than mine, lately."

"Doppelganger?'" Axel repeated.

"Okay, the cat's out of the bag." Darth sighed. "I don't know how popular this will make me to the good people reading this, but Nehrut is a fictional version of myself and a bunch of my friends. We stupidly called him 'Project: Doppelganger' amongst ourselves. I created him to be everything that I wished I could be, with the traits of my friends added. You could say that he's the culmination of all our daydreams... And Xaynew is based off my demon little brother, so he's based off of my nightmares."

"Isn't that a little narcissistic?" Axel asked, referring to Nehrut.

"That's why I told people that he was based off a guy I knew." He looked at the audience that only he could see. "I hope you don't think any the worse of me or Nehrut for this."

"Please?" Nehrut added.

"Anyway, Axel." Darth continued. "You won't tell people about this new turn of events in the Nehrut/Bariss coupling." He flicked his forehead once, and a blank look came to Axel's face.

The author set him down. "Now, what happened in this room?"

"Uh... I forgot."

"Good, good." Now Darth passed his hand slowly across his face in a credible Jedi mind-trick imitation. "You will forget you ever saw me, and go back into the pavilion to drink a bit of wine and get a nice buzz. You will then tell amusing stories about your time in Organization XIII to anyone who will listen." Then he added, as if on afterthought, "Including something about you and Larxene going on a date that went horribly wrong."

"Alright." Axel replied simply. He walked out the door, shutting it silently.

Nehrut looked curiously at Darth. "You're a Larxene/Axel fan?"

"Eh, it's alright."

"Well, anyway, thanks dude." Nehrut shook his creator's hand.

"Well, I've already shattered the fourth wall four times on this dust bowl of a world." He replied with a sigh and a shrug. "Might as well go the whole way with it." He then looked back at the audience. "Hope you liked it!"

!

_That description is out of date. I'm waaaaay more muscular now!... Okay no, but I do have a goatee._

_Uh… Yeah… So I did that… Forgive me? This is probably the last time I'll break the fourth wall. And yeah, Nehrut is a composite of people in my life. I hope that if you take one thing away from this story, that isn't the one._

_Anyway, Agrabah is done! And the next chapter is one of my favorites. Stay tuned!_

_And please review._


	112. Chapter 111: Shining Star of Cynthis

_Co-author credit goes to Shire Folk on this chapter. This chapter is for his O.C. which I borrowed, Cossex. The main points of the story were assembled by him, while I put his ideas to… well not 'paper' but you get the idea._

_Cossex: "And to be clear, these origins are different from mine in _The Annals of Darkness_. Still done by Shire, though."_

_Anyway, this chapter is to the king of KH fan-fiction!_

_Cossex: "DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, Xyran, or of course, me."_

_!_

Chapter 111: Shining Star of Cynthis

It had been five days since Klaxam returned to Pax Pacis after his first ever failure while in the Brotherhood, with Zexion in tow. Though apparently, Serndask had been lenient towards him in regards to punishment, stemming from the fact that he had had unreliable subordinates. And he _had_ come closer to catching a Keybearer than any of them, despite the fact that he had also been dealing with an all-powerful Genie.

Cossex realized that they had all tried their own hand at catching them. All except for her, Xyran, Sephiroth, and Serndask himself, had failed. He'd probably send one or all of them next.

It was night once again, but who could tell with the constant storm clouds? Just like the night she had chatted with Xyran, she was walking along one of the numerous hallways, though this time, it was on a lower floor.

She was on the way to the gym, hoping to let off a bit of steam. Her nightmarish memories were haunting her again, keeping sleep at bay once again. She fully intended to tear apart the gym for an hour or so, and allow exhaustion to take over and do its job.

She rounded a corner and entered the large, octagonal training area. It wasn't much to look at, but it suited the Brotherhood's purposes just fine. It was lit by rounded by the large, shaped, glowing crystals in the ceiling like most of the other rooms in the castle, giving the room a greenish hue. A set of weights (Andmox's favorites) sat in a corner, and a range of targets aligned three of the eight walls. Practice dummies and various other bits of training equipment were arrayed along the walls.

Cossex wasn't planning on using any of these things. She walked to the center of the room, which was completely clear of clutter. A small panel opened up on the smooth floor. Inside, there was a large rectangular green button. She brought her foot gently down on it.

The crystals lighting the room shifted from green to red, and the panel slid back into place as a six Invisibles and four Large Bodies appeared in the room all around her. She calmly summoned her axes, and stared the virtual Heartless down before the first Large Body slid toward her on its stomach.

She waited until it was nearly upon her, and leapt straight into the air, slicing her axes across its face as she did so.

The Heartless careened into the wall behind her, and disappeared. She landed lightly back on the ground in a crouch, and two Invisibles rushed toward her with their swords ready. She parried both of their swords with one of her blades, and used the free one to behead them both in one clean strike.

She ran toward the second Large Body. It swung at her as she approached. She leapt over the clumsy attack easily, flying straight toward its head. She cut its head off as she reached it, landing, and breaking into a run toward the next Invisible as the headless Heartless collapsed.

The Invisible rushed toward her, intending to run her through the chest with its blade. She slipped to the side at the last possible instant, and spun gracefully on the spot, cutting it in two as it passed her by. Another of the Heartless had flown at her at the same instant, and received a cut across the chest as her other axe clipped it.

She embedded the head of one of her blades into its head, and then ripped it out forcefully to throw it –along with her other blade- at the final Large Bodies lumbering toward her from across the room. The weapons spun quickly as they soared through the air, making a whistling noise. They cut the heads off both of them, and stuck in the wall behind them.

Cossex ran to retrieve them, disregarding the fact that she could easily summon them back to her. The remaining two Invisibles flew after her, cruising over the ground behind her.

The first one nearly cut her in half, but she suddenly stopped, and turned around to face it. She grabbed the wrist below that hand gripping its sword, and twisted. The sword fell from its grasp, and clattered to the ground. Before it could move any further, her hands shot up, grabbed both sides of its head, and twisted hard.

As it disappeared, its partner appeared in the space where it had been, blade raised to cut her down with a powerful overhead blow.

She summoned her axes back to her with a thought, and swept them both through the heartless, cutting through its neck and waist at the same time.

With remarkable suddenness, the fight was over, and she was alone again. The red crystals returned to their natural shade of pale green. Cossex decided that she'd have to up the difficulty a bit. That last fight had been almost too easy.

Then, the sound of slow clapping echoed through the room. She turned around, and saw Xyran standing in the doorway she had entered through. He had a big grin on his face, and wide eyes.

"And here I was thinking _I_ was good." He commented, walking inside. "That was incredible!"

Cossex smiled at the compliment. "Thank you."

"Where did you get moves like those?"

Her thoughts drifted back to the memories that had kept her from sleep for several nights. She was reluctant to answer, but finally, "I learned them at the Cynthis Academy."

"The what where?"

"Follow me, let's discuss this somewhere else." She led him out of the room. Maybe it was possible that confiding in somebody about her troubled story would help her get over it at last.

They stopped at a balcony on the fifth floor (out of sixteen). Rain was pouring down in a steady stream, as always, and the balcony ceiling kept it from splashing back toward them. A stone bench was situated there, and she sat down, motioning for Xyran to join her. The younger Nobody plopped down beside her.

"The Cynthis Academy was a place where people studied and trained to become heroes to defend our kingdom."

"Think you could rewind a little ways and give me the back story?"

!

_Cynthis was a small world, but a beautiful one. It was almost entirely dominated by pure rugged, wild nature; Mile upon mile of splendid boreal forests, mountains, lakes, and rivers._

_These forests and mountains were occasionally dotted with sprawling medieval cities, small villages, or wide plains and fields of farmland. On one such farm, there was a small homestead built out of rough wood. A bit of smoke emanated from a rough brick chimney in the roof._

_It wasn't the most extravagant home, but it was a happy one._

"I was born as Cesso on the world of Cynthis to my mother Selia, and my father Quekar. I was the middle child out of five. My older brothers were Queran and Eliar; twins. My younger sister was Selina, and my youngest brother was Quel. We were a farming family, and we were fairly comfortable."

_Inside the dining/living room which took up most of the house, the family of seven was enjoying their entirely home-made dinner (also home-grown). Present at the table was a tall, well-built man with blue eyes, and red-brown hair, which was starting to grey around the temples. The woman sitting by him had light blonde hair, and green eyes._

_The two identical twins of thirteen sitting at the table were the spitting image of their father in his younger days: Tall, with dark red hair, blue eyes, and smiles seemingly permanently attached to their faces. The youngest child (eight years old) had messy, short blonde hair which was currently very dirty, as was expected from any boy under ten. The only other girl stuck out with her long, shiny black hair and brown eyes (inherited from her grandfather)._

_The final girl was eleven. She was very thin, with short blonde (not blue) hair, and green eyes. She sat between her twin brothers, who took it upon themselves to poke fun at her good-naturedly every few minutes. She would laugh, rather than rise to their barbs like any other child her age._

"We lived a simple life, but we were quite happy as we were. My parents raised five good children, and we rarely squabbled. My parents taught me how to farm when I was about eleven, but more often, my brothers would blow off their work and take me on their improvised 'adventures' in the forests near our home."

"_Guys, it's not funny!" Cesso shouted into the trees somewhere ahead of her._

_Her brothers had somehow persuaded her into accompanying them on another 'brave quest' as usual. It wasn't that she didn't mind going with them, she just wished that they would... Actually do something._

_Queran and Eliar were a few meters ahead of her. Queran had his father's 'borrowed' long sword in his hand, and frequently slashed in front of him with it. He claimed that he was cutting apart savage invisible Charr: The large, humanoid, wolf-like beings who ravaged human villages across the Kingdom of Cynthis with reckless abandon in the name of their Titan Gods._

_He laughed and called back to her, "Aw, come on, Cesso. Where's your sense of adventure?"_

_She jogged to catch up with them, crunching pebbles and occasional leaves underfoot. "I have one, but I wish that something would actually happen!"_

"_Well, you live up to your namesake, I'll give you that." Eliar commented, ruffling her hair._

"I was fiercely proud of my name. It first belonged to a beautiful, respected, powerful warrior queen. Two hundred years before my birth, she led a small army against a massive horde of vicious creatures that had threatened the kingdom. She personally defeated their leader; A horrible dragon that had been determined to see the whole world burn. It was an honor to carry her name... I'd like to think I lived up to it."

_The threesome walked deeper into the forest, occasionally stopping to fight a Charr ambush or Orc raid with Queran's borrowed sword and the small dagger that Eliar had found the previous week._

_Cesso found it a poor substitute for a real fight. And she actually could speak of such things. Since she had been old enough to read, her parents had presented her with stories of epic struggles of heroes past to defend the world against dark forces. And the previous year, she had been witness to a bandit raid that had turned into a small-scale battle. The result: The bandits had been utterly defeated by villagers that she had known since childhood._

_While it was slightly out of place for a girl her age, she often found herself daydreaming about spectacular battle rather than which boys were cute._

_As she watched Eliar stab into an imaginary Charr with his dagger, her heart stopped. She had glimpsed something past him that neither of her brothers appeared to have noticed. In the bushes at the opposite end of the forest path they had been following, was a pair of small dark eyes, which glinted slightly in the afternoon sunlight filtering through the tree canopy._

_Before she could utter a single word of warning, a very large wolf that must have been five feet long from snout to tail lunged out of the bushes, and barreled directly toward Queran. The boy's back had been to it, as he was beheading a Charr who had been facing the opposite direction._

_The wolf struck him in the small of the back, sending him flying through the air a few feet, and causing him to lose his sword. The massive animal pinned him to the ground on his back, and opened its gaping, toothy mouth wide._

_Any normal teenager would have screamed his head off at the site, but Queran kept a remarkably cool head, and reached up with both hands to grasp the wolf around its neck before it could make a bloody mess out of his face._

_The wolf snapped its jaws closed a few times, attempting to reach him. But Queran kept it far enough away from his face to avoid serious damage, though it was a struggle._

_He was only alone for a moment before Eliar leapt into action, coming up behind the wolf to bring his dagger down into the base of its neck and put a quick end to the fight. He missed his mark by a few crucial inches, however, and brought the small blade down into its shoulder blade._

_The wolf let out a sharp, pained bark, and got off of Queran, changing track and turning its sights upon his twin brother. Eliar brought his blade up into a credible fighting position, gripped tight in his hand, and pointed forward toward his attacker._

_The wolf growled, and rushed toward him, disregarding the boy that was just getting to his feet. It had more power, but its prey had ingenuity. The boy stepped to the side at the last instant, and slashed across the side of its face as it passed by him._

_It yelped, and came to a halt, turning around with a growl to gaze at the three children. It was having a harder time grabbing a meal than it had bargained for. It began to prowl in a circle around them, its gleaming white teeth bared in a snarl._

_Queran reached for his fathers sword, thinking it was in the same place he had dropped it when he was attacked, but found to his horror that it wasn't there._

_That was when Cesso –a very thin, very small, very _edible_ girl- ran toward the wolf with her father's sword raised high over her head, and without a trace of fear on her face. The wolf ran up to meet this unexpected challenge, small trickles of blood leaking from its wounds._

_It was just inches away from tearing the girl's head off, when she dodged to the side like her brother had. With a shout, she brought the sword down with all her strength._

_The blow removed the wolf's head._

_The headless creature staggered forward a foot or so before it realized it was dead, and fell to the ground._

_Cesso's brothers gazed at the headless animal for a moment, and then stared at their sister in complete shock. She gaped at what she had done._

"We decided then that as soon as we turned sixteen, we would join the Cynthis Academy. As I told you, it was a place for young recruits to hone their skills in combat, to defend the world against whatever challenges it would face. Anyone who passed was subject to great prestige, and to defend Cynthis was an honor in itself. So, my brothers joined the day after their sixteenth birthday, and I followed them two years later."

"I actually wasn't what you would call the top student at first... But with time..."

_The slightly older Cesso parried another blow from her opponent: A tall, bulky, dark-skinned man of about her age, holding a long wooden staff, similar to the two smaller ones in her hands._

_They stood near the center of the training arena, which was in an open air section of the Academy (based in Cynthis' capital) specially reserved for sparring. It was a simple area of circular sand-covered stone floor, surrounded by a small brown fence separating it from the rest of the room. From the other side of the fence, about a dozen other Academy trainees (including her older brothers) were watching the confrontation along with Weapons Instructor Stahl: A tall, hard-faced man of about fifty who had his long graying hair tied into a topknot._

"_Faster, Kar." The man reprimanded, addressing Cesso's opponent. "You'll have to do better than those clumsy blows you keep throwing at her if you expect to have any success."_

_Kar adjusted his fighting posture a bit, and aimed a fast strike toward her legs. Cesso managed to leap backwards away from the attack, but by then he was following up with a thrust toward her face. She quickly slapped the blow aside with one of her 'weapons', and took a swipe toward his arm._

_He briefly recoiled from the stinging attack she had landed on his wrist, but was back on the offensive quickly._

"_Cesso, you need to take advantage of the openings you create!" Stahl urged. "When you see an opportunity, _strike_!"_

_She listened, and waited for Kar to attack again. She caught the end of his weapon between both of hers, and pressed it down to the ground. For a moment, they were locked in stalemate, then she leapt over their interlocked weapons, bringing her knee up to catch him in the chin._

_Kar stumbled backwards, but Cesso seized her opportunity this time, stepping forward, and bringing up one of her weapons to the point of his chin where her knee had just connected._

_The large man toppled over backwards, and she crouched over him immediately, holding both of her staves to his throat. This fight was over._

_The proud cheering from the small crowd was music to Cesso's ears. She smiled to her beaten opponent, and backed away from him to give him room to move. She extended her hand to help him up, and he took it._

"_I'll get you eventually, Cesso." He warned, but he was smiling._

"_Alright, Sis!" Eliar called. "Living up to your name!"_

"I rose to the height of my age group quickly. They called me 'The Shining Star of Cynthis' back then. The younger girls looked up to me... It was nice. Eventually, when I turned nineteen, I left the Academy with honors, and as the top of my class, and joined my brothers, this time on _real_ adventures."

"_You're going to want to stop that." Cesso said calmly._

_It had been two years since she had graduated from Cynthis Academy. She was now twenty-one, and her twin brothers were twenty-three. Each of them were outfitted with form-fitting armor, which could take a punch while still being comfortable. Cesso's was a pale blue in color, while her brothers wore red-brown armor._

_Cesso had a pair of gleaming axes hanging from her belt, and her brothers were both equipped with broad swords, though she knew that Eliar still had his lucky dagger stuffed into his left boot, within easy reach._

_The three of them had earned quite a reputation in the years since they had graduated from the Academy. They had successfully brought peace to a huge area of the countryside, which not one year earlier had been ravaged by unfriendly Minotaurs. They had repelled several Orc attacks, and bandit raids in numerous villiages, and were praised as heroes wherever they went._

_Now, they stood on the outskirts of a small village, facing outward. A small group of a dozen Charr was standing there, armed with large swords and battle axes. One of them was holding a local village man up by the throat, a large, twisted dagger as large as Cesso's arm in its hand._

_The Charr (who was apparently the leader of this band) turned to face her, eyes glinting. In response, she took her axes from her belt, and twirled them in an offensive pattern before her._

"_Oh, she's _really_ angry now." Queran observed with a grin. "I'd listen to her if I were you, friend."_

_The Charr growled low in his throat, and released the villager, who scrambled to his feet, and rushed away from the creatures. As he passed by the warriors into the relative safety of the village itself (where a small crowd was gathering) he said, "Bless you!"_

_Cesso sent a nod over her shoulder to show that she had heard, then turned her attention back to the Charr. Their leader had sheathed his dagger, and drawn a vicious-looking hooked sword that was about as long as she was tall._

"_You have no right to be here." She warned. "I'll only ask you once. Leave here now, or you won't leave at all."_

_The head Charr growled, and said something in his native tongue. Cesso only caught the last word, but it was quite obviously malevolent, "Thlatch ka na ov'ida ladu, Meat!"_

_For Charr, 'Meat' was a typical derogatory term meaning 'Human.' This wasn't far from accurate, as some Charr were known to eat certain body parts of their human victims._

_With a loud roar that practically shook the earth, the Charr rushed forward, crouched over slightly, and the rest of his team/pack followed. Cesso, Queran, and Eliar rushed to meet them, flourishing their weapons._

_Cesso leapt directly toward one of the Charr in the lead. Before the creature could even blink –let alone swing his weapon- she had passed him in midair, leaving two long gashes in his right side. He fell forward into the outstretched sword in Queran's hands._

_As his sister dispatched a second Charr, Queran blocked a heavy-handed blow from another one. While he couldn't match the Charr in brute strength, he was superior in speed and technique. He altered the angle of his sword just slightly, and the Charr's blade slid down it._

_He disengaged from his blade, and drove it quickly into the creature's chest. He yanked it out in a spray of blood, only to get tackled from behind by one of his friends. This new Charr raised his axe blade to deliver a killing blow, only to lose his head at the hands of his would-be-victim's twin._

_As Eliar helped his brother squirm out from underneath the corpse, another creature charged toward them from across the new battleground. He hurriedly drew his dagger from his boot, and waited._

_He was directly over him, ready to bring his blade crashing down on him, when Eliar moved into action. He leapt to his feet, and drove the dagger into his head through the bottom of his jaw._

_The Charr collapsed, and Eliar finally got Queran out from under the furry body restraining him. Two Charr ran toward them, and past them, they could see their sister fighting off the five remaining creatures single-handedly –and winning by a large margin._

_She was in the center of the ring of furry bodies that the Charr had formed around her. While most people would see this as her being trapped, and having nowhere to retreat to, this was not the case. Cesso was leaping back and forth so quickly, axes flashing, that she was practically fighting each one of them at once._

_And she was keeping each one of them on their toes. In the time it took for any one of the Charr to launch an attack at her, she had already struck toward all five of them at least once. It was a miracle that they were all still standing._

_That soon became inaccurate, when Cesso leapt high over a Charr's low strike. In midair, she drove her axe blades into each of his shoulder blades. He pitched forward, and she ripped her blades free, along with a great flow of blood._

_The Charr rushed in to fill the gap in their circle left by their fallen partner. But Cesso leapt toward another one, and ended his life with two long, diagonal slashes across his chest._

_Her three remaining opponents adopted a new strategy then. They grouped themselves close together, and approached her carefully as a group. They all struck at once, thrusting their swords forward to try and stab her through thrice in one instant. But with one simple movement, she pinned their three blades to the ground with only one of hers._

_With her free hand, she threw an axe into the forehead of the leftmost one. Before he had even hit the ground, Cesso ripped her other blade away from her enemies' and leapt at the rightmost one._

_She collided with him, with her axe stretched out before her to strike him in the chest. He fell over backwards –dead already- and she followed him down, crouching on top of his chest and pressing down harder to be safe._

_She got to her feet a moment later, and faced the sole surviving Charr. Coincidentally, it was the leader, who was beginning to look like he'd regretted coming here at all. Nevertheless, he didn't give voice to his fear, and leveled his huge blade before him in a fighting position._

_Cesso rushed forward, crouched just over the ground. He held his ground, waiting for her to come to him so he could strike. When she was less than a meter away, he brought it down hard._

_But she was too fast. She tucked herself into a ball, and rolled past the blade as it descended. She rolled completely under his legs, and to his other side. Within two seconds, she had ripped her second axe from the skull of his partner, and driven both of them into his exposed back._

_The blade of the Charr boss dropped from his slackening fingers, and he fell to his knees. He pitched forward face-first without even a moan._

"They were good times, and the best few years of my life. But a few months after my twenty-second birthday, we heard disturbing rumors from far-flung villages; of a terrifying evil force that destroyed everything it touched and left devastation in its wake. We were deployed at a distant village when word came from the King that all of the Academy's graduate heroes were to return to the capital city to defend it."

"My brothers and I decided we would return by route of our family's farm... We weren't exactly prepared for what we would find there."

_The three siblings were less than one mile from their home. They'd made surprisingly good time considering where they had started, and were less than one day from the capital city. They were moving along the very same forest path on which they had slain a wolf over a decade before._

"_Wonder how the old place looks now? Queran wondered aloud. "Probably not much different. Dad never really was one for change."_

"_I don't care what it looks like as long as it feels the same." Eliar replied. "What about you, Sis?"_

_Cesso was walking slightly ahead of them, deep in thought. "What do you make of this 'new threat' the King went on and on about in that letter?"_

"_Cesso, sometimes I think that all you think about is battle." Queran said. "Aren't you looking forward to seeing Mom and Dad again?"_

"_Of course I am!" She said quickly, and meaning it, "Selina and Quel, too. I'm just worried. The King isn't exactly one to worry."_

"_Well it can't be worse than those Minataurs that one time, right?" Eliar said, optimistic. "That one guy nearly ran me through with his horn. Still have the scar."_

"_Well, we'll find out eventually." Queran replied, and after a moment he said, "I think we're about there."_

_He was correct. There was a hill up ahead that was bare of forest, and transformed into the open plain on which their family's farmhouse was built. When they reached the crest of this hill, they expected to look down upon their childhood home, possibly with their family awaiting them outside._

_This wasn't the case._

_What the three actually saw was the smoldering wreckage of their childhood home. It had apparently been set ablaze, and the fires were only now beginning to die out. The land around it had been caught in the flames, and left bare of grass and any other plant life, leaving only the scorched earth beneath it._

_Prowling in the immediate area was a handful of unfamiliar creatures that were as dark as a cloudy night._

"Heartless."

_There was no sign of the family that had lived in the now destroyed home._

_Cesso, Queran, and Eliar stood there for a few moments, frozen at the pure, unexpected monstrosity that had occurred to their beloved home. Completely unprovoked, the creatures meandering about casually below them had destroyed it all._

_Without even realizing it, Cesso had drawn her axes. She was already halfway down the hill, before she fully understood that there were tears in her eyes and that she was screaming with a mixture of rage and grief._

_The first Shadow turned at her approach. Before it could do anything else, she had beheaded it, and before its partners could react, she had cut down another five like it. A slightly larger Heartless stomped toward her. It vaguely resembled a bulky, black-scaled lizard that stood at about three feet tall, and four feet long. It had red, orange, and yellow scales along its spine, and gleaming golden teeth. Its yellow eyes caught sight of her._

_The instant it did, the Drake opened its mouth, and belched fire at her. She leapt directly over the jet of flames, and snarled, realizing that this was one of the creatures that had burnt the house down._

_She fell toward it, and drove her blades into the base of its neck, hacking and slashing them free of its armored black flesh as it collapsed to the ground. She was in motion again within a second._

_Before Queran and Eliar had made it down the hill, Cesso had taken out three Drakes and eight Shadows in her fury-induced adrenalin. In a similar rage, they cut into the Heartless ranks with their swords flashing all over. One destroyed a Soldier, and the other beheaded a Shadow on their way over to their sister._

_Cesso seemed to be seeing everything through a red haze as she channeled all of her pain into the battle. She paid no attention to the minor bumps and bruises that the Shadows, Soldiers, and Armored Knights were landing against her. She ran toward the wreckage of the house, where a Drake kept launching fireballs toward her and her brothers._

_She leapt over a fallen timber, and what might have been the remains of their old dining table, and sliced its two front legs off. It fell to the ground as if kneeling to her, and she quickly removed its head. She parried a blow from an Armored Knight that had been nearby and cut it into three pieces._

_Queran and Eliar ran into the wreckage after her, disposing of the final three Soldiers on the way there. Only one Drake remained after this, and Cesso destroyed it the second it climbed over the remains of the wall, hacking ferociously into its back until it finally faded away into Darkness._

_After that, there was nothing left to do, nothing but grieve. Cesso fell into the ashes, trying to restrain herself from sobbing. Even so, tears fell from her eyes and dripped from her face onto the ground. The Shining Star of Cynthis had been reduced to tears, at last._

_Eliar bent down next to her and placed a hand on her back, stifling tears of his own. She wrapped her arms around him in a desperate hug –a sign of vulnerability that she had rarely ever displayed. But in brotherly fashion, Eliar said nothing, and merely held her close in a consoling manner._

"_They aren't here, so they might have escaped." Queran reminded, playing a good big brother role. "They-"_

_He was cut off in mid sentence. He let out a loud cry of pain when a fireball struck him in the back._

_Cesso and Eliar jumped up, only to see their brother falling to the ground, his sword falling from his grip. A severely wounded Drake was standing several feet behind him, its mouth steaming._

_Cesso snarled. Nobody expected to get hit from behind when the fight was supposed to be over! It was a cheap, dirty, cowardly tactic, and it was enough to get her blood boiling hot again._

_With a shout, she threw one of her axes spinning through the air. It flew with such force that it cut the Heartless vertically in half, and stuck several inches into the ground behind it._

_She and Eliar bent over their brother, and began peeling away the layers of damaged armor covering his torso, to see what they could do about the severe burn beneath._

"Queran wasn't dead, not yet anyway. We treated his wounds the best we could, but there was no way he could recover fully with what we had on hand. We needed to continue on to the capital to get him help there."

_It had taken a little more than a full day of travelling, but Cesso and Eliar were able to get to the capital without further incident. They had alternated on who would support or carry Queran the whole way there, to conserve their energy._

_They had rushed through the city gates (not needing to announce who they were, as they were already well-known) and into the huge fortress-like Academy. With the aid of a few trainees who had been meandering about the entryway, they had gotten their semiconscious brother to the infirmary._

_As they set him carefully down on the infirmary bed, a medic rushed into the room, having been told of their arrival. He ushered them out of the way hurriedly, and began to work his magic on the downed warrior._

_It had happened so quickly that Cesso barely registered that she and Eliar were now standing outside of the room in the hallway, staring at a closed door._

_She folded her arms over her chest, unconsciously hugging herself. Eliar put a consoling hand to her shoulder, despite the fact that his face was looking very pale himself. Together, the two sat down on a bench near the infirmary meant for the friends of patients. They sat in silence for a few minutes, before they head footsteps walking down the hallway toward them._

"_The Shining Star of Cynthis." The speaker was a man that neither sibling had seen for nearly three years. Instructor Stahl had remained largely unchanged since the time they had trained under him. He was wearing the same brown and dark violet armor as always, and had his katana on his belt. Kar (who had graduated second in his class, after Cesso) was walking behind him._

"_Just the 'Shining Star?'" Eliar replied. "Aw, come on I'm here too, you know!"_

"_Yes, but I didn't like you as much when you were training here." Stahl replied, deadpan. This got weak laughter from Kar and Cesso. "Regardless, it is good to see you both again. Though I wish it could have been under happier circumstances."_

"_You won't have to worry about Queran." Kar tossed in. "He's a fighter. And if he's half as strong as either of you, he'll be fine... But I have to ask; what happened to him?"_

"_We ran into that 'new threat' the King was going on about." Eliar said. "These creatures..."_

"_They attacked our home." Cesso finished bitterly. "They burnt it to the ground and attacked Queran while his guard was down."_

_She was starting to tremble, but not out of sadness this time. She could feel her anger and indignation building up again, and she wasn't sure she wanted to keep it below the surface this time._

_Stahl apparently noticed this, and put a firm hand to her shoulder. "Never harbor hatred for your enemies, young one. Such emotions cloud your better judgment, and you'll soon find that you are no better than them."_

_These strange words had an oddly calming effect on her._

"We waited for a few days. Queran made a bit of progress. He was able to hold a conversation with us, but he was still too weak to leave his bed."

_Cesso and Eliar were standing at their brother's bedside yet again. It had been four days since they had arrived at the capital. The two of them had rarely left the room since that time. Occasionally, Stahl, Kar, or other warriors that had known the siblings during their days in the Academy had joined them._

_It was late afternoon, and a storm was rolling in. The sky outside was mostly grey, and every few seconds, an occasional droplet of rain pattered the window panes of the small room Queran slept in._

_He was asleep now, and Cesso gently placed a damp rag to his forehead, if for no other reason but to be doing something. Eliar stood at the window, looking out across the cityscape at the people who were going on with their normal daily lives. He doubted that many of _them_ had to worry about losing a sibling at a moment's notice. He envied them for that._

_The door opened up, and Kar stepped in, panting slightly and looking as if he had just run from somewhere._

"_We're needed."_

_The two reluctantly left their brother's bedside, and followed Kar. He led them out of the Academy, and nearly a mile away across the city. Several other people she recognized as Academy trainees and graduates were rushing in the same direction. Each of them was carrying weapons, and Cesso now noticed that Kar had his massive spear slung across his back._

_She wasn't entirely sure where they were going until they were practically there already: The royal palace. Its five massive towers stretched up toward the stormy sky, a symbol of inspiration that anyone in the city would recognize._

_There was a large crowd gathered into a large courtyard at the palace gates, composed entirely of warriors. Several people parted at the sight of Kar (who stood at over six feet tall and was an intimidating person to friend and foe alike) and he led Cesso and Eliar to a space near the front of the crowd._

_They stopped before a tall podium. There were two people standing on it, facing the assembled crowd of heroes. Stahl stood slightly behind a tall man with dark brown hair and a beard. This man was garbed in regal robes of dark blue, and wearing a silver crown inset with a single red gem._

_The King of Cynthis stepped to the front of the podium. "Warriors of Cynthis," He said, in a voice loud enough to carry across the courtyard, "You have defended our Kingdom wisely and well in all your time of service. But now, I am afraid that I must ask you to do it again."_

"_There are scores of creatures approaching the capital." Stahl took over, stepping to the front. "We've heard whispers that they are called 'The Heartless.' These creatures... They rob beings of their hearts."_

_There were whispers and murmurs among the crowd, some skeptical, some horrified, some curious._

"_You can see why they must be stopped." Strahl continued. "They are approaching the gates as we speak."_

"_The fate of all of Cynthis rests on your shoulders, my friends." The King finished. "You must defend the city at all costs. May God watch over you all."_

"I still don't know if He was watching us that day. The battle wasn't pretty."

_The warriors (numbering just over six hundred at the time of the attack) had been able to hold the Heartless out of the capital for nearly thirty minutes with minimal casualties. Gradually, however, they had been pushed back to the front wall into which the gate was built._

_Cesso had been separated from Eliar and Kar during the fray, but she caught glimpses of them from time to time. Both were putting up a good fight, it seemed. She was currently fighting the Heartless closest to the gates, alongside Stahl, three trainees of about eighteen, and a female Instructor she had known from the Academy. Between the six of them, every Heartless that had attempted to reach the gate had met with disaster._

_Though the creatures had unbelievable numbers on their side, it seemed that they simply lacked the power to breach the city. Cesso was starting to think that they could yet salvage things today._

_But then, far past the fighting, near the edge of the forest that ringed the capital, there appeared a massive Heartless. It was nearly as tall as the city walls themselves, with tiny wings on its back, long arms, and a face obscured by black tentacles, save for its yellow eyes._

_The Darkside clenched its right hand into a fist, and punched the ground before it. A sort of portal opened up in the ground, and dozens of Shadows poured out of it to join the combat. Cesso snarled as the Darkside pulled its fist back up, covered with Darkness._

_It reeled its arm back, and then threw the ball of Darkness flying toward the massive closed gates._

"_Move!" Stahl shouted, and the six of them dove away from the gates as the attack knocked them completely off their hinges, and sent them flying into the city as twisted scraps of metal._

_Cesso got back to her feet just in time to strike down the Neoshadow that had leapt at her. Already, Heartless were storming through the open entryway in search of prey that would put up less of a fight._

"_Into the city!" Somebody shouted, and the warriors abandoned the Heartless they had been fighting for those pouring into the city._

"_Go with them, Cesso." Stahl said, whilst running into the throng of Heartless still outside the city. The female Instructor followed him. She wondered what they were doing until she realized that the massive Darkside was advancing toward them._

_Reluctantly, she left them, and ran into the city._

"Words couldn't describe what the capital had been reduced to after the Heartless breached the wall. Amongst the warriors were panicking civilians running for their lives. Some didn't make it."

_It had been two hours and the fighting in the Cynthis capital showed no sign of slowing down whatsoever. Buildings were burning, half-dead bodies lay scattered about the streets until the Heartless got to them, and the air was filled with screams and the sounds of battle._

_The city's defenders were tiring, and Cesso was no exception. She was standing on the roof of a half-destroyed house, fighting against airborne Heartless that had just now begun to appear. These Bookmasters were causing most of the heroes a lot of trouble._

_She leapt straight up, cutting the tome of one of them in half before stabbing it through the chest. Its two partners swooped toward her, firing Blizzard spells at her. She ducked out of the way, and slashed them to pieces as they neared her for a melee attack._

_Cesso took just a moment to catch her breath, and used the brief break to look around her. She could see the palace less than a mile away; one of its great towers had been broken in half by a Darkside before some brave soul had been able to bring it down. There was fighting in the street below her. One half of the buildings on the opposite side were on fire._

_She leapt down, landing on the back of a Drake. She beheaded it before it could react to her presence. She threw one of her axes into an Armored Knight that had been looming over one of her fellow warriors. It cut its head off before it could bring its blade crashing down on him._

"_Thanks!" The man said as Cesso leapt over him to retrieve her blade._

_She advanced down the street, her axe blades flashing all over, destroying a Heartless with every movement. A small group of warriors formed behind her, moving down the street in an unstoppable offensive line._

_Things fell apart however. Cesso caught sight of a group of Neoshadows. But they weren't looking at the warriors rushing toward them._

_They were advancing toward two small children who were trapped against the wall of a burning building. They were a boy and a girl, and couldn't have been older than six._

_As the first Neoshadow raised its claw to strike the girl down, Cesso reacted. She leapt-_

_And the next thing she felt was an icy feeling in her chest as everything went black..._

_Black that is, until she was reborn at the gates of Castle Oblivion a few hours later._

_!_

"Then there was Serndask, and you know the rest." Cossex finished.

Xyran was silent for a moment, and merely sat staring at her with his mouth agape. She waited for him to respond, and gazed out at the rainy Salusis for a few moments, feeling as though a great weight had finally been lifted from her shoulders.

"Wow." Xyran finally said. "I mean, _wow_. I thought my story was messed up... I'm sorry about your family."

"Well..." She sighed. "I'm sorry about your girl. But thank you."

"You never found out what happened to them?"

"I haven't left this world since Castle Oblivion, and if the Brotherhood knows anything about them, they're keeping it to themselves."

"You don't even know if Cynthis is still there?"

"You ask a lot of questions." She observed.

"Sorry..."

"Don't worry." She said. "And I don't know. But if it is still alive, then I can only hope my brothers survived the battle."

She sighed. "I don't want them to suffer through the fate of a Nobody, or for them to see what I have become."

"You didn't actually have much of a choice." He noted. "I mean, if you had said no to Serndask, I doubt he would have just let you walk away, not somebody with your kind of power."

"True." She admitted, though she didn't sound very convinced. "But thank you for listening to me. I feel a bit better now, somehow..." She didn't have a heart.

"Ah, no worries." He shrugged. "You sat through my monologue, didn't you?"

She chuckled slightly, and got to her feet, stretching her back to get the blood flowing through her muscles again. She bid goodnight to her young partner (who was technically older in the Nobody sense) and began the walk back to her room.

Perhaps she'd be able to get some sleep tonight, after all.

!

_I hope you enjoyed it! And if you haven't checked out _Annals of Darkness_, what are you waiting for! Get over to Shire Folk's page now! Tell him DK sent you!_

_And re-reading this now, I realize that I've inadvertently written Queran and Eliar a bit like Fred and George. How about that?_

_But anyway, leave a review!_


	113. Chapter 112: The City of Gold

_Merry early Christmas everybody! And Happy early Hanukkah to my Jewish readers. As a belated gift, I'll see about updating the day after Christmas. Anyway, about this new arc. It's neither Disney nor FF. It was originally suggested by Wwecat, and I warmed up to the idea quickly. So, here we go! Santa?_

_Santa: "DarthKingdom owns neither Kingdom Hearts or Disney. Nor does he own Square Enix or Dreamworks. Merry Christmas, one and all!"_

_!_

Chapter 112: The City of Gold

"Okay, I give up." Riku admitted. "Where the heck are we?"

The party had just landed on a world they had never visited before. The ship computer charts had identified it as 'El Dorado.' They were currently standing in the midst of a very thick mist, through which they could barely make out the forms of their friends. Sora could hear the distant sounds of wildlife, and the much closer sound of a slow-running waterfall.

"The computer called it 'El Dorado', and that name sounds familiar to me for some reason..." Sora muttered. He walked a few steps forward, and ran into something hard.

Apparently the rest of them heard him grunt in frustration, so they came to see what he had 'discovered.' In the brief moment when the mist cleared, they saw what looked like a massive flat piece of stone. Carved into the front were two people in headdresses riding some sort of dragon with a horse's head. A third man in a headdress was kneeling down before them, with his hands held up in offering.

"So... what is it?" Bariss asked.

"Well Bariss, I figured that was an easy one!" Goofy said.

"Really?" Kairi seemed surprised. "You know what this is?"

"Sure I do!" Goofy said proudly. "It's a great big rock!"

A collective sigh of irritation could be heard through the mist. Donald finally voiced everyone's thoughts. "Of course it's a great big rock, you big palooka! We wanna know what it means!"

"Oh... welp, that _is_ a tricky one!"

Nehrut floated up toward the top of the rock to get a better look at the men on the mount. "If I had to guess, I'd say this was some form of monument. Judging by the guy bowing down there, I'd guess that these two are leaders or gods or something."

"Still more weird gods..." Sora muttered. "So who do you think put it here?"

"The big, burly, angry-looking natives running right toward us with weapons!" Axel suddenly shouted, summoning his chakrams.

All eyes turned to where he was facing. Through the heavy mist -quickly approaching from the same direction where the waterfall noises were coming from- they could make out the shapes of a dozen or so large men. They seemed to be carrying thin spears in their hands as they ran. And as Axel had said, they didn't look happy.

Everyone summoned their weapons, and waited for their approach.

These men surrounded them as they stood at the base of the rock, and pointed their spears inward. Now that they were closer, Sora noted that they were all bare-chested, though some wore animal skin. Their baggy pants were made of some sort of cloth. Their skin was very tanned, and they had black hair, which most of them wore long.

The men bore hard expressions as they gazed upon those who had intruded into their land. But their expressions soon became those of confusion when they noted their out-of-the-ordinary appearances, clothing, and weapons.

One took a tentative step forward, and soon found that Sora had sliced his spear in half with one quick lunging motion. The Keybearer had leapt backward to his previous position before the man could even register what had happened.

The man backed up so quickly that he nearly tripped over his own feet. His companions now seemed to be weighing their chances of winning a fight against the strange newcomers, not realizing from the get-go that they were ludicrously overmatched.

One of them muttered something to his comrades, and got more than one quiet response in a tongue that Sora couldn't catch. As they talked amongst themselves, he edged over toward the rest of the group, not falling out of his fighting stance.

"Anybody have any idea what they're saying?"

"No."

"Nope."

"Nada."

"I figured." Sora said. "Anybody got any ideas of what we should do?"

"I don't think we should harm them." Nehrut whispered.

"What do we do then?" Riku replied. "Ask them politely to put their spears down and ask for directions to the nearest Keyhole?"

"That would probably save time, but I don't think it'd work." Kairi agreed.

"What I'm trying to tell you is that they aren't really our enemies. No more than the pirates at Port Royal were anyway." Nehrut elaborated. "I'm pretty sure they just came to check us out and got threatened by the sight of our weapons."

"So we should surrender?" Yuffie said.

"I think we should start by-"

"You people." One of the men spoke in perfect English. He was larger than his fellows, and wore the pelt of what looked like a big cat of some kind, and a necklace of its teeth. "Come with us."

They were hesitant to listen to him, but lowered their weapons nonetheless, curious as to what was going to happen.

The men were careful to keep a few feet of distance between them, but ushered them in a group toward the direction they had come from. The waterfall that Sora had heard came into view shortly. It was large high, and very wide, but the water seemed to be coming down with less force than one would expect.

It was moving softly enough for the first few men to walk easily through without being harmed.

The off-worlders moved in as well. Sora was yet again thankful for his magic clothing, which got very wet, but somehow without soaking through and sticking uncomfortably to his skin. But apart from Kairi, the others didn't enjoy the same advantages. Sora smirked when he saw Nehrut hold his cloak over both his and Bariss' heads to keep them dry. She smiled gratefully to him.

They stepped into a long, dark, high-ceilinged cavern. The wet rocks they stood on dropped off a few meters away into a small, but apparently deep river. Stone structures could be occasionally seen along the sides.

Four long, wooden, sturdy-looking canoes were anchored there, and they were ushered into them in two groups. The natives piled into the other two boats, save for two, which got into their canoes to push them along with long poles.

Sora still kept Oblivion lying across his lap in case he needed it, and discovered that the others were doing the same with their weapons. However, the men escorting them seemed to be mostly passive at the moment, and only cast them sidelong glances as they continued rowing them down the river.

They continued on in silence for nearly ten minutes, and the group took note of the unfamiliar stone statues and columns lining the tunnel at irregular intervals. They were mostly in Darkness the entire time, broken only by torches that the natives had lit, but after a while, there was finally light.

They were approaching a tall archway at the very end of the cavern, with lush green vines hanging from it. Golden sunlight was pouring from between them. When they broke through the vines, Sora remembered with sudden clarity why the world's name had struck him as being familiar.

El Dorado: The legendary city of gold.(1)

There was a collective gasp of awe from his friends. Directly before them where the river ended nearly a mile away, was a massive pyramid-like structure constructed entirely with gold and other valuable materials. Two slightly smaller ones stood to either side of it, and slightly further back. Smaller buildings bordered the river to either side, built among the jungle. Yet even these bright brick buildings had gold somewhere in the construction.

To either side of the archway they were sailing through were two huge ornamental columns made to resemble faces. Narrow streams of water were arching out from the tops. As the canoes progressed further down the river, Sora caught sight of more of the locals walking amongst the streets of the city. They had the same skin and hair as the men with them, and all wore bright, colorful clothing as they went about their business.

Sora turned away from this sight, and looked into the river when something lightly rocked the canoe. He gaped in shock when he saw a giant purple koi fish swimming alongside the boat, accompanied by several of its multicolored fellows.

Kairi let out a tiny little squeal of surprise. Sora laughed, and she playfully smacked him on the arm, temporarily forgetting that they were sort of prisoners. A small group of bright yellow butterflies fluttered past her face a second later, briefly illuminating her face with their brightness.

He just had to kiss her. It was a pleasant surprise, and she returned it enthusiastically.

"Do you think you could save that for later, guys?" Mickey (who was sharing this canoe with them, Donald, and Goofy) whispered to them.

"No." Sora muttered quickly before pressing his lips to Kairi's again. She coiled her arms around his shoulders. With the gentle rocking of the boat, and the beautiful scenery around them, it was a somehow magical moment despite their tense situation.

They had to cease with their romantic moment when the canoes stopped at the base of the massive pyramid. They were all led onto a stone platform before the steps leading up to the ridiculously tall building. A crowd was starting to form to get a good look at the strangers.

The off-worlders glanced cautiously around, gathering together in a group. The people around them were looking at them as if they'd never seen anything like them (which they probably hadn't, Sora realized).

He heard one whisper to his companion, "Could they be here for the gods?"

Riku looked curiously at Sora, who shrugged.

The crowd abruptly parted to make room for two people. By their appearances (which differed greatly) Sora guessed that they were figures of importance in the city.

The first man was about as wide as he was tall (which was saying something). This middle-aged man had long, shiny black hair that hung down his back, a kind face, and dark eyes. He wore a slightly pointed golden headpiece, and a necklace of three golden squares. He was bare-chested, but wore a blue-green skirt-like piece from his waist. There were golden armlets on both of his burly forearms.

The other was also middle-aged, but was taller, and had pulled his dark hair into a short pony tail behind his head. He had a dark red tattooed line running horizontally across his face just beneath his eyes. Another small red line on his chin resembled a beard. He wore bright red and yellow robes, as well as gold armlets. A square turquoise necklace was around his neck.

They walked up to the group of off-worlders with curious and somewhat calculating expressions. The large man spoke first.

"I am Chief Tannabok. Welcome to El Dorado. What is your business here?"

Sora was about to come out and try their usual explanation about being beings from another world, here to combat the Darkness, but then the other man spoke.

"Do not speak to them that way!" He spat out at the chief. His expression changed in one moment, to be replaced by one that was familiar to any culture: That of a man who was about to do some serious kissing up. "Forgive his impudence, my Lords. I am Tzekel-Khan, high priest, and speaker of the gods. I assume you are here on their terms? Please, allow me to inform them of your arrival."

He quickly walked away, hurrying up the steps of the pyramid, somehow maintaining a look of importance despite the fact that he was moving quickly.

The off-worlders watched him for a moment, and then huddled together.

"Okay..." Axel began. "Is anybody following any of this at all?"

"No, but I think we're about to meet some kind of gods, so just play along and try to act natural." Sora said.

Tzekel-Khan reappeared in the entrance to the pyramid high above them. In a booming voice, he shouted to all the assembled, "The gods are here!"

Sora braced himself for some kind of grand entrance like those gods from Olympus; Something like a pillar of fire or a flash of bright light... What he got instead surprised him.

Two men walked down the pyramid on either side of Tzekel-Khan as the people of El Dorado cheered for them. As they got closer, Sora could make out their features.

The man on the right had bright green eyes, shoulder-length blonde hair, and a thin goatee. He was wearing a baggy bright red shirt and tan pants. His friend was slightly taller, with long black hair tied into a pony tail. He had a thin stripe of a beard on his chin, and blue eyes. He wore a blue shirt under a thin brown vest, and dark pants.

Sora traded suspicious looks with his friends. Nehrut already looked as if he was scanning the minds of the supposed gods.

Tzekel-Khan brought these two men down to them. He addressed the two men directly this time. "My Lords, I take it that these are your distinguished guests?"

The dark-haired man looked flustered for exactly a tenth of a second before he pulled it together and replied, "Yep, that's them!"

"Please excuse us for a moment, Tzekel-Khan," His friend added. "We'd uh, like to speak with our friends in private."

They walked toward the off-worlders, and ushered them over toward the end of the platform they stood on, just by the river. One they were out of earshot, the dark-haired one pulled Sora into a hug, laughing for a moment as if he was an old friend.

"Alrighty, quick question?" The man suddenly whispered rapidly into his ear. "Who the heck are you people?"

"I'm Sora, and who the heck are you?" Sora played along, returning his hug to play the part of the old friend.

"Tulio, that's my partner Miguel." He answered quickly. Miguel was currently shaking the hands of the others enthusiastically, kissing the women on the backs of their hands.

"And why are you pretending to be gods, exactly?"

"What makes you think we're pretending?"

"I've been around a lot more than you'd expect, I can tell these things."

"What kinds of things?" Tulio finally released him from his grip, slightly nervous. "Never mind. Alright, play along with us for a few minutes, and we'll all get out of this alive. Story time later, deal?"

"Deal."

They quickly shook hands, and Tulio turned back to their audience. "Alright! Everybody, allow me to introduce the gods'..."

"Executive staff, and official representatives of the spirit world!" Miguel finished, making up passable titles for them on the spot. "Here is Sora, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Kairi, Riku, Yuffie, Nehrut, Bariss and um..."

"Axel. Got it memorized?"

"Axel!" He whispered sidelong to him. "And yes, I do."

The people cheered for them as the 'executive staff' bowed theatrically to them, and then to the 'gods.' Tzekel-Khan gave a shout of excitement.

"Excellent!" He said, stepping forward, and bowing very low to Sora. "Now, would Your Graces desire your own quarters, or shall sharing living space with the gods be enough?"

"Ah, we have plenty of room Tzeckley." Tulio said, addressing the man by a name that might have been an attempt to calm him down when he was being theatrical. "They can stay with us for a while."

"And if it's not too much of a bother," Nehrut interjected, stepping in between Miguel and Tulio and placing a hand on each of their shoulders. "We'll just go ahead and retire early. The sun's going down soon, and we have special rituals to plan."

"Nice one." Miguel whispered admiringly.

"Have you done something like this before?" Kairi asked, also whispering.

"Once. Port Royal... good times."

Miguel and Tulio led them up the steps of the pyramid as the crowd began to disperse. Tzekel-Khan and Chief Tannabok bowed low to them as they passed them by.

It was a tiring walk up there, and by the end of it even Sora's legs were starting to feel cramped. "Inside, quick." Tulio parted the curtains that covered the entrance to his and Miguel's quarters.

It was a large, extravagant chamber with stone floors. The walls were a red-orange color, and adorned with various symbols that represented who-knew-what. A bit of the plant life had been allowed inside through small openings in the ceiling to where they wrapped around the columns in the room. In two places on either side of the room, the wall ended, opening into a sort of balcony that offered a magnificent view of El Dorado from above. There were long seats made of pure gold around the rooms, adorned with soft, ornamental pillows. In the very center was a, shallow, square-shaped pool of water. And at the end of the room was a large alter-like structure.

Waiting for them in the entrance for them was a woman roughly the same age as Miguel and Tulio (early twenties). She was clearly another native. She had long black hair that went down to her thighs, and was wearing clothing that might have actually been acceptable in El Dorado's society, though probably not by much, though.

"That was _way_ too close." Miguel said, lying down on a few pillows.

"No kidding." The woman agreed. "I gotta hand it to you Miguel, 'executive staff?' Nice touch."

"Something I pride myself on, darling."

"Okay! Now that we're not in imminent danger of painful, agonizing death," Tulio said, "Let's get down to brass tacks."

"Why don't we start with what the heck is going on here?" Sora asked, sitting down on the seat next to Miguel.

"Well kid," Miguel began, "Tulio and I here were in the middle of a dice game whe-"

"Wait!" Tulio interrupted. "Hold on a second here. No offense, but we're going to need a little assurance before we go off telling you our life story that you won't tell the locals about any of this. We did just meet you."

"What do you think guys?" Sora asked the group.

After a small amount of discussion, they reluctantly agreed not to tell a soul.

"Alright!" Miguel said. "Now..."

And so, Miguel and Tulio told them their story, which was worthy of an exciting work of fiction. They were con men by trade, and made a healthy living with a spot of gambling once in a while. Back in Spain, they had a nice price on their heads. In their latest venture, they had won a strange map of the 'new world' leading to El Dorado, off of a sailor. Unfortunately, they had been caught playing with loaded dice, and were chased through the streets.

One thing led to another, and they accidently ended up as stowaways on the next ship to the new world, which was one of several being led on an expedition by an Hernan Cortes. They had been caught, and thrown in the brig by the unpleasant leader of the expedition. They had had luck and cunning on their side, however, and had escaped the ship with a rowboat and a few supplies, accidently stealing Cortes' war horse Altivo in the process (the horse chose that moment to enter the room).

They had inadvertently landed on the shores of the new world before Cortes' fleet over a week later, and had followed the map along a long, winding trail through miles of jungle, and had found the city just the previous day. Due to their slight resemblance to the figures in the large monument to their gods, the people had naturally assumed that they were there to usher in the Age of the Jaguar.

They had played along, but after the public eyes were off of them, they had been discovered by Chel –the young woman who was standing in the room now. She had offered to be their 'assistant' in El Dorado culture, and to hold her tongue. In exchange, she had demanded a trip back home with them once they had amassed a suitable amount of gold to live like kings when they returned to Spain.

"And we're not exaggerating!" Tulio finished nearly an hour after they had begun their tale. Night had just fallen on the city.

"I can't help but notice that you left out the part about the leeches, Tulio." Miguel interjected, grinning.

"I think that might be for the best, thank you Tulio." Riku quickly said before the other man had a chance to reply.

"So, let me see if I understand this..." Sora began slowly. "You're two criminals who are extorting the trust and misguided religious beliefs of an unfamiliar people to make a quick buck?"

"Uh..." Miguel and Tulio suddenly looked extremely uncomfortable.

"You realize that you're sounding an awful lot like the bad guys here, right?" Kairi added, narrowing her eyes dangerously. Anyone who knew her well enough recognized that this was a sign that the person she was addressing had exactly five seconds to explain themselves if they didn't want their personal parts burned, frozen, or electrocuted.

Tulio seemed to recognize this, because he slowly backed away, and held his hands up in front of him as if hoping that would protect him. "Now, in our defense, we didn't have much of a choice, because they were about ready to massacre us on the spot before Tzekel-Khan interrupted."

"And really, truly," Miguel added, "We aren't bad people, we've just had extremely bad luck... Or good luck, depending on one's point of view."

"And in any case, we don't plan on staying long, or on taking _all_ the gold." Tulio continued. "Just enough to get back home, pay off our debts, and stay safe... With enough to live comfortably, of course."

"And it's not as if we're putting the people of El Dorado out on their backs or anything." Miguel added. "Once we leave, things will go back to normal for them, and in a few years time, it'll be as if we were never here."

"That speech sounds suspiciously rehearsed." Nehrut noted, raising an eyebrow.

"But, it makes sense!" Chel argued. She seemed remarkably casual considering the awkward position she had been thrust into.

Sora traded looks with his friends, who were mostly scattered about the large room. Eventually they came to an agreement.

"Well, we have worked with people like Jack Sparrow." He finally said with a shrug.

"And these guys remind me a bit more of Aladdin than they do him." Yuffie said, whilst admiring a golden dagger on one wall of the room.

"So... what are _you_ doing here?" Tulio asked at last.

They all smiled. This was always a fun part of arriving on a new world: Explaining their incredible story to people whose minds would be blown wide open by the revelation. It had been very amusing to watch Quasimodo's ever-changing expressions as they told the story, so Sora wondered how these people would react.

It took nearly two hours even considerably shortened down, but they managed to adequately convey the ideas of Heartless, different worlds, and their part in the whole grand scheme of things.

Sora laughed at the amazed looks on their faces when they had at last finished, and the others joined him.

"So, you are here because there are Heartless on this world now?" Miguel asked.

"Possibly." Mickey answered. "Darkness is present here, and it could strike down at any moment. But how, when, where, and why we can't quite say."

"All we know is that we're needed here, and we'll stay until the job is done." Riku said, folding his arms and leaning back in his seat. "And if we have to lounge around in a golden paradise for a few days, then so be it."

Miguel and Tulio looked at each other for a moment, and carried on a quickly conducted whispered conversation.

"Alright!" Tulio concluded. "Then, as long as you're here, we'll lend you a hand if you need it."

"Besides," Miguel added, "Aiding world-saving warriors sounds vaguely heroic! Not to mention that there'll be a chance for a spot of excitement later on, I'm sure."

Sora grinned. Maybe they weren't such bad guys, after all.

The stars outside (in reality millions upon millions of worlds) were shining brilliantly by now. Nobody was moving on the streets anymore, and the only light apart from the stars and the crescent moon above was emitting from their temple, and a large stone structure which apparently belonged to Tzekel-Khan.

The thirteen of them (plus the horse) were tired by the day's events. They found a lot of extra pillows in a side chamber, and brought them out for the off-worlders to sleep on. They would have to sleep on the floor, but the pillows were comfortable enough that this wasn't a problem.

Chel bid them all goodnight, and left the temple –presumably to her own home somewhere in the city. Altivo laid down in a corner of the room, and was asleep within minutes. Miguel and Tulio retired to a very large sedan chair that had been provided for them (they repeatedly insisted that they were straight when Axel started laughing).

Sora rolled his eyes, and plopped down onto a group of pillows next to Kairi. She immediately wrapped her arms around his neck and snuggled in close to him, and he pulled her as close as he could.

They all fell asleep within minutes.

However, a few hours later, Nehrut was awoken by a soft sound by his ear. His eyes shot open, and he jumped to his feet...

Or would have jumped to his feet if there wasn't a soft weight on his chest. It took a moment for him to realize exactly what had happened. The soft noise that had awoken him was Miguel, who had gotten up for water, judging by the golden goblet he had in his hand. And the weight on his chest...

Bariss had coiled her arms around his neck in her sleep, and was half-lying on top of him. It wasn't an uncomfortable feeling, on the contrary, it gave him a warm feeling in his stomach. The telepath looked down into her sleeping face with a soft smile, and placed a hand on her back.

"Sorry for waking you, kid." Miguel apologized in a tone _just_ loud enough for him to hear without anyone else waking up.

"Don't worry about it. I was in the middle of an unpleasant dream anyway." The dreams of Xaynew's assault on the palace had lessened significantly since his talk with Bariss, but they still crept up on him without warning every once in a while.

Miguel's eyes fell on the sleeping girl who was all but attached to him. "I didn't know you two were together."

His face turned red. "We aren't."

The older man snorted and went to bed. And as he did so, Nehrut thought about the oracle's words.

!

_For those who haven't seen _'The Road to El Dorado'_ I highly recommend it. It's one fun, hilarious romp._

_1) I recommend playing the various Elton John tracks for these chapters. The man does good work._

_Once again, Merry Christmas, and leave a review!_


	114. Chapter 113: A Proper Tribute

_Okay, so two days after Christmas. Forgive me? I was busy with my brand new 3DS! Maybe I'll get to play the next Kingdom Hearts after all! But anyway, moving on to the chapter. Hope your Holidays went well, and have a Happy New Year!_

_Tulio: "DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, or Square Enix."_

_Miguel: "Nor does he own Dreamworks or any of its properties."_

_!_

Chapter 113: A Proper Tribute

The following morning dawned bright and new on El Dorado. The local people had started their days early, as always, and were going about their business in the streets below.

In the gods' temple, Kairi awoke when Sora slightly shifted his weight against her. She opened her eyes sleepily to see Sora stretching his arms over his head and yawning. She scooted toward him, and wrapped her arms around his waist. He started, and then laid back down with her.

"Morning, Princess." He said softly, kissing her forehead.

"Morning, Prince." She returned, grinning.

"Morning, Honey!" Miguel exclaimed comically as he walked by them, making them leap to their feet. He laughed.

"There's no privacy in this group." Sora grumbled, making Kairi giggle.

"Well, that means that you can do the same to those four over there." Miguel pointed to the other side of the room. The two followed his finger, and grinned.

Most of the room's occupants were still asleep. Yuffie was leaning against some pillows propped against a pillar. Riku's head was on her lap, and their hands were interlaced even in sleep. They both wore small smiles of contentment.

But Sora was more amused with Nehrut and Bariss. They had mirrored Sora and Kairi, and had their arms wrapped tightly around each other in their sleep. He had his head resting on top of hers.

"When will they fess up already?" Kairi wondered.

"This has been going on for a while?" Miguel asked.

"Yeah, pretty much since the second they met, but neither one of them wants to admit there's something there."

"Chicken?"

"Yep."

The female chicken chose that moment to wake up in the arms of the male one. She stirred just slightly, and opened her eyes to see the blurred image of Nehrut's face mere inches away from her own, slightly obscured by her own long blonde hair hanging over it.

For a few seconds she gazed at him, before realizing that there was an audience watching her. She leapt backwards off of him, letting out a kind of tiny yelp as she moved away from the sleeping telepath.

The laughter of the others woke the rest of the room, including the aforementioned telepath, whose eyes flew open instantly, catching sight of the girl he had inadvertently been snuggling with. He blushed brightly when he realized what must have happened.

Amidst all the laughter, a new face entered the temple through the closed curtains. It took Sora a moment to recognize Tzekel-Khan past his mask. He shuddered when he realized that it was fashioned from a human skull, with both eyeholes made into a single large slit that he could look through. Five golden fin-like pieces stretched from the top of the skull, and curled back behind his head, reminding Sora oddly of Larxene.

"Good morning, my Lords!" He greeted enthusiastically, and the laughing came to a sudden, jarring halt. He walked directly toward Miguel and Tulio, and stopped a few feet away to give them a reverent bow. "The masses are all assembled for your ceremony this morning."

"Ceremo... oh, right, the uh... ceremony." Tulio stuttered. "Uh, lead the way."

Tzekel-Khan bowed again, and led them all out of the temple and along several less-travelled streets to their destination: A smaller temple built into the side of a mountain. They entered through it, and after a few moments, emerged on the other side of it.

They stood on a thick stone platform, which jutted out over a the largest whirlpool Sora had ever seen outside of Port Royal. It sat far below the platform, wedged in a small valley-like area between the mountain they stood at, and the larger hills nearby. On the hills across from them, what looked like the entire population of El Dorado was assembled in stone bleachers.

Chief Tannabok was waiting for them, and bowed to Miguel and Tulio when they arrived. Tzekel-Khan didn't spare him a glance as he walked to the very edge of the platform. In a thundering voice that echoed across the area, he cried, "The gods have awakened!"

The people cheered loudly, leaping up and down in their seats. As they did, Chel walked from the temple entrance that they had used, and which the majority of them were still situated by. She was holding a round tray with violet flower petals inside. She quickly moved over toward Miguel and Tulio, and scattered the petals at their feet.

"Hey, Chel?" Sora asked in a whisper. "What's going on?"

"It's not gonna be good."

"This city has been granted a great blessing!" Tzekel-Khan continued, oblivious to the hushed conversation going on about ten feet behind him. "And what have we done to show our gratitude?"

"So, local hospitality isn't good enough?" Axel wondered. As he said it, three servants emerged from the entryway carrying something between them.

"The gods deserve a proper tribute!" Tzekel-Khan shouted when the servants set their burden in front of him. Sitting on a large round tray of pure gold was a large cloth sack. It was tied up with a long blue ribbon, and had a wreath of flowers over it.

Miguel and Tulio looked at each other with matching grins, wondering what sort of 'tribute' they were in for.

Whatever they had guessed at was as unexpected as Tzekel-Khan's next actions. He raised his hands to the sky, and clenched his fists. Sora heard Riku audibly gasp next to him, and understood why less than a second afterword. The air around the high priest visibly darkened, until he almost seemed to be standing in his own nighttime atmosphere.

Tzekel-Khan made sweeping motions with his arms, and an eerie green light gathered around the sack. Unnatural vapor rolled around it, and green jolts of energy occasionally crackled around the sack.

Sora understood now that this man knew sorcery. He could feel the Dark power radiating off of him. While he wasn't as easily able to, nor as ready, as Riku to sense such things, he was accurate enough to gauge Tzekel-Khan's power as being on about the same level as Maleficent, Merlin, or the Horned King. He shuddered when he realized that he may have been on par with Yen Sid himself.

Sora revised his view of the man very quickly.

"The beginning of a new era, the dawning of a new age, demands..." Tzekel-Khan continued on with his spell. He waved his hands hard in front of him, and the sack vanished in a flash of bright green. Revealed to be kneeling there was a dazed-looking middle-aged man; his wrists bound by thin rope. "Sacrifice!"

There were gasps and shouts of surprise when people caught sight of the man. Chief Tannabok in particular looked horrified. Tzekel-Khan held his hand over the man's shaven head, and raised him to his feet through some unknown magic. He picked up a sword-like weapon (known as a macuahuitl) from the ground that bore a slight resemblance to the Fenrir Keyblade, and prodded the man in the back, moving him forward toward the edge of the platform.

"I don't like this..." Tulio muttered.

"We've got to do something." Miguel urged.

Sora summoned Oblivion and took a step forward. Tzekel-Khan raised his weapon high, poised to strike. Before he had a chance to chop down, and before Sora could move any further, Miguel shouted, "STOP!"

Tzekel-Khan and Sora both froze, and the latter hurriedly dismissed the Keyblade.

Miguel and Tulio walked toward Tzekel-Khan, with their arms raised over their heads as though requesting silence. "This is not a proper tribute!" Tulio barked at the high priest as Miguel walked past him. He caught the would-be-sacrificed man as he passed out, and fell backwards.

"You do not want the tribute?" Tzekel-Khan asked confusedly. Sora found his tone unusual, as if he'd never been taught that murder was wrong.

"N- No, we want tribute." Miguel corrected, guiding the man over toward Tannabok, who set him gently on the ground. "It's just um... Tulio, tell him!"

Tulio shot him an annoyed look, and hurriedly tried to come up with something. Sora beat him to it, and took a few wide, quick steps toward them. "The stars are not in position for this particular tribute!"

"And they won't be for a while yet." Riku added, joining his friend. "Not for another seven years or so."

"Like they said!" Miguel agreed. "Stars. Can't do it. Not today."

Tzekel-Khan met Sora's eyes, and then Tulio's. Both were giving him disappointed, 'not amused' looks. This seemed to make him miraculously humble; he pressed his hands together before him, as if praying for forgiveness. His voice was low, subdued, and apologetic when he next spoke.

"Well, perhaps it is possible that I misread the heavens."

"Don't worry about it!" Miguel replied, walking up and patting him on the shoulder. "To err is human, to forgive..."

"My Lords!" Chief Tannabok spoke, drawing their attention back to him. Sora noted that he didn't look confused or unhappy about the events that had just transpired. His expression was one of intermingled satisfaction, relief, smugness, and barely repressed joy. "We, the people of El Dorado would like to offer you _our_ tribute."

The main group stepped slightly to the side of the entrance as at least a dozen servant women stepped through it. Every one of them carried a golden tray in their arms. These trays were piled high with numerous gold ornaments, that included pots, jewelry, headpieces, and all other manner of highly valuable trinkets.

When the sunlight struck them, Sora had to shield his eyes, the glare was so great. Miguel and Tulio gaped, and stupid grins appeared on their faces at the sight of such treasure. Donald wore a similar expression, and was trembling all over from excitement. He would have probably ran directly toward them if Goofy hadn't been holding him back.

"My Lords," Tannabok asked humbly, "Does this please you?"

Tulio looked as if he were about to pass out. Hastily, Sora elbowed him in the ribs. He caught himself, "Uh, acceptable. It'll do."

"The gods have chosen!" Tannabok proclaimed proudly. He looked at Miguel and Tulio. "To Xibalba?"

Sora had no idea what that meant, and he doubted that Miguel and Tulio did either. But they were clearly too excited to care, and shouted together, "To Xibalba!"

The audience cheered, and the cheering was soon replaced by excited chanting, "Xibalba! Xibalba, Xibalba..."

The servants formed two lines starting at the temple entrance, and Sora noted that dozens more were awaiting inside. They walked slowly forward, carrying their trays toward Miguel and Tulio at the platform's edge. The first one stopped a few feet away from them...

And threw the contents of her tray over their heads, and into the whirlpool.

This process continued for a few seconds with the other servents. Miguel and Tulio watched their tribute flying down into the whirlpool to be lost forever, with shocked and confused expressions on their faces.

Chel walked up to them, with a look that suggested that they were complete and utter morons.

"Hey Chel, um..." Miguel stuttered, still not tearing his eyes from the whirlpool. "What are they doing?"

"They're sending it _to Xibalba_." She hissed. "The spirit world!"

For some reason, this struck Sora as incredibly funny. He snorted once, and then repressed it, barely. But not far away, he could hear the soft snickering and giggling of his friends. Turning to look, he discovered that they were all trying and failing to hide the fact that they were highly amused (except Donald, who looked like he might cry). Fortunately, none of the locals were looking in their direction, and so couldn't find this suspicious.

"Spirit world..." Tulio began, looking as though he would cry.

"I'll take care of it." Chel said. She walked over to Chief Tannabok, who was watching the whole spectacle with pride. She tapped him lightly on the arm to catch his attention. She spoke softly. "Excuse me, Chief? The gods have changed their minds about Xibalba. They wish to bask in the reverence that has been shown them."

Tannabok looked as if this was a slightly odd request, but the expression soon vanished. Raising his arms, he bellowed, "STOP!"

All the activity came to a stop immediately, save for one round golden tray that had rolled from someone's hands, and was making its way toward the edge. Tulio abruptly raised his foot the instant before it went over, and held it in place.

"They wish to bask!" The Chief finished, beaming. "Take the tribute to the gods' temple!"

The servants turned around, and began the walk back to the temple that was Miguel and Tulio's temporary home. Chel skipped innocently back to the two 'gods' wearing a smile that bore only a trace of smugness. They smiled admiringly to her.

"Nice going." Tulio whispered.

They walked casually back to the entrance built into the mountain, and Sora and his group followed them. Before they left, Sora noticed that Chief Tannabok was smiling smugly at Tzekel-Khan, who hadn't left the platform since his tribute had been rejected.

It may have been a trick of the wind, but Sora thought he heard the high priest's hushed voice whisper to the chief's departing back.

"Smile while you can."

!

It had taken the better part of an hour and a half for all the tribute to be loaded into the temple, and another five minutes just for all of the servants to weave around the huge piles of gold to get to the exit, and get down the pyramid's side.

But the second they were gone, Miguel and Tulio started dancing around the room like excited school girls, chanting some kind of private mantra.

"Tons of gold for you –HA! Tons of gold for me –HA! Tons of gold for we –HA!"

As they continued about on this private sort of ritual, the off-worlders took their time examining the mountains of treasure, which occupied more than three quarters of the huge room.

Donald immediately threw himself into the nearest pile as a kid might do to a stack of leaves in autumn. He rolled around in it for the better part of five minutes, ignoring everything else around him, though nobody was actually attempting to grab his attention, knowing that it would be a futile effort. Still, Mickey and Goofy were nearby to make sure he didn't hurt himself.

Axel also seemed interested, but not to the point of obsession. He'd found a long golden scepter among the treasures, and was holding it up to the light for examination. When it let off a little spark of electricity, he hastily dropped it, his thoughts going back to the oracle which was still resting in the Agrabah palace.(1)

Riku walked among the massive piles of gold, not particularly caring what was there. He didn't care very much about munny, despite the fact that they were sitting on a massive fortune here. He idly scanned the sparkling treasures with a bored expression, until his eyes caught sight of something particularly shiny.

It was a shining ring sitting in a small, velvet-lined box. It was a bright golden band, which was engraved with small patterns resembling tiny flowers. Set into the top was a sparkling emerald jewel.

After checking that nobody was looking, he subtly slipped the ring and its box into his jeans pocket.

"Wachya doing?" Yuffie asked when he came back into sight. She had been examining a long, thin, golden dagger with a sapphire jewel in the hilt.

"Nothing." Riku replied with a smile. For apparently no reason, he placed a quick kiss on her cheek. She gave him a curious look, and he kissed her again, this time on the lips.

Across the room, Sora had found a bracelet. It was fairly simple, just a golden band about two inches thick, encrusted with small, violet jewels across its length. He looked closely at it, and then decided that it would look nice on her, if she'd take it.

A slender pair of arms suddenly wrapped around his waist from behind. He wasn't particularly surprised. He had felt Kairi there. "What're you doing?"

He placed the small item of jewelry in one of her hands, and she released her hold on him so that she could look at it properly. When she realized the valuable item that she was holding, she smiled at him. "You always know what I like, don't you?"

"You have good taste." He commented, grinning.

She slipped the bracelet onto her left wrist (_not_ her right, Sora noted) and held it up to the sunlight pouring in through one of the 'windows' in the wall. The violet gems flashed briefly. She then draped her arms over Sora's shoulders, and smiled at him, her blue eyes meeting his.

"Thank you." She placed a gentle kiss to his lips, and ran her fingers lovingly through his spiky hair.

They didn't come up for air until the sound of Miguel and Tulio's ecstatic laughter reached their ears. "We just became richer than the King of Spain!" Tulio was saying.

"Yeah, you know, speaking of kings," Miguel added, "The chief and high priest seemed a little _tense_."

"Buenas dies!" Tulio replied with a laugh. "Look, all we have to do is keep playing the one against the other! You know, do a little god dance, chant some mystic mumbo-jumbo, dazzle them with some smoke and mirrors, and then get out of here and back to Spain!"

"Hey, uh… how are you going to get all this stuff back to Spain?" Goofy asked.

The two cons looked over at him. "Ah... mmmm..."

!

"A boat?" Tannabok repeated.

"Yeah." Tulio replied.

Miguel and Tulio were seated in the chief's private chambers deep in the heart of the city. Sora, Kairi, and Mickey were standing behind them, just trying to look important. Sora found the dark blue and green walls of the chamber to have a calming effect, and it spoke volumes about the man himself.

"We really hate to be ascending so soon," Miguel continued, "But some urgent business has come up. Family matters and all that and uh, yeah."

"Badda bing, badda boom, you know what I mean." Tulio finished.

"Oh, we expected you to be staying with us for the next," Tannabok shrugged. "Thousand years."

Sora snorted slightly in laughter, but nobody else caught it –save for Mickey, who smiled, but held his tongue.

"Well, as we say in the spirit world," Tulio replied apologetically, "There's your plan, and then there's the gods' plan. And our plan calls for a boat."

"Because we're going to ascend in kind of a horizontal pattern first." Sora added. "And then we'll go vertical as we get further out to sea."

Miguel subtly hid his mouth behind his hand, acting as if he were brushing it across his face, in an attempt to hide his amused grin.

"Hmm..." Tannabok looked as if he was trying to calculate something in his head. "To build a boat large and glorious enough would take about a week."

"A week?" Tulio repeated. He put his hand to his chin as if in thought. He looked over his shoulder to Mickey. Half-muttering, he asked him, "How long do you think it'd take Tzekel-Khan to do it?"

The chief heard him, and did some rapid recalculations. "But for the gods... Three days."

"Well, if that's the best you can do." Miguel answered before Tulio could say anything else to move the deadline up.

Deciding that she'd mess with him a little, Kairi leaned down between them. "Well, maybe if we weren't weighted down with so much tribute, we could leave a bit sooner, _my Lords_."

Now Sora was the one who had to hide his grin.

"I like it here!" Tulio quickly replied. "Miguel?"

"Yep, yep, three days is just fine, chief."

!

_This movie had so many chuckle-worthy moments that I can't even count them._

_1) Shame. If he had held onto it for about five more seconds, he would have single-handedly destroyed all Darkness in the worlds and made President of the Universe for his bravery._

_Please review!_


	115. Chapter 114: Days in Paradise

_Sorry I haven't replied to the reviews like I usually do. Time kind of got away from me. But I would like everybody to know just how much I appreciate you guys' feedback. It keeps me going on this thing._

_So, I'm back, and with a new chapter for you. This is another character development stage of the fic, but you know what? I like it._

_Bariss: "It's certainly an interesting setting to do it in. DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or Dreamworks."_

_!_

Chapter 114: Days in Paradise

"No, three days in _not_ fine." Tulio muttered to himself, whilst tossing a pair of square, golden earrings between his hands.

It had been about twenty minutes since their meeting with Chief Tannabok. The whole group was lounging about in the temple.

"This is a real-" He promptly handed the earrings he had been holding to Chel, who had been rummaging for a new pair amongst the treasures in the temple (which Sora now realized was looking a little like the Cave of Wonders). "These are the ones."

She smiled flirtatiously at him as she took them. "Thank you."

"Problem." Tulio finished his previous statement. He looked at Miguel, who was lying in a large pile of treasure, relaxing. "Miguel, how are we going to keep this up for another three days?"

"You worry too much." Miguel replied casually, sliding out of the gold and walking to the main entrance of the temple to gaze across the city.

Tulio suddenly sprinted through the mounds of gold to grab his partner by the shoulders and shake him. "No, I worry exactly the right amount! You can never worry too much." He released him from his grip. "We just have to lie low."

Miguel smirked at him, and looked back out of the entrance. "But Tulio, this place is amazing! I mean, I wonder what's in the-"

"NO!" Tulio interrupted, pointing a finger at him. "_Don't even move_!"

Miguel chuckled. "Aw, Tulio-"

"You're moving!"

"But let me ju-"

"Hey, hey, hey!"

"C'mon-"

"Ah!"

"I gotta-"

"STAY!"

"I just want to-"

"Just... _stand there_."

Miguel had been in mid-step when Tulio gave his last order. "For three days?" He fell over.

"Yes! Exactly. For three days. Don't even breath." Tulio confirmed. "Alright?"

Miguel stood back up, brushing the dirt from his shirt. "Alright. We lie low."

Tulio was apparently unconvinced. "Promise?"

"Yeah, yeah."

"Great." Tulio was visibly relieved. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to gloat over my gold." As he passed by Chel, he tapped the earring dangling from her right ear, eliciting a small giggle from the native woman.

Sora rolled his eyes. Tulio may have had a bit of control over his old partner, but not over him or the others. He was just as eager to explore the magnificent city as Miguel was, and he wasn't about to let him stop him from sightseeing.

He got to his feet, and stretched. He walked over to Nehrut, who was sitting on an ornamental stool that had been part of the massive tribute. He tapped him on the shoulder.

"Any way you could make him a little more 'understanding?'"

The telepath grinned mischievously, and got to his feet. "Short of threatening him? Yeah, maybe."

He walked over to Tulio (who was kissing a small golden statue), and tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey, big guy?"

"Hmm?" He muttered distractedly, without turning around.

Nehrut extended his hand toward the back of Tulio's head. "The guys and I are going to go check up on Tannabok's guys, and oversee the early construction of the boat. You don't mind that, right?"

"Na-ah." Tulio muttered, before going back to the gold.

"Awesome! You're a great guy, you know that?"

"Ah-huh."

Nehrut grinned, and turned to face the group, who were all staring at him with pleasant surprise.

"You can control minds?" Goofy asked.

"I didn't control his mind. I don't think anyone can do that successfully. All I did was make him pay a little less attention to what I was saying, got him more focused on the gold, and made him a tad bit more sympathetic toward us."

The room's occupants clapped softly, as they made their way slowly toward the exit.

Everyone but Donald and Chel left the room before Tulio turned around. But before Tulio could notice the absence of most of the people in the chamber, Mickey and Goofy ran back in, and pried the duck away from the heaps of treasure inside.

"Come on Donald," The King said, "This is for your own good."

"Ya need a little fresh air, buddy." Goofy added.

!

It didn't take Sora long to realize that El Dorado was as close a place to paradise as any he had ever seen.

The beautiful, colorful architecture that Sora had first thought unique to the gods' temples could be seen all over. All of it was built among the jungle, forming a magnificent combination of humanity and nature everywhere. The river was always in sight somewhere.

It was an absolutely beautiful day, with barely a single cloud in the bright blue sky. He and Kairi were walking amongst the city's locals, and it was clear from the looks that they were getting as they walked along hand-in-hand that they were curious, and slightly scared.

"They act as if they've never seen beings from another world before." Sora joked.

"I don't like this. We should let them know we're their friends." Kairi suggested. "After all, judging from the sacrifice Tzekel-Khan was supposed to give the gods, it seems that they were expecting something a bit different."

"We're here in peace!" Sora suddenly called. "We're just here to visit."

At first, his words didn't seem to have much of an effect. But then, a child wandered away from her mother and older brother. This little girl, who couldn't have been more than three years old, took a few tentative steps toward the two Keybearers.

Sora saw her first, and bent down to her level to get a better look at her. She continued cautiously toward him, until she was just about one foot away. He put on a friendly face. She slowly reached up...

And tugged on one of Sora's spiky locks. He grinned at her, and she giggled.

With that one simple act, the tension that had been on the street disappeared, and some of the locals began to approach them. Sora scooped the child up into his arms, and stood up straight, while she continued playing with his unusual hair.

"I think she likes you, Sora." Kairi observed with a smile.

"You really think so?" Sora laughed when the little girl grabbed two locks of his hair and pulled lightly on them.

"I'm terribly sorry." Her mother apologized.

"Nah, she's cute." Sora smiled, and handed the girl over toward Kairi's open arms. She took her lightly, and smiled at her.

"You're pretty!" The girl observed innocently.

"I think so, too." Sora agreed.

Kairi grinned, and hoisted the girl up so that she could sit piggy-back on her shoulders. The child giggled, and now started playing with Kairi's dark red hair.

"What's your name?" She asked the girl.

"My name is Tanni!" She replied. "What's yours?"

"I'm Kairi, and this is Sora. It's nice to meet you, Tanni."

"How old are you two, exactly?" One of the local men asked.

"We're sixteen." Sora answered. "Though I'm about a month older than Kairi."

"Only sixteen?" One woman looked shocked. "Only sixteen, and entrusted with so much responsibility!"

For just a moment, he thought she was talking about them being Keybearers. But then he remembered that they were supposed to be...

"The gods' executive staff, and official representatives of the spirit world." Roxas reminded.

_Thanks._

"Well, it _is_ a big job." Kairi agreed. "But we've gotten used to it, and Lords Miguel and Tulio are excellent bosses."

"Plus, they pay well." Sora joked. Even though the natives didn't seem to get it, Kairi stifled a laugh.

"What brings you down here, Lords Sora and Kairi?" One of the men asked.

"We just thought we'd sightsee a little. You know, have some fun before we head back to the spirit world."

"There are lots of ways to have fun here!" Tanni exclaimed cheerfully from on Kairi's shoulders.

"You don't say? We'd love to see!" Kairi said.

So, the small group of locals led them down a few streets. Before them was what looked slightly like something from a modern amusement park. It was a large, spinning wooden pole fixed into the ground. About eight people were spinning around it from ropes attached to their ankles from the top.

Sora and Kairi were immediately excited.

!

Roxas watched the scene from one of the nearest rooftops. He was in his transparent form, which he usually took whenever he wanted some time to himself. They had gotten on the ride with a few of the locals, one of which had been Tanni's eight year-old brother.

After nearly ten straight minutes on the ride, when everybody had gotten off, the child had promptly released the contents of his stomach into a bush, and Sora and Kairi immediately moved to console him.

Looking at them from above, they looked a bit like a very young family. Roxas decided that it was a cute picture, and his thoughts drifted to the future that he may or may not have like that with Namine.

"Aw..." Said girl said, appearing behind him, also transparent. "I didn't know you thought about things like that..."

He felt her place her soft hands on his shoulders, and he sighed contentedly. "That, among other things."

"Like me in Chel's outfit?" She muttered slyly.

Roxas blushed. "You saw that one daydream, huh?"

"Now Roxas you adorable little pervert, you should know that you can't hide things from me." She replied cheekily.

"You're not angry, then?"

"No." She wrapped her arms around his neck. "Just behave yourself, and _maybe_ it'll happen eventually."

The only response Roxas could muster was an unusual sort of wheeze in the face of her out-of-character moment, and Namine laughed. She hugged him tightly from behind, and kissed the side of his face.

The two not-quite-Nobodies sat together for a moment, watching their Others mingling with the natives in the street below.

"Do you think we'll ever be our own selves again?" Roxas asked out of the blue.

"Who knows?" Namine placed her head on his shoulder. "Probably only if they both become Heartless. But that's not likely to happen, and I know neither of us want that, right?"

"Of course not." Roxas nodded. "Besides, we'd probably be normal Nobodies if that happened. No hearts."

"And I wouldn't be able to go on not loving you." Namine squeezed him.

Roxas twisted around in her arms, and placed his hands on the small of her back, and smiled softly. "Me neither." And he kissed her.

!

Axel walked casually down the street, arms folded behind his head. He wasn't one to get very sentimental, but he couldn't help but admire the beauty all around him.

After about ten minutes of aimlessly walking, he came across a wide, flat, stone-floored area bordered by a low wooden fence. Two very bulky men were sparring inside with a pair of the deadly macuahuitl like he had seen Tzekel-Khan holding. Just over a dozen of their fellow guards were milling around watching them.

Realizing that he had stumbled across a training session, Axel smiled and walked up to the fence. He leaned against it in between two other men.

"They look good." He noted.

One of the other men nodded. "Yes, they're two of Chief Tannabok's finest."

"Really? I call winner."

The two men looked at him in total shock. "Are you sure that's wise, my Lord? They're both highly skilled."

Axel snorted. "So am I."

As he spoke, one of them slapped the flat end of his opponent's weapon aside with his own, knocking it from his grasp completely. He then held his own weapon to the man's throat, indicating the end of the fight.

"Looks like I'm up." Axel said. Amidst the admiring clapping of the other men, he vaulted over the fence, and into the training ring.

The two men who had been fighting before looked at him in surprise. "Think either of you can take me on?"

They chuckled slightly, and exchanged grins. "My Lord, are you sure you want to do this?"

"Trying to chicken out of a fight?" Axel goaded with a raised eyebrow.

The two men laughed, as the loser of the last bout exited the ring. "If you insist, my Lord." His friend said, leveling his weapon at his face, then he noted the fact that Axel was unarmed. "Would you like to borrow someone's weapon? It's no problem."

Axel smiled, and raised his hands to the air, palm up. Embers formed in the space around his hands, and he shot them out to the sides, looking down. Flames swirled in the space before his hands, before his chakrams finally appeared, and he grabbed them out of thin air.

He raised his head with a smirk, relishing the shocked look his opponent now wore. Intimidation had its place in combat, and he had used that to his advantage against both Sora and Roxas merely by summoning his weapons.

Still, he allowed the man to make the first move, coming in high with a powerful overhead blow. Axel brought both of his weapons up to catch the attack, and turned it aside casually, taking two steps backward to put some distance between them.

The man attacked again, this time with a wide horizontal strike, which Axel parried. He then leapt completely over the man's head. Rather than ending the fight then, he dismissed his weapons, and tapped the man on the shoulder.

He spun around, and struck at his head. Axel ducked under his weapon, and as it passed overhead, he drove his fist into his stomach with force that one wouldn't guess he could summon, looking at his thin frame.

The man collapsed to the ground, clutching his stomach, and Axel called one of his chakrams back to his hand. He held it to his throat, and just like that, the fight was over.

It had barely taken one minute.

"Who's next?" Axel invited. "Feel free to pair up, if you like!"

!

"Why'd you have to take me away from the gold?" Donald grumbled yet again.

"Donald, we've been over this." Mickey reprimanded. "It's not healthy. Just try to focus on something else."

"Yeah, Donald!" Goofy agreed cheerfully. "Just try to cheer up. Look at where we are!"

It was true, El Dorado was beautiful, as all of them had discovered by now. The three animal-people had stumbled upon a small area of the city which seemed to be more jungle than city. The lush, colorful foliage was all around them, and the sounds of various small animals were present, too.

Not far away, they spotted a small group of people; each of them carrying bowls filled to the brim with seeds. They periodically sprinkled it onto the ground in handfuls to feed the birds that were milling around them. The only way Mickey could describe them was that they looked like very colorful roosters.

"Excuse us?" Mickey said, walking up to the nearest of the people. "Ya mind if we tried that?"

"Not at all, my Lord." The man said, bending down to his level, and handing him his bowl. Two of his friends gave theirs to Donald and Goofy (though Donald took his grudgingly). The three of them mimicked the others in the group, dropping seed to the ground at the feet of the multicolored birds.

Mickey found feeding the colorful creatures unusually relaxing. When one of them came right up to his feet to peck at a bit of seed he had spilled on his shoes, he bent down just a bit, and stroked its feathery head. Surprisingly, he received no objection from the bird.

As they unwound in the simple act of feeding the birds, Donald let out a shriek of surprise.

Four brightly-colored, twelve-feet tall, flamingo-like birds had entered the area. They resembled something straight out of a Mardi-Gras parade, and almost didn't look real because of this.

The largest of them (a bright purple one that was coming up on thirteen feet) had crept up behind Donald, and plunged its large, pointed beak into the depths of his bowl of seed.

Panicking, the court magician cried out in shock, and immediately ran away from the massive bird. He wasn't thinking clearly enough to realize that taking the bowl with him as he ran was a bad idea.

The bird –not quite finished with the meal- chased after him with long, fast strides. Its three friends became excited by the activity, and followed suit immediately.

In a few minutes, several people in El Dorado's streets were both confused and amused to see the duck running down the street in a panic, being chased by four large birds, a mouse and dog-person, and a pair of the local guard carrying nets.

!

Riku was laughing his lungs sore. He was sitting near the bank of the river, on the side of one of the lesser-traveled streets that was built alongside it. This particular one dropped directly into a small branch of the river from a one-foot drop.

Yuffie was crouched over next to him, with her face just inches from the water's surface. His girlfriend -Master Ninja Yuffie Kisaragi- was making faces at a koi fish.

He had no idea why, but apparently this particular specimen (a bright blue one about the size of her arm) had offended her in some way. So, for the past five minutes she had sat hunched over the river, returning its unchanging, blank gaze with several increasingly childish and hilarious faces –most of which came with unusual hand gestures.

After another two minutes, the koi seemed to have gotten bored with whatever it was that Yuffie was doing. So, he quickly turned around, and swam down into the depths of the river.

But in the process of turning, he sent a spout of the river water into Yuffie's face.

Riku immediately went into hysterics, doubling over in laughter. Yuffie was silent for a moment, gazing sourly at the space where the koi had been. She turned her head slowly to fix Riku with an irritated look.

"So this is funny to you?"

"Yes. Yes it is." Riku caught his breath just long enough to ask. "What did he do to annoy you, anyway?"

"...He splashed me."

Riku went right back to laughing, and Yuffie scowled. That was when she realized how perilously close her silver-headed boyfriend was to the water. A smirk appeared on her face, but she swapped it out for her most seductive smile. She leaned in very close to him.

"Oh, Riku?"

Riku shut up immediately, noting how close she suddenly was, and looking apprehensive. Yuffie cupped his face in her hands, and began to pull him toward her...

Before she caught him completely off-guard by throwing him into the river head-first.

He resurfaced a few seconds later, spluttering water from his mouth and wiping his soaked hair from his eyes. Now Yuffie was the one who was laughing uncontrollably. A moment later, he smirked. And before she could do anything about it, he had grabbed her ankle and pulled her in after him.

She squealed in surprise just before she hit the water. She kicked her way back to the surface, and found Riku treading water and smirking at her from two feet away.

"There. We're even." He proclaimed smugly.

"Not even close." Yuffie said. She splashed him directly in the face. He retaliated a moment later, laughing as he did so.

The splash fight continued for nearly ten straight minutes, with their laughter interspersed all throughout it. Finally, Yuffie jumped on top of Riku, dunking him beneath the water.

He wasn't willing to do the same thing to her, so he merely wormed his way out of her grasp, and surfaced, coughing and spluttering while Yuffie giggled.

Eventually, the two made their way back to the street. Riku hoisted himself up onto dry ground first, then extended his hand to help Yuffie back out.

He fell back onto the street, and she laid down next to him. Both of them were breathing heavily, and they were drenched to the bone, but neither of them cared. Their soft laughter was evidence of this.

After a few minutes, Yuffie propped herself up on her elbows, and kissed Riku softly on the lips. They parted a moment later, and Riku looked at her curiously. "What was that for?"

"Just because." She shrugged, smiling softly. "Why? Want me to stop?"

"No, no! Please continue."

Yuffie giggled as Riku cupped her cheek, and lifted his head up to engage her in a longer kiss.

!

Nehrut was watching Bariss. He couldn't seem to take his eyes off of her.

She wasn't doing anything particularly unusual, not for her, anyway. She was in a slightly isolated part of the city behind the gods' temple, practicing her combat drills yet again.

Her whip twisted and wrapped around her form several times before extending, and cracking the air before her. She repeated similarly deadly actions with it over and over again, before finally returning it to her belt, and switching to her sai.

_Okay. This won't be too bad. Just walk up to her when there's a pause and ask her._

For the past several days, he had been trying to work out how he should go about his feelings for Bariss. He was no longer denying that they were there, but he'd yet to admit as much to anybody else.

He'd finally settled on a plan: That he would ask her on a 'kind-of-date' the next time the opportunity arose, and see where that led them. Now was as good a time as any, but in the fashion of most teenage boys, his nerves were getting the better of him, and holding him back.

_Walk up to her already you coward!_

Before he could change his mind, he stood from his sitting position, and forced himself forward. "Hey, Bariss."

_Could your voice have gone up any higher!_

She turned at the sound of his voice, stopping in mid-strike with her sai. She casually twirled it between her fingers, and smiled. "Hey, Nehrut. What's up?"

"Wow, 'what's up', that's a phrase you've never used before!" He said, admiringly.

"Well, congratulations." She replied with a smile. "You've finally corrupted me."

The telepath made a cliched fist pumping gesture. "Anyway. Have you um... got some spare time?"

"Sure. Why do you ask?"

_Okay, here's the tough part. But you can do it… DO IT!_

"Would you like to uh... maybe walk around the city a bit?"

"Sure. It's a date." She replied, sheathing her blade, and walking in the direction he had come from with a small smile.

Nehrut didn't realize that his legs weren't moving until Bariss yanked his cloak, and pulled him half-stumbling after her. He also didn't realize that he was grinning broadly enough for it to hurt his face until Bariss laughed at him.

_She was the one who said 'date!'_

_!_

"Woah!" Xyran exclaimed. "When the big guy sent us here... this wasn't exactly what I was expecting."

Xyran and Cossex stood on the highest rooftop in El Dorado, which just happened to be that of the gods' temple. At this altitude, the wind was great enough to blow their hair into their faces, but there was definitely nothing wrong with their vision.

"A city of gold..." Cossex sounded awed, which was a rarity. "It's magnificent."

"Could I please-" Xyran began.

"No."

"You don't even know what I was going to say."

"You're not taking any gold. That's not what we're here for."

"Alright, so you did know. How long have you been the only telepathic Nobody?"

"Your expression says it all, Xyran."

"And she's right in saying that that's not the reason you're here." Came a voice from behind them.

The two Nobodies weren't surprised when a corridor of Darkness opened behind them. They barely turned to see Andmox standing behind them. The big man had them fixed with a suspicious look.

"So sorry, muscle-head." Xyran replied in a bored tone. "Would you like to do this? After all, you've never fought the Keybearers yourself."

"I'll pass. For now." Andmox's eyes glinted with battle fever for a moment, but then it was gone, and he was under control. "But we're going to make sure that there aren't any 'slip-ups' for you, this time."

It was a thinly veiled threat, and they all knew it. Serndask was already suspicious of them regarding the incident with the Resistance. He just didn't have any concrete proof that they had enabled their escape. So now, he was making sure that the two of them didn't get any ideas about going soft on the Brotherhood's enemies.

"Don't worry." Cossex said, never having even turned to face him. "There won't be."

"We should all hope so." Andmox warned. And then he was gone.

Xyran waited for a minute to be sure he was gone, before letting out a sigh of frustration. "We're going to actually have to fight them, aren't we?"

"I'm afraid so." Cossex nodded. "And they'll know if we hold back."

"For the first time in my life, I'm actually hoping I get my face beat in." He considered his own words for a second. "Actually, scratch that. I'm hoping I get knocked out and taken prisoner."

"Little chance of that, unfortunately."

"Or fortunately."

"Whichever." Cossex scowled to herself. How she longed for a simple good vs. evil fight like the old days. Everything was complicated now. "We can probably stall for a while before we actually try anything, at least."

"Hooray for procrastination!" Xyran exclaimed, leaping completely off the roof down to the city below, to kill some time.

Cossex walked to the edge, and followed his progress down the side of the pyramid to fall directly into the river, unnoticed by anyone else. She sighed again, but this time there was a slight smile on her face. That boy reminded her too much of Queran and Eliar sometimes.

!

Sora and Kairi had separated themselves from the group of locals that they had been hanging out with. Tanni had looked sad to see them go, but they assured her that they would see her around later.

Right now however, they needed a little alone time with each other. Apart from their nights alone, they hadn't had too much of it without the rest of their party around. Not that they had let that stop them from being sappy and romantic, of course.

So now, they were walking arm-in-arm along a lesser-travelled side street with colorful walls to either side of them. Sora was grinning widely, as Kairi frequently leaned up to him, and kissed him on the cheek or neck. She had also wrapped an arm around his waist whenever she did so.

Sora had had enough of the teasing, though. He finally came to a halt, and wrapped both arms around her waist. He planted his lips firmly onto hers in a passionate kiss. She responded in kind, putting both palms on his chest, and pushing him back into the wall.

His tongue probed for entrance through her lips, and she granted it. They were reluctant as always to part, so when they came up for air, it was only for one second, and then they resumed right where they left off.

They continued this for nearly ten wondrous minutes straight, thankful for the lack of foot traffic, before they had to take a break. Kairi was breathing heavily as she leaned her head on Sora's shoulder. He smiled widely, and ran his fingers through her hair. His knees felt weak.

"Have I ever told you that you taste _fantastic_?" He asked her in a slightly hoarse voice.

She laughed, and replied, "_Real_ smooth. You're pretty tasty yourself."

He chuckled, and nuzzled his head into the crook of her neck. She hummed in contentment, and buried her hands into his hair. "I love you so much." She breathed.

"I love you, too." He whispered into her ear, briefly emerging from her neck. In fact, there was so much love in the air at the moment that it was electric. Both of them suddenly felt the need to sit down.

"Aww..."

Nehrut and Bariss were above them on the opposite wall. They had stumbled upon the scene by accident, and though Bariss had been just loud enough for the two to hear, they didn't seem to have noticed.

She was grinning down at the two, eyes twinkling. Nehrut was remembering when he had 'dropped' in on them at the World That Never Was. He had told them that they should feel free to express their love publicly, and he still felt that way... Though it did tend to get a little uncomfortable on occasion.

He looked at Bariss, who had her hand over her mouth in a vain attempt to hide her grin. "I want that." She said.

Nehrut's heart sank. "You mean... Sora?"

"No!" She exclaimed (though Sora and Kairi still didn't hear her). "Not quite my type. I was just referring to, you know... love."

"We'll both find it." Nehrut answered, feeling very relieved, but not showing it.

"Think so?" She asked, looking at him.

He looked her in the eye. "Yeah, I do."

Thinking that it might just be the right time, Nehrut took a small step toward her. To his immense happiness, she didn't draw away, and the tiny smile she had been wearing began to grow.

That was when something hit him the back of his head, and he knocked his forehead ungraciously against Bariss's.

"Sorry!" He heard Miguel shout.

Nehrut turned around, scowling. A reddish brown ball was lying at his feet where it had fallen after getting acquainted with his head. Several feet away, in a small square that branched off into the side street in which Sora and Kairi now stood, Miguel was standing with a small group of children who all appeared to be under ten. His look was apologetic, and it seemed he realized only too late what he had interrupted.

Sora and Kairi had caught sight of the whole situation, and they were blushing at the odd looks the children were giving them.

Nehrut picked up the ball, and threw it back to Miguel. He caught it, and beckoned to them. "Sorry for killing the moment. Come on, join in the fun over here!"

Sora and Kairi shrugged, and ran over to the square, to the excitement of the children. Nehrut was still brooding, until he felt a pair of slender arms wrap around his waist from behind. His eyes widened in shock when he felt Bariss's breath in his ear.

"Come on, it'll be fun."

She released him, and leapt to the street below, and ran off to join the game. This left Nehrut behind for a moment to wonder if Bariss had actually just been flirting with him… when had she learned to do that?

Then, he grinned ear-to-ear and ran after her.

!

_If you've followed the story this long, you know it's not a proper world arc if I don't throw in a bunch of fluffy junk._

_Leave a review!_


	116. Chapter 115: The Great Game

_Well, it sounds like SOPA is out of comission… for now. So that means that sites like FF are still alive, yay! Let's just watch out for PIPA. We're still going to do the disclaimer, though._

_Mickey: "DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, Dreamworks, or anything else! Now get off our backs, Congress."_

_!_

Chapter 115: The Great Game

Tzekel-Khan was puzzled. This wasn't something that happened to him often, and it troubled him.

He was standing at the entrance to his temple, which was one of the highest buildings in the city, though it was mostly obscured by the thick plant life growing around it. He was standing with one of his men, observing the unorganized ball game occurring in the square below them.

It had been going on for about fifteen minutes. Lord Miguel and most of his staff were involved. The only ones who were just watching from the sidelines seemed to be Axel and Donald (the latter was nursing a few unusual bite injuries). What was more confusing was they were playing with Chief Tannabok and a group of a dozen or so _children_.

The high priest was holding a thick tome in his hand. It was open to a page depicting what he had been expecting of the gods. There was a large, bulky, armored figure with a blade in one hand. A scene of destruction was behind him.

Tzekel-Khan's gaze flicked continuously back and forth between the picture, and the innocent game below.

"Hmm... this is not what I expected." He looked curiously down at Miguel and his friends. "Perhaps Lord Tulio will enlighten me."

He set down the tome on a nearby table. He straightened his clothing, flattened his hair, and composed himself hurriedly. "How do I look?" He asked the man nearby, who happened to be one of the men who had first greeted the gods and their staff the next day.

"Oh, well uh... Oh, you look-"

"Oh shut up." Tzekel Khan left him, and began the walk to the gods' temple. He didn't realize that there were two Nobodies watching him from the shadows.

!

Moments before the high priest arrived in the gods' chamber, Tulio and Chel were wrapped in a would-be compromising situation.

The supposed 'god' was pinned to a pile of pillows by Chel, who was proceeding to kiss him all over, and tangling her fingers roughly in his hair. He was eager to return the favor, and for a while, they had absolutely no idea where they were.

"My Lord?" They suddenly heard Tzekel-Khan call from just outside the entrance, and their activities came to a screeching halt. "Hello?"

"The high priest!" Chel hissed, sounding horrified. She got off of Tulio, being careful to stay out of sight of the doorway, and slapped a palm to her forehead. "What's he going to think if he finds one of the gods like this with _me_?"

The still-dazed Tulio replied, "Eh... 'Lucky god?'"

As quickly as was humanly possible, Chel straightened his hair and clothing while Tzekel-Khan was still calling for him. The instant his gaze was off the entryway, she shoved him out from their hiding place, and he put on a bold show.

"Oh, Tzekel-Khan!" He greeted in a much different voice than he had used a moment ago. "What brings you here?"

"I humbly request an audience with you, my Lord." Tzekel-Khan said, bowing as usual.

"What can I do you for?" Tulio asked, as Chel worked her way around to the entrance to make it look as though she had just walked in.

"My Lord, I have just seen Lord Miguel and your staff out amongst the people."

"_Really_?" Tulio's eyes narrowed from anger.

"If I might be so bold as to offer some advice?" From behind the high priest, Chel was frantically making 'kill' gestures to get Tulio to turn down the offer.

He didn't notice, unfortunately. "Okay... Shoot."

Chel face-palmed herself as Tzekel-Khan cleared his throat. "My Lord, you are _perfect_."

Tulio smiled at the compliment. "Well, go on."

"But in your perfection, you cannot realize just how imperfect _humans_ are." The high priest worked his way around Tulio to stand in the main chamber.

"Like snakes..." He waved his arms in an elaborate pattern through the air. The chamber darkened, and objects formed in the space before him. Glowing green snakes hissed and snapped at them as they floated in front of Tzekel-Khan. "Spineless, and slippery."

Tulio unconsciously backed away from the unsettling display of magic. He bumped into Chel, who grabbed his arm tightly.

"They are as untrustworthy as rats." Tzekel-Khan continued, demonstrating his point this time with the use of a bowl of fruit that had been sitting on a nearby table. He stood over it, and plucked one up.

With a wave of his hand, every one of them transformed into squeaking, dark-haired rats with glowing green eyes and rapidly flexing tails. All but the one he held in his hand leapt out of the bowl, and scattered around the room.

"...Stealing and cheating, with no remorse!" Tzekel-Khan lifted the one in his hand up to his mouth. For a revolting minute, it appeared he would bite into its flesh, but it turned back into the pear it had once been before he brought his teeth down.

He tossed the partially-eaten fruit aside, and lifted his arms into the air. "Spinning webs of lies," The chamber was entirely filled with incandescent, neon blue webs clinging to the walls, ceiling, and floor. Hundreds upon hundreds of glowing blue spiders crawled around them, and lowered themselves down on newly spun webs.

One landed in Tzekel-Khan's palm as he finished, "Like spiders!"

He crushed the massive arachnid in his fist, and finally Tulio had had enough.

"Stop it! That's disgusting..."

The high priest dismissed all of his impressive illusions with a wave of his arm, restoring the room to its previous appearance. "They're _beyond_ disgusting!"

"Yeah, yeah, way beyond!"

"Then we're in agreement!" Tzekel-Khan exclaimed enthusiastically, approaching the younger man quickly. "I'll begin the necessary preparations immediately."

Tulio looked a little confused, and had backed up to the entrance with Chel just behind him. They were standing at the top of the stairway when Tzekel-Khan asked, "Now, would you prefer your victims bound to an alter, or would you prefer them free range?"

"Uh..."

"And will you be devouring their essence whole, or piece-by-piece?"

"Tzekley, you've lost me."

"My Lord, these people will not respect you if they do not _fear_ you."

"And of course we'll _make_ them fear us, by..."

"A sacrifice! As it is prophesied, the history of the Age of the Jaguar wil be written in..." He left the end of the sentence hanging in midair, waiting for Tulio to finish for him.

"Ink?"

"Blood!" Tzekel-Khan exclaimed, as if Tulio should have known that. Perhaps he didn't think he was being serious.

"Blood!" Tulio slapped his forehead and started ushering Chel back down the steps as he backed away from the high priest. "Blood, oh right! Of course. I should probably consult with my staff and Lord Miguel though first. This is very important stuff, and we should discuss the entire uh, blood... issue, right away! Excuse us, won't you?"

He hissed quickly to Chel, "Let's get out of here."

Tzekel-Khan watched them go, an immensely satisfied smile on his face. He actually wiped away a tear as he said, "Finally. We're connecting."

!

Sora kicked the ball over Riku and Miguel's heads, over toward Chief Tannabok. The big man jumped toward it. The ball struck his ample stomach, and it soared clear across the square toward Mickey.

The small king kicked it over to one of the kids (a boy about eight years old) who hit it with his head over to one of his friends. He hit it with his knees, and bounced it between his feet for a moment before kicking it over to Kairi.

She knocked it straight up with her feet, and head-butted it back to Sora, who elbowed it to Nehrut.

The Keyblade Master was having the time of his life. It had been a long time since he had just been able to unwind. The wedding at Agrabah, the ball at Adam's, and the Festival of Fools had certainly been fun, but they hadn't been quite like this. The simplicity of this little ball game was fun and relaxing simultaneously, and it was just what their party needed after nearly four months of adventuring.

_Has it really been four months? Wow, I've completely lost track of the time._

The ball came flying back to him, and he bumped it into the air like a volleyball. Yuffie ran up from behind him, and pounded it across the square. Sora and Miguel ran to fetch it, only to stop short when Tulio appeared in front of them, looking very angry.

He was about to speak when the ball hit him on the head and bounced away.

While Sora found this funny, it did little to improve Tulio's mood. He glared at them and hissed, somehow putting a different kind of emphasis on every word, "What do you think you're _doing_?"

"Lying low." Miguel replied casually, not at all concerned that they had been caught.

Tulio made a move as if to strangle him, before stopping short. He composed himself and whispered hurriedly, "Look, change of plan. We need to grab what we can carry, and get out of here, now!"

"Why?" Sora asked.

"Because the high priest is _nuts_! He wants to-"

"This is unacceptable!" Tzekel-Khan's voice rang out all of a sudden, startling them. They had been so caught up in their talk that they hadn't noticed his arrival.

"Yeah, yeah! Like he said!" Tulio agreed, playing along with whatever it was Tzekel-Khan was doing.

"The gods should not be playing ball like this!" The high priest continued, picking up the ball that they had all been playing with.

"Well exactly!" Tulio agreed again, looking pointedly at Miguel and Sora.

!

"_This_ is how the gods should play ball!" Tzekel-Khan continued a few minutes later, shouting to a huge, roaring crowd.

He, Tannabok, Miguel, Tulio, Sora, and Chel were standing on a court about the size of a modern basketball court. On three sides of it, there were three high, thick walls, on which the crowd was standing. A slightly temple-like building was at the head of the court. There were a few ornate seats there, along with two sets of stairs. The rest of their group was sitting on a bench at the base of this building. On the opposite side of this, there was a golden line drawn into the ground.

Tulio glared at Miguel, who flinched beneath his gaze.

"Well don't blame me-"

"_I blame you_." He turned away, brooding, and whispered to Chel. "What is the object of this game, pray tell?"

"You've gotta knock the ball through the hoop."

"What hoop?" Sora asked.

"_That_ hoop." Chel answered grimly, pointing.

Sora followed her finger to the very top of one wall. Situated in the middle, was a small golden ring jutting out vertically from the side of it. The opening was _just_ wide enough for a small ball like the one they had been using earlier to slide through.

"That's impossible! We're gonna lose!" Tulio hissed, gaping in horror at the hoop.

"Gods don't lose." Chel replied.

"Eh, I might be able to make a few shots." Sora said, casually. The other three looked at him as though he were crazy. He smiled. "You've clearly never seen me play Blitzball."

"What's Blitzball?" Miguel asked.

Sora was about to answer when Tzekel-Khan snapped his fingers once. Sora was cut short when the earth trembled slightly beneath their feet. Suddenly, there was a solid mass of muscle and black hair moving toward them at top speed.

Fifteen heavily-muscled men (some of whom Axel had beaten in sparring earlier that day) stopped before them. Each one wore identical clothing: blue-green cloth coverings below the waist, and red arm bands. They ran the height scale from short to very tall, though most of them were at least Miguel's height. The largest of the men was about as tall as Jack Skellington, but with about ten times the bulk.

"My Lords," Tzekel-Khan continued, "Chief Tannabok's warriors are the finest ball players in the city. Fifteen mere mortals... against two gods and a mystic."

As Sora was wondering why Tzekel-Khan was calling him a 'mystic' he heard Miguel and Tulio gulp loudly. The warriors thumped their chests with their fists, and ran to the opposite side of the court.

"I do realize it's a bit uneven, but I hope they will prove challenge enough to make the game... Interesting." Tzekel-Khan smiled at them. "Play ball!"

The audience cheered when he placed the ball at the three's feet. "Crush them into the dust." He said. "But enjoy it!" And he hurried to the temple area where Tannabok had taken his seat.

Sora looked over at his 'team', wishing that they could all be out here instead of just him. But, that would have rose a bit of suspicion, and made the game seem grossly unfair. Despite the fact that their situation was a bit dire, Kairi blew him a kiss for good luck.

He caught it, and then the earth started to shake again. He turned around, and saw the warriors running toward them.

None of them moved until the biggest one slid toward the ball, and drove his foot into it. Tulio threw himself backwards to keep from being struck with it, and the ball continued toward the bench. Goofy quickly brought up his shield to block the ball, which bounced back onto the court.

Everybody watched it roll to a stop by Sora's feet.

All was silent for a moment, until Tzekel-Khan spoke up. "Um, my Lords? Were you not supposed to put the ball into play?"

Tulio got to his feet. "Oh! No no no, uh, we were merely demonstrating the traditional... First-Avoidance maneuver."

"Ah... I've never heard of such a thing."

"Excuse me? Who invented this game?" Miguel asked.

"Why, the gods!" The high priest answered, chuckling, thinking that he was joking again. "Of course!"

"Yeah, Your Lordship, don't you remember?" Sora asked. "It was Saturday night, I was there, Axel was drunk, Tulio was discussing tornados with Zeus and you were hitting on Calypso?"

He could see their team trying hard not to laugh.

Tulio warned them both, "I'm telling you, don't push your luck with this guy." He hiked a thumb over his shoulder at Tzekel-Khan.

"But Tulio," Miguel replied casually, picking up the ball, and tossing it back and forth between his hands. "We're the gods! You're up Sora!"

He tossed the ball to the center of the court, and Sora was already in motion, attempting to beat the other players to it.

He was successful, and kicked the ball into the air, and slightly behind him toward Tulio. The man hit it up toward the hoop, only for it to hit the wall a few feet below it, and bounce toward one of the warriors.

This man hit it with his hip toward one of his team mates, who in turn hit it with his own hip right toward the hoop.

It soared completely through it, giving them their first point.

"Shoot." Sora muttered. These guys were good!

"I bet you can be better!" Roxas encouraged.

_Let's see._

Sora ran toward where the ball had fallen, and arrived there a split second before three of his large opponents. He kicked it to Miguel, who kicked it to Tulio, who kicked it right back to Sora.

The Keybearer ran down the court, kicking the ball between his feet, and weaving around his slightly slower opponents. He kicked it at the hoop, and it barely passed through it.

The crowd cheered louder than before, and Sora exchanged quick high-fives with his team mates.

A warrior knocked the ball into the air, and head-butted it toward the hoop. It shot directly at it, and for a moment, it looked as though it would pass perfectly through it.

At the absolute last instant, the ball curved aside, missing the hoop completely, and landing at Miguel's feet. Sora looked at it curiously for a moment, and then looked over at Nehrut, on the bench.

The telepath had a small smirk on his face, and waved to the Keybearer casually. Sora laughed, thinking that this game was winnable after all.

The game continued for nearly an hour, and the sun was gradually lowering in the sky. The temple's shadow stopped about halfway into the court.

Sora, Miguel, and Tulio (and unofficially, Nehrut) had a significant lead over their warrior opponents. According to the golden bricks which were lined up along the temple steps, they were leading them at twenty-seven points to five.

Nehrut's subtle alterations of the ball's path had placed it in their possession for most of the game. And during the few times when the warriors had been able to hold onto the thing, they had usually missed the hoop completely.

They were dominating the game, and weren't afraid to push their luck a little. Every once in a while, they would see that their moves were very over-the-top, making them look even more impressive when the ball soared perfectly through the hoop.

Sora was basically running on auto-pilot, merely going through the motions of playing the game while Nehrut did the real work. He kicked the ball in the general direction of the hoop...

And missed by a mile.

Confused as to why Nehrut hadn't done anything, Sora looked toward the bench, to discover that Chel was the only one there, sitting next to a large wicker basket filled with extra balls. The rest of their group was missing.

!

A few minutes before this realization, something very unfortunate had happened.

Things had been proceeding smoothly, and none of the spectators nor members of the opposite team seemed to suspect anything. Though, if they did, they'd chalk it up to Miguel and Tulio's 'godly powers.'

As Tulio kneed the ball toward the hoop, Nehrut angled its course subtly toward it. It passed through, obviously, but then he felt a painful elbow in his ribs.

"What?" He asked Riku, who was next to him. Suddenly, he realized what was wrong. He could now sense creatures nearby, only seconds later than the silver-haired Keybearer. There were dozens of dark, simple-minded beings nearby, and closing in fast.

"Crap." A moment later, the rest of the team had been apprised of the situation.

"You think they'll be able to hang in there for a few minutes?" Yuffie asked, rising slowly to her feet.

"They're ahead by like twenty points, if we're quick, maybe." Axel said.

Quietly, the nine of them moved from the bench, creeping along the side of the court, toward one of the gaps between the court boundary walls. Everybody was too caught up in the excitement of the game to notice their departure.

The moment they were out of sight, they broke into runs up the vegetation-covered hills that sat just outside the court. No sooner had they reached the peak of the first one did they meet the Heartless.

They took a moment to note what Heartless were present. Not surprisingly, there were several Shadows and Neoshadows. There were a few of the Wild Dogs they met at the Pride Lands, plus several low-flying Dark Beaks, Rapid Thrusters, and Aerial Knockers. In addition to these, there were Wildcats.

These were roughly the size of jaguars (which brought unwelcome memories of Sabor to Donald and Goofy), with jet black skin dotted with red and gold. Their long, very sharp claws were blood red, and their gold eyes glowed malevolently. Their long tails coiled back and forth as they prowled slowly around to encircle the group.

They all brandished their weapons, and the moment the three Keyblades appeared in the hands of Riku, Kairi, and Mickey, the Heartless attacked.

Mickey rolled forward under a Wildcat that pounced at him. As it passed overhead, he slashed his blade across the Heartless' underbelly, carving it open from neck to lower stomach. The creature was already fading away by the time it hit the ground, and Mickey had already taken out two Shadows.

A bolt of Lightning shot through the trio of Neoshadows that had advanced toward him just afterword, and stunned a nearby Wild Dog. Donald ran past him, and drove the flaming head of his staff into the back of the dazed Heartless. He then dodged to the side to avoid a descending Aerial Knocker, and sent ice particles into its chest.

The Guardian shot past him, plowing into a Wildcat and driving it into a stone structure that had been positioned nearby. The impact didn't totally defeat it, but its follow-up blow to the head did.

Riku leapt onto this small structure, and took out three Rapid Thrusters in midair. A pair of Wild Dogs leapt up after him. One was caught by the throat Guardian, and got its neck snapped like a twig.

For the other, Riku held his blade high, "First Light's Fire!"

Way to Dawn was completely enveloped in coursing Dawn energy to the point where one couldn't even see the blade itself anymore. He swung it simply one time, and removed the head of the other Heartless before it had a chance to blink (if it had had eyelids).

The Keybearer leapt down, and cut into another four Heartless with his blazing blade before any of them could do anything about it. He leapt high over the battleground, and drove the blade completely through the back of a Wildcat.

Nehrut lifted a Neoshadow into the air, and threw it into the head of a Wild Dog. The smaller Heartless died on impact, and the larger one staggered. So, he grabbed hold of two Rapid Thrusters, and threw them at high speed into the creature, destroying all three. He spun around, twisting to the side as another came at him from behind.

With one swipe of his blade, he had taken off all four legs. As he did so, Bariss' sai flew through the air to stick into the chest of a nearby Aerial Knocker. It fell limp to the ground, and Nehrut mentally ripped it from its body, and threw it at a Shadow that was running at the aforementioned girl.

It speared into the ground, and she waved at him in thanks. She reclaimed her weapon, and slashed it across the face of a swooping Rapid Thruster. She back flipped over a Wildcat pouncing at her back, and landed directly on its shoulders.

She quickly coiled the end of her whip around its neck and pulled as hard as she could, snapping its neck.

Axel had both of his chakrams blazing with fire, and threw them at a pair of Wild Dogs that had coordinated their attacks to meet him at the same time. An admirable feat for Heartless, but it didn't work. One of the weapons beheaded one, at the same moment that the second sliced across the other's belly.

He leapt straight up, and set the area below him on fire, which was now occupied with a group of Shadows. Goofy ran through this area a moment later, smashing approaching Heartless away with his shield. When a Wildcat ran right at him, he jumped out of the way, and used the sharp edges of his shield to slash into its ribs multiple times before it could move again.

Yuffie appeared on its back, and drove one of her many kunai into the top of its skull. She vanished, and appeared on the opposite end of the conflict. She quickly dispatched a nearby Neoshadow, before sending her shuriken flying in an arc around the area, taking out a dozen of the flying Heartless before returning to her hand.

Kairi was taking a much different approach to the fighting. She maintained a look of intense concentration throughout most of the fight, and only now did she make a major move against their enemies.

She dismissed her Keyblade, and shot her hands out to her sides. Her hands glowed bright silver, and were obscured from view when two meter-long blades of Light shot from her fists.

"Blades of Heaven!" She shouted, her eyes glowing with silver Light.

She leapt into the air, spinning rapidly. The blades on her hands speared out at two Aerial Knockers that flew at her, tearing completely through them, and frying the Heartless that they hit afterword.

Shorter blades appeared in Kairi's hands before she touched the ground. Barely even pausing, she fired them again at another pair of Heartless, and still more blades replaced those.

Kairi never stopped moving. For the rest of their encounter (which became significantly short thanks to her) she moved fluidly around the battleground, shooting her Light blades at any Heartless that she caught sight of. She decimated their ranks in seconds, her blades shooting through any amount of space that wasn't occupied by a friend.

At last, her hands formed two longer blades, which she stabbed into the ground. All around her, small pillars of Light shot up from the ground beneath the Heartless. They speared into their bodies, with the pure energy of Light disintegrating their dark flesh immediately.

The fight ended with this final attack, and Kairi returned to her normal appearance. She gazed around the battleground with a satisfied smile, and was greeted by the appreciative, awed gazes of her team mates.

"So how long have you been able to do that?" Riku asked.

She shrugged, taking a few deep breaths. "Let's get back to the ga-"

Her eyes went wide, and she dove forward. In the space she had occupied a second before, there was a young man.

He had spiky blonde hair, and a black jacket. He carried a long spear in both hands, with the blade lodged into the ground where Kairi had stood. That blade would have speared completely through her had she not moved in time.

"_Just_ missed." The newcomer muttered.

The rest of them quickly moved to surround him, weapons pointing inward toward him. Everything was still for a moment, before Axel's mouth fell open in disbelief. "Xyran?"

"Hey, Axel." He muttered, as though embarrassed.

"Gee, Axel. You know him?" Goofy asked. Now Axel was getting confused looks from the rest of the group.

"Yeah. Meet Xyran: former apprentice of Organization XIII. He left us before Roxas was even born." Now he looked Xyran in the eye. "Marluxia and Larxene said you were dead."

Xyran raised an eyebrow. "It was Marluxia and Larxene. You believed them?"

"Good point. So what, you were imprisoned or something?"

"Uh-huh. Serndask busted me out a little while ago." Xyran's face fell. "I'm now a part of the Brotherhood of the Dark, and I'm here for a Keybearer."

"You don't sound particularly happy about it." Nehrut observed.

"Well, I'm not. Though, how could I be?" He shrugged. "But I don't have much of a choice. I'd appreciate it if you all stood down, I don't want to hurt you."

Kairi found this very unusual. Was a Nobody –a natural enemy to Keyblade wielders and any of their allies- actually _trying_ to be merciful? It was strange, but Kairi wasn't about to let that affect her answer.

She raised Destiny's Light in front of her. "Whatever you do, don't let him touch you!" Axel warned. "He copies powers. The last thing we need is another enemy with a Keyblade."

Xyran sighed. "I'm sorry about this. I really am." He raised his head. "Okay, Cossex."

A female voice came from the tree line that the warriors had yet to pass. "Mind Crush!"

Suddenly, everyone was on their knees, clutching at their heads. The inside of their heads were screaming with pain, and it felt as though their brains were trying to crack open their skulls from the inside.

Riku was on the ground, biting his lips to keep a scream locked behind them. Xyran stood over him, and Cossex emerged from the trees to join him. "I'm really sorry about this." Xyran said sincerely, raising his spear over his head. "I don't have a choice. I'll make it quick."

"Just what do you think you're doing?"

The two Nobodies turned, and discovered that Kairi was still standing, looking none the worse for wear.

Suddenly realizing that they were in danger, the two Nobodies fell into fighting positions. "How on earth are you still standing?"

Kairi shrugged. "Don't know. But I'm certainly not complaining."

She rushed at Cossex, bringing her Keyblade down toward her head. Cossex quickly parried the blow, and struck out at the younger woman's stomach, she missed.

And in striking back at the girl, her concentration of the 'Mind Crush' technique had broken.

Her other eight opponents were on their feet in an instant, and rushing in toward her and her partner. Amidst the flurry of weapons, she and Xyran had to rapidly retreat from the group into more open ground.

"Call in the backup." Xyran said.

Lesser Nobodies appeared in their midst. Present were Dusks and Creepers, but the majority of them were ones new to the other warriors.

The first of these were Elementalists. They were of average height, with silver bodies, and slightly dome-shaped heads. They had bulky forearms, and carried black and white scythe-like weapons in their hands. Their chests were marked with black Nobody emblems. The black blades they carried were either covered by fire, crackling electricity, or small clouds of frosty air.

The Soldier Nobodies were slightly taller than them. Their faces were covered by the black Nobody emblem. Their bulky chests had the appearance of being armored, with interlocking grey plates and shoulder guards. In their right hands were gleaming short swords with emblems on the pommel. She same held true for the shields strapped to their left arms.(1)

At a signal from their respective commanders, the Nobodies rushed into action.

Riku and Kairi leapt over them completely, running to engage Cossex and Xyran. Riku stabbed forward at Cossex's stomach. She used both of her weapons to pin his to the ground, and then leapt forward to finish him.

He ducked under the attack, and struck at her as she passed overhead. She was barely able to knock the attack aside, and land lightly on his other side. She twisted around, her blades slicing through the air toward his neck. Riku parried the blows, and slashed at her legs.

Cossex leapt backwards, and he followed her with another strike aimed for her head. She caught the strike, and smacked his blade to the side with both of hers.

Nehrut caught an advancing Creeper in half, and then lifted a Dusk into the air. He launched it head first at the nearest Soldier, which brought its shield up to protect itself from the living projectile. It then ran toward the telepath, nearly slicing him in half with its sword.

As it was, Nehrut parried the blow, and stabbed it through the chest. By the time he had withdrawn it, there were three Creepers swinging at him in the form of what might have been clubs. He ducked under the three blows, and cut them apart on his way back up.

Mickey was dealing with two Elementalists. One swung its weapon, sending a plume of fire at him, while the other one sent a few lightning bolts toward him. The King leapt as high into the air as he could, and felt the heat of the fire as it passed below him.

One bolt arced up toward him, but Kingdom Crown caught it, and redirected it harmlessly into the ground. He landed back on the ground directly in front of the first Elementalist, and cut it in half at the waist. He leapt over the fading remains, and drove his Keyblade into the other's chest.

Donald and Goofy had developed an unorthodox way of confronting the Soldier Nobodies. They would engage them the same way each time, with Goofy shielding them both from the attacks of its blade. Donald would wait until it lowered its own shield just slightly, and attack with a quick spell until it went down.

The end of Bariss' whip wrapped around the right wrist of a Soldier, and she gave it a firm pull toward her. The application of force was just enough to loosen the Nobody's grip on its weapon to the point where it fell to the ground.

She rushed in to finish it (cutting down an unlucky Dusk with the sharp edges of her shield as she did). She drew her sai, and aimed at its throat. It blocked the assault however, and pressed forward with its own shield, knocking her backwards, and making her lose her balance.

It loomed over her for a moment, before she lunged up at it with her sai, stabbing through the spot where its heart should have been.

Axel leapt over her as she got to her feet, removing the head of a Dusk with one swipe. Xonem appeared right on cue, cutting down an advancing Elementalist before it realized it was there.

About a dozen Assassins appeared in the area, and went to town against their Nobody counterparts. One's blade arm came within an inch of removing Xyran's head. As it was, he was able to duck out of its way, and score a hit on its side with one of Larxene's kunai.

He quickly swapped the kunai out for Marluxia's scythe, and used it to parry Kairi's overhand strike at his head. He stabbed at her stomach with his spear, only for his own attack to be parried with her Keyblade.

Xyran had to admit that he was pleasantly surprised. He had observed the girl for a short amount of time before she and her friends had engaged the Heartless, and she hadn't looked like anything particularly special. Granted, she was quite pretty, and seemed like a very nice person, but certainly not a fighter.

The Nobody realized how ludicrously far off he had been now. She fought beautifully, and with a passion that the greatest of warriors would envy. He had come within an inch of death several times at the end of her blade.

It almost happened again when Kairi sidestepped his lunge at her midsection, and sent her blade at his neck. Only a very hasty teleportation backwards saved him. He dismissed his melee weapons, and instead summoned Xigbar's guns to his hands.

He opened fire, and Kairi erected a Light shield directly in front of her. The bullets bounced harmlessly off, and dissipated a moment after they hit the ground. Kairi pointed her blade forward, and launched the shield at him.

Xyran stomped his foot, and a wall of solid earth shot up from the ground before him. Thinking this would be enough to hold off the approaching Light, he dismissed the guns, and summoned his spear back into his hands, gathering electricity to it to launch a counterattack.

One can imagine his surprise when the Light smashed completely through the rock and dirt barrier. First, the debris from the wall collapsed on top of him, but this was a small problem in comparison with the pure Light colliding with him, and sending him flying.

The electrical energy he had been collecting was released in the form of a single bolt of lightning which flew into a nearby tree. It nearly chopped it in half, sending splinters flying everywhere. Coincidentally, some of these spinters were sharp enough, and had enough force behind them, to shred some of the lesser Nobodies.

Xyran hit his head against a large rock, and everything went black.

Cossex, seeing her partner in danger, leapt away from the descending fist of Riku's Guardian, and vaulted over Mickey and an Assassin to get to his side. Before Kairi could get any closer to him to finish him off, she was there to block her path.

Most of the Soldiers and Elementalists rushed in to join her, forming a solid wall of Nobodies in between the two women. Cossex bent down, and hoisted Xyran over her shoulder.

All of them vanished through corridors of Darkness.

Each one of them were silent for nearly a minute, until Yuffie finally vocalized what everyone was thinking. "What just happened here?"

None of them could come up with a real answer.

!

_Hope you liked it!_

_1) Inspired by Shire Folk's design, as they're following his O.C._

_Please leave a review!_


	117. Chapter 116: No Sacrifices

_My apologies for the large gap, I had a hard time getting to my beta. Computer trouble. ^^; But let's keep the ball rolling…_

_Sora: "Hey, aren't computers supposed to make life easier? All the computers I've had any sort of contact with have been very bad to me…"_

_Get a YouTube account! I'm sure you'll love technology again in no time._

_Sora: "Dude, a computer tried to kill me, I really don't see where you're going with this."_

_Neither do I._

_Sora: "Whatever. DarthKingdom doesn't own the rights to Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, Dreamworks, or anything else."_

_!_

Chapter 116: No Sacrifices

Sora hoped that whatever it was that the others were doing, that they would wrap it up fast.

Though it had seemed impossible, the warrior team opposite them had caught up in the minutes where Nehrut had been unable to help them from the sidelines. While Sora had still been able to score a few points, Miguel and Tulio were clearly exhausted, and were half-supporting each other as they moved around the court.

The warriors were ahead now, with a score of forty to thirty-one in their favor.

Sora cast his gaze up into the stands. The crowd still looked excited, but they were clearly confused as to why he and the 'gods' were suddenly losing so badly. Tzekel-Khan looked particularly puzzled.

The ball came back to the Keybearer, and he kicked it toward the hoop, barely missing it. One of the warriors that had been standing on the other side knocked it up with his fists, sending it hard through the hoop.

It flew toward the bench where Chel now sat alone with a basket of extra balls, and struck the wall not two feet from her head. She started, and almost fell out of her seat. Her eyes fell upon something as one of the warriors shouted, "New ball!"

Sora walked over to her with Miguel and Tulio, who were both breathing heavily. She met them halfway there, carrying a fresh ball.

"How long does this go on, anyway?" Tulio gasped.

"The game is over when the shadow touches this line." She explained, pointing at the line that Sora had noticed earlier at the end of the court. His face fell when he realized that the shadow of the temple was getting very close.

"We need a miracle!" Miguel said.

"No, we need to _cheat_." Tulio countered.

That was when Chel donned a sly smile, and held the ball up to their faces so they could see it better. At first, Sora wasn't sure what he was looking at, it looked like any other of the dozens of balls that were in the basket. But then he noticed that its surface looked a little rough, and somehow layered...

A part of the ball opened up with the sound of a small squeak, and a pair of beady little eyes peered out at them. It was then that Sora realized that he was actually looking at an armadillo curled up into a tight ball.

Tulio took the little guy in his hands, not fully understanding where Chel was going with this.

The warriors ran toward them again, closing in on them from all sides. Without warning, the armadillo (still in ball form) leapt out of Tulio's hands, and bounced across the ground in the direction of the wall with the hoop. Sora and his small team ran after him, ensuring that the others couldn't get to him.

The armadillo suddenly bounced onto Sora's shoulder, and then up toward the hoop. Seeming to defy the laws of gravity, it practically crawled up the wall, and scrambled into the hoop, falling into Miguel's arms on the opposite side.

The crowd was silent for a moment, gaping at the apparent display of godly power. Then they burst into applause.

"YES!" Miguel, Tulio, and Sora exclaimed together.

For the next few minutes, the three continued to pass the armidillo (which Sora had since nicknamed 'Bibo' after his childhood puppy) off as a magic ball. They were all able to score points with apparently little effort, bouncing Bibo toward the hoop at angles that shouldn't have worked, and with force that should have been insufficient.

They had caught up with their opponents in no time, tying the score at forty-one apiece. When the temple's shadow was mere seconds away from the line that would signal the end of the game, their apparently flawless system fell apart.

"Who's the god?" Tulio asked enthusiastically.

"You the god!" Miguel replied.

"No, you the god!" Tulio accidentally knocked Bibo back toward the bench with his elbow, where he bounced into the basket by which Chel stood. She was dancing excitedly in place, her eyes fixed intently on the game.

When the armadillo bounced into the basket, she barely paid any attention, and reached in, pulling out the first thing she found, and throwing it to Miguel.

She realized too late that it was just a normal ball, and that the very dizzy-looking Bibo was still in the basket, trying to get his bearings back. Unfortunately, the players didn't notice.

Miguel passed the ball over to Tulio, who passed it to Sora, who spun it on his finger theatrically as he approached the hoop too fast for the other team to catch. It was only when he and his two team mates had reached the area just below it did they look over to the bench, where Chel was holding the poor, dazed Bibo up for them to see.

Their jaws fell open.

Realizing that they had only precious seconds before the shadow touched the line, ending the game at an unacceptable tie, Sora moved into action. He took the ball in his hands, and leapt onto the unprepared Miguel's shoulders. Using them as a springboard, he leapt as high as he possibly could (accidently catching the man in the forehead with his foot), aiming toward the hoop, and throwing the ball when he was as high as possible.

As he fell back to earth, he saw the ball stop just inside the ring, and stay there.

While it trembled slightly, the entire crowd and both teams held their breath, waiting to see which way it would tilt.

After ten silent, agonizing seconds, the ball blasted completely out of the opposite end from which it had come.

A horn blared somewhere, and the crowd cheered louder than ever. Sora, Miguel, and Tulio twisted around to beam at the bench. Nehrut and the rest of the crew couldn't have chosen a better time to return.

A louder, deeper horn blew, signaling the complete end of the game. The rest of their team rushed onto the court with triumphant expressions on their faces. Chel leapt directly into Tulio's arms, and he spun her around in the air, laughing wildly.

Sora embraced Kairi while the others slapped him proudly on the back. "What happened to you guys?"

"We had some Heartless/Nobody trouble." Kairi explained. "They ran off though."

"And you'll never believe who one of the Nobody leaders was." Yuffie added.

Before Sora could get any more information though, Tzekel-Khan and Chief Tannabok were approaching them. The former spoke, "My Lords, congratulations on your victory! And now you will, of course, wish to have the losing team sacrificed for your glory..."

This was a remarkably sobering comment, and the entire crowd fell silent as the losing team of warriors dropped to their knees, their heads down, and their hands folded submissively in front of them.

"Not _again_." Miguel muttered. His tone then abruptly changed into that of a man who'd had enough. "_Look_, Tzekel-Khan!"

"Miguel..." Tulio muttered.

"Forget the sacrifices!"

"Miguel..." Tulio continued.

"We don't _want_ any sacrifices!"

Tulio was just about to reach out and grab his friend by the shoulder to try and snap some sense into him, when Sora seized his wrist.

"But all of the sacred writings say that you will devour the wicked and the unrighteous." Tzekel-Khan replied.

"Well, I don't see anyone here who fits that description."

Tzekel-Khan looked flabbergasted, and slightly offended. "Well, as Speaker of the gods, it will be my privilege to point them out." He just barely inclined his head toward the stunned-looking Tannabok.

Miguel advanced slowly toward the high priest. "The gods are speaking for themselves now! This city and these people have no need for you anymore." He roughly shoved Tzekel-Khan out of his way, and walked toward the kneeling warriors. He pulled two of them to their feet, and the rest followed suit. "There will be no sacrifices! Not now, not _ever_!"

The people of El Dorado cried out in joy at his proclamation, and Sora smiled. Miguel got right in Tzekel-Khan's betrayed, disbelieving face when he said, "Now get out!"

The high priest cast his gaze around, perhaps looking for somebody to defend him. All he got was cheering faces, a smug wave from Tannabok, and Sora and his group pointing him toward the exit.

He looked back at Miguel for a moment, but was only met with a glare. Then, his expression changed in a way that Sora couldn't quite understand. But he no longer looked so worried.

His voice was surprisingly soft when he said, "As the... _gods_ command."

He left the court without incident as the warriors lifted their saviors onto their shoulders, and escorted them from the court back to their temple in style.

"Not bad for my first commandment, eh?" Miguel asked.

!

A few minutes later, Tzekel-Khan stood in the depths of his temple with one of his men. They were in a very large, circular room. In the center was a tall, flat stone that was a smaller replica of the one in front of the entrance to the city. Behind it, on the opposite end was a massive stone statue that resembled a jaguar. A thin layer of dim sunlight filtered through a small opening in the ceiling.

"Do you know why the gods demand blood?" Tzekel-Khan asked the man, gazing at the tablet.

"I don't know."

Tzekel-Khan flourished a dagger he had concealed within his clothing. Without hesitation, he slashed his palm open. He mentally pictured the bleeding cut Sora's foot had left on Miguel's forehead.

"Because gods don't _bleed_." He answered, approaching the tablet. He smeared his bloody palm across its surface, leaving a red stain across 'Miguel's' face. He opened his palm, and watched as greenish energy crackled around his hand, closing the wound. "It's time to take the future into my own hands. And the city will be cleansed... even if I have to do it myself."

"How?" His guard asked. Tzekel-Khan turned to him, and snatched away the tome he had been holding in his hands.

He started flipping through the pages. "There are dark magics here... hidden power, and- Ooh! My, my, my, my, my..."

He had found a page that depicted a massive animal laying waste to the temple in El Dorado's heart. He chuckled to himself, and threw the tome over his shoulder into his goon's arms. "It's not called 'the Age of the Jaguar' for nothing."

He walked out to the entrance of his temple, and gazed down toward the river, where the gods' boat was under construction. "This will be a delightful way to bid the false gods goodbye."

There was an unnatural noise behind him near the heart of the room. He twisted around. Xyran and Cossex stood there.

"Need some help?" Xyran asked flatly.

!

The next few days passed mostly without incident for Sora and his crew. They spent their days in much the same way that they had spent the first: Relaxing, and mingling with the local populace.

However, it was tainted somewhat by the threat of the Brotherhood. Now, they were also on the lookout for any sign of Heartless and Nobodies.

Still, despite their slight worry and their concentration on their surroundings, the Brotherhood hadn't made any move against them. After hearing Axel's story about Xyran, Sora had to wonder if he and Cossex were actually letting them rest, or had perhaps pulled out of the world altogether.

King Mickey seemed adamant however, that there was still a threat of Darkness lingering around El Dorado. So, they stayed.

Over the next three days, the boat that would take Miguel, Tulio, Chel, and the horse Altivo far from El Dorado and back to Spain gradually took shape. By the evening of the third day, it looked complete.

Now, Sora sat at the entrance to the temple, gazing out across the golden city with Kairi by his side. He had his hand held gently over hers, and she was leaning into his body. Most of their group was out in the city. Tulio and Chel were examining the gold in the camber in greater detail, and Miguel was walking out to the entrance.

"What are you two up to?" He asked.

"Nothin'." Kairi replied.

"Well, Altivo and I are going to check on the boat. Want to come?"

"Sure." They replied, getting to their feet.

The three walked down the steps (it wasn't nearly as daunting a task as it had once been) and met Altivo at the bottom. They greeted the horse with affectionate pats on the head, and it followed them down to the nearby section of the river where the boat was being built.

It was just as grand as Chief Tannabok had promised it would be. It was nearly one-hundred feet long, and made out of a very sturdy, light-colored wood. The ship had a golden pattern along its length, and the bow was shaped into a dragon's head, with a deep red and blue pattern.

It was definitely one of the grandest vessels Sora had yet seen, even taking into account that he had grown up around boats, and had sailed on ships like the _Black Pearl_. Chief Tannabok was waiting for them there, and overseeing the transfer of the gods' tribute onto the vessel.

He beamed when he saw them, and ushered them onto its deck. After mere moments, it became clear to Sora and Kairi that it would more than suit Miguel and Tulio's needs. It was spacious enough to provide more than enough room for them, and the mountains of gold they'd be transporting. It was sturdy, and very well-crafted and equipped. The only thing it seemed to be missing was weaponry, but that likely wouldn't be much of an issue.

"Well, it's um... nice." Miguel said.

"Nice?" Tannabok, Sora, and Kairi repeated in confused tones.

"Yes, nice. But um, is it really fit for the gods?"

"My Lord..." Tannabok began.

"I have been around boats, believe me." Miguel said. "And that um, pointy, tall uh... the long up and down thing..."

"The mast?" Sora prompted.

"The mast, yes, yes. Mast is good. But I mean... look at it, I mean there's not nearly enough uh... rope."

"Rope?" Tannabok asked, to be sure he had heard correctly.

"Yes rope, exactly my point! Vertical ascension requires a lot more uh, rope!"

It was only now that Sora realized that Miguel had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. He was trying in vain to find something wrong with it in an attempt to buy them more time in El Dorado. He traded a knowing smile with Kairi, who seemed to have arrived at the same conclusion.

"And look at _this_." Miguel continued. He was pushing repeatedly, and with increasing amounts of force against the ship's railing, trying to make it give way. He was failing horribly, as the railing was extremely sturdy. "This doesn't look at all secure!"

Sora snickered quietly when he banged his hand against the side in an attempt to make his point, and came away shaking it to rid it of pain.

"Chief, I'm sorry, but all in all, it's a complete do-over." Miguel rested his arms against the railing, and looked down into the water.

Nobody spoke for a few moments, and then Tannabok adopted a similar knowing smile to Sora and Kairi's. He walked up to Miguel's side, and leaned on the section of railing next to him. "You know, Lord Miguel, if you wish to stay, you only need to say so."

The younger man looked at him. "You mean... forever?"

"Of course."

Miguel actually seemed to consider this offer for a moment before he replied, "No I can't, I have to go back with Tulio. We're partners."

"Big plans in the other world, huh?"

"Yep. Big plans."

Tannabok smiled, and patted him on the back. "Well then, I'd better get some more rope."

"Oh, uh Chief?" Miguel said quickly as he began to walk off. "Forget about the rope. My mistake."

He, Sora, and Kairi were just leaving the ship themselves, when Tannabok replied casually, "Hey, to err is human."

The three froze in their tracks, horrified. They slowly turned around, only to be met with Chief Tannabok's knowing smile.

"You know...?" Kairi began.

"Know what, Lady Kairi?" He replied innocently.

The three of them kept this remark in mind as they left the ship, and began the walk back to the temple. Altivo met them, and trotted along beside them as they ascended the steps to the top.

Just a moment before they got back to the entrance, they could hear Tulio and Chel holding a conversation.

"Oh, like you don't _want_ to go to Spain." Tulio was saying.

"Oh, like you don't want me to want to go to Spain." Chel replied teasingly.

"I want you to want... what you want."

"Mm-hm? Go on."

Tulio sighed. "Alright, cards on the table."

The others got to the entrance then. The two inside had their backs to them, and didn't hear their entrance into the room. "I want you to come to Spain with me and Miguel." Tulio said to Chel's back.

"Mostly me. Especially me. Only me. Forget Miguel." Tulio finished.

Chel laughed softly, and turned to face him. She walked up to him, and said, "Well, as long as that's what _you_ want... me too."

"Okay! Deal?"

"Deal."

The two sealed their apparent new 'deal' with a heated kiss right in the middle of the room. Sora and Kairi smiled at this, but Miguel had a much, much different reaction.

He scowled silently, and leaned against the door frame with his arms folded across his chest. He glared at the embracing couple who had still not noticed their presence. "Forget Miguel? Well... forget Tulio."

Altivo had just caught up with them, and his jaw fell open on sight with the two in the room. Miguel abruptly shut it, and skulked away back down the steps. Sora and Kairi traded confused looks, and went down after him.

"Uh, Miguel?" Sora said when they caught up with him at the bottom of the steps. "I'm sure he didn't mean 'forget Miguel' as in 'forever.'"

"Yeah, he was just trying to make a point." Kairi agreed.

Miguel grimaced. "There's more to it than that. We made a pact when we got here! Chel was supposed to be off-limits."

"Are you saying you actually have feelings for her, too?"

"That's not the point." Miguel muttered. "He completely went back on his word."

He gave them no chance to reply, and stormed silently off into the city.

!

It had taken a full three days, but things were coming together.

Tzekel-Khan strode into the innermost room of his sanctum. In the very center of the massive room, a small pit had been revealed. One of his men was kneeling over it, stirring a thick, slimy, bubbling, sickly green substance inside with a long wooden stick. Several bowls were situated around him. Cossex and Xyran were sitting a short distance away.

"Well, is it ready yet?" The high priest asked, stopping by the pit.

"You mean the toxic sludge that's stinking up this whole temple?" Xyran replied with undercurrents of disgust.

Tzekel-Khan ignored him, and instead loomed over his guard. The man took a nearby bowl, and scooped up as much of the liquid as would fit inside. It emitted a green vapor when it was touched.

He raised his eyebrow in distaste, and fixed his aide with a pointed look. It took the man a moment to realize the reason for this, and he produced a small umbrella from somewhere on his person. He opened it, placed it in the substance, and handed it to Tzekel-Khan.

The high priest took it with a manic grin, and lifted it up to his face. He took a deep inhale, and shuddered. It appeared for a just an instant as though something was about to occur. When nothing did, he looked at it with a raised eyebrow.

He tossed the bowl aside, splashing its contents across the stone floor. "It seems to be missing something..." He pulled his tome seemingly out of thin air, and looked into the page he had marked beforehand, detailing the instructions for the ritual that would cleanse El Dorado.

He looked it over for a moment, until he finally realized the problem. "Ah, I see..." He put away his tome, and casually walked around to the other side of the man stirring the 'toxic sludge.'

"It needs more... body." He casually kicked the hapless man into the mixture. He fell in with barely any noise, and didn't resurface. Xyran and Cossex stared at him in disgust for just one second before everything went crazy.

There was a loud howling noise, and the liquid in the pit instantly transformed into a hissing vaporous material of mixed green, yellow, and red colors. A column of the gas shot directly into the air.

Tzekel-Khan began laughing maniacally when a tendril of the gas separated, and shot toward his chest. It disintegrated the clothing over his upper body, and threw him backwards into the tall tablet depicting the gods.

He smiled horribly as his body was marked with blue-green mosaic patterns all over. His eyes took on the same color as the patterns appeared all over the tablet, binding him to it. The patterns stretched past it, and wound their way across the room to where the massive jaguar statue stood.

The lines crept up the statue, and its eyes took on the same color as Tzekel-Khan's.

The high priest ripped his head free of the tablet. The stone jaguar came to life, and did the same thing to separate from the wall it was built into. Tzekel-Khan flexed his fingers, and his nails lengthened. The jaguar's massive claws revealed themselves.

And finally, Tzekel-Khan ripped himself free of the tablet entirely, cracking it in two, and landing on the ground on all fours. The jaguar tore the wall behind it apart, and landed in the same position directly in front of its master.

As Cossex and Xyran looked on in awe, Tzekel-Khan lifted his arm into the air, and slammed it down into the ground. "Do as I command!" The jaguar mirrored its movements exactly, shaking the temple when it brought its huge paw crashing down onto the ground.

Tzekel-Khan laughed, shoulders shaking, and the jaguar mirrored even this shaking motion, uttering a primal growl.

!

_Down, kitty!_

_Please review!_


	118. Chapter 117: Cleansing

_Question for you all who are playing or have played the 2011 game of the year The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. How would you feel about me writing a few short stories based on that wonderful little world? It's an idea I've been toying with for a while, now._

_Nehrut: (stuck on a couch with a controller in his hand) "Must play more…"_

_Just something I was curious about. Anyway, seeing as my game-happy OC is busy apparently looking for Dwemer cogs, I'll just do the disclaimer. I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or Dreamworks. Enjoy!"_

_!_

Chapter 117: Cleansing

"The gods deserve a proper tribute!"

Fortunately, these words weren't coming from the lips of the real Tzekel-Khan. The entire population of El Dorado had come out to see the gods off tonight, as they would leave the following morning.

The one who had spoken Tzekel-Khan's line was a child of about seven, who was wearing a large red mask and holding a wooden sword. He had a thin rope strung loosely around Bibo the armadillo's neck. Together with another seven-year old who was playing Miguel, they were reenacting the scenes at the whirlpool and ball court.

"Stop! There will be no sacrifices!" 'Miguel' said, picking the confused Bibo up and holding him out of reach of the fake weapon.

There was quiet, appreciative laughter from the crowd, and Sora's was among it. He sat on the steps of the gods' temple, around which the majority of the activity was taking place. Their entire group was also on the steps, and Miguel and Tulio were sitting on cushioned, golden thrones that had been brought to the steps.

"That kid does you better than you do!" Tulio said, jokingly punching his partner on the arm. He took a sip from the drink he held in his hand, not noticing that Miguel was wearing the same sour expression that he had been when he had seen his and Chel's kiss. "Some sendoff, huh? We'll finally get to go back home and live like kings!"

Tulio glanced over toward Chel, who was helping some children pet Altivo. Sora noticed Tanni in the little group, and waved at her. She waved back cheerily, as Chel did the same to Tulio.

The man gazed at her while slurping down his drink. Miguel responded to his partner's previous statement. "Isn't King kind of a step down from god?"

Tulio nearly choked on his drink upon hearing this. "Woah, Miguel." He laughed slightly. "We can't stay here. We have a plan, remember?"

Miguel looked at him coolly. "How about we _forget_ the plan, hmmm?"

The other man was about to reply, when the night air was split by a ground-shaking roar.

Everyone soon discovered that the source of the noise was coming from Tzekel-Khan's temple, the roof of which suddenly burst apart from the inside like a grenade exploding.

Perched there was a huge jaguar made of stone with glowing, blue-green eyes.

As the horrible laughter of Tzekel-Khan echoed across the city, hundreds of Heartless and Nobodies joined the jaguar as it rushed down the side of the temple toward the assembled mass of people.

There was exactly one second of silence, and then two little girls screamed. But, a moment later, it was revealed to Sora that this was actually Miguel and Tulio. Despite the situation, he laughed inside.

Tzekel-Khan's voice split the night air, "Now everyone will know the truth of your 'divinities!'"

The citizens of El Dorado reacted exactly the way Sora was afraid that they would: with complete and total panic.

King Mickey rushed up the steps, and lifted his golden Keyblade into the air. "QUIET!" He shouted in a voice that quiet obviously was magically amplified. The entire crowd came to a complete halt –having been bolted out of their fear by the sheer volume of Mickey's voice. "Everybody get into the gods' temple right now! We can't protect you if you're running around in a frenzy."

The people listened to him, and rushed up the steps at the same time the off-worlders took off at high speed to meet the attackers. Several Assassins appeared around the temple to see that they made it inside and stayed safe.

"I'll take the big thing." Sora said, surfing just over the ground on the Keyboard, and aiming at the jaguar's face.

"Then we'll handle the endless hordes of evil creatures!" Nehrut said.

"Stay safe!" Mickey told them all, having just caught up with them in a surprisingly short amount of time. "Take them down!"

They met the Dark forces then, and now Sora could see the two Nobodies who must have been Cossex and Xyran at the head of the group. Nehrut went to Xyran, while Mickey went to Cossex. The rest of their party waded into the Heartless and lesser Nobodies as Sora shot at the jaguar statue.

He soon discovered that the massive creature was every bit as sturdy as it appeared. The strikes from his Keyblade against its forehead did seem to injure it, though not much, and still it continued on its path toward the gods' temple, where hundreds of people were had taken refuge.

Well, he wasn't about to let it reach them. He soared right back into its path, pooling as much electricity to Sleeping Lion as he could. It was shaking with pent-up energy as he finally cried out, "Thundaga!" and fired dozens of bolts directly into its face.

That seemed to slow it a bit. It came to a halt, letting out a slightly pained roar as the electricity crackled all around the front half of its body, scorching it and leaving blackened patches of stone.

It growled, and seemed to decide that the temple could wait. It would deal with Sora now, then move on. It swiped a massive paw at Sora, who dropped beneath it, allowing it to pass easily over his head. He struck at it with his blade as it passed by, leaving a deep gouge in it.

It was surprisingly fast, and its teeth snapped forward to chew the Keybearer up. Sora flew straight backwards, and its huge teeth barely missed him. Sora fired a few icy Blizzard spells at its mouth, but these were mostly ineffective against it, and the ice shattered against its teeth.

It chomped at him again, missing by a shorter margin this time when Sora flew backwards. Sora quickly transformed his blade into the Keyfist. He flew higher into the air, over the creature's head. He twisted himself around in the air, and shot straight down, driving his new weapon into the top of its head.

_That_ hurt. The Keyfist left a large crack in its head, and chunks of stone flew from it, skidding down its face.

The jaguar growled, and rushed out from under the Keybearer. It jumped up at him, intending to crush him between its claws. He was able to avoid the full force of the blow, but in the process of escaping the attack, one of its claws raked across his side, leaving a large gash on his hip.

He cried out from the pain, and fell over fifty feet toward the ground.

!

Kairi, Riku, and Mickey were locked in a three-on-one fight against Cossex.

They stood on the roof of a golden building, battling back and forth amongst themselves, neither side seeming to be able to get an edge over the other.

When Mickey leapt toward Cossex, her booted heel shot out, catching him in the stomach and knocking him completely off the building. She threw her axes at either of her remaining opponents, who both smacked them away with their Keyblades.

Before they could advance toward their unarmed opponent, she was already leaping high over them to reclaim her weapons. But it was during this short reprieve from the fighting that Kairi saw Sora fall.

She felt him flickering in and out of consciousness even from this distance, and her expression became one of terror.

Riku noticed, and reacted just a moment before she could. "I got him!" He and his Guardian took to the air, shooting after the falling Keyblade Master at speeds she had never before seen them reach. Unfortunately, she was unable to see if they intercepted him, because Cossex was all over her.

Her silver blades were blurs and flashes of light as they slashed toward her from all directions seemingly at once. Several times, Kairi was forced to rapidly back away from the Nobody, lest she be cut into tiny pieces.

"Princess Pieces." Namine interjected.

_Now is really, really not the time!_

Kairi gathered Light to her palm, and released it at Cossex. She brought her axes together, blocking the attack, though it forced her backwards a step. Kairi ran toward her, bringing Destiny's Light down toward her head, and the blow was parried.

The younger woman slashed her blade at the Nobody's legs, and she leapt over the attack. Cossex struck with both of her weapons simultaneously, one going high, and the other going low. Kairi blocked the one moving toward her neck, but wasn't able to move away from the other in time to avoid it completely.

She ignored the pain coming from the cut across her shin, and fired Light at Cossex's chest. She dodged out of the way, and then ducked under a strike that could have beheaded her. Kairi went on a full offensive this time, striking quickly at every possible moment, and often from unexpected directions.

She pressed Cossex back to the edge of the building, and forced her to leap backwards into the streets below. Kairi followed her down (slashing through a Rapid Thruster on the way) and landed directly in front of her. She stabbed forward at her stomach, only to have the strike turned aside by the axe blades.

A pair of Soldier Nobodies rushed past either side of Cossex, both of them bringing their short swords to bear against Kairi. She blocked their matching attacks, and threw their blades off of hers. She cut the legs out from under one of them, before narrowly turning aside one of Cossex's axe blades.

Three blades struck at her at once: The remaining Soldier's, and both of Cossex's. Kairi leapt away from them, and gathered Light to her blade. She swung it, and sent a crescent-shaped disk of Light at them. Cossex was fast enough to leap out of its path, but the Soldier wasn't as lucky.

!

Nehrut now realized just how deadly an opponent Xyran was.

He and Axel were fighting the young Nobody in a large, open plaza near Tzekel-Khan's temple. Only a few Heartless and Nobodies were present, since most were participating in the battle with their allies.

Nehrut parried the strikes of two Elementalists, and cut one of them in half before Xyran struck at him with his spear. Xonem appeared between them, and caught the spear between his bladed arms (everybody was so used to his coming and going by now that it didn't surprise them anymore). Nehrut jumped over him, and brought his blade down toward Xyran's head.

He threw himself backwards, summoning Xigbar's guns, and firing as he moved. The telepath put up a barrier to block the projectiles. Axel came on from the other side, and threw both of his burning chakrams at his back.

Without even flinching, Xyran dismissed the guns, and summoned a familiar giant sitar, the head of which looked to be covered with a large mass of water. He smacked the burning weapons aside, extinguishing the fire, and sending them back at their source.

Xyran grinned, and began to play the musical weapon. Water shot all across the area from his feet, sending his opponents crashing to the ground. They had just gotten to their feet, when the water resolved itself into eight watery clones of Xyran, with featureless faces. Each one held a water spear.

Four ran toward each of them, and Nehrut ran to meet his set of them. The first one launched its spear at his face. He ducked under the attack almost casually, and drove Presul into its chest. The form harmlessly reverted back into normal water, and splashed all over him.

Nehrut rubbed the water out of his eyes just in time to duck under a pouncing Wildcat. He cut in in half when it landed, and quickly parried the scythe of an Elementalist. Two more of Xyran's clones attacked him, but they soon met the same fate as the last one that had tried to kill him.

He saw that Axel had already dealt with the other five, and charged at Xyran. He dismissed the sitar, and summoned two fistfuls of kunai. He punched at the telepath's face, and narrowly missed. He did lose a lock of hair, however.

Nehrut punched out his hand, and the Nobody flew backwards from his mental blast. He hit a nearby wall with enough force to crack it, and Axel moved in for the finisher, sending gouts of flame at him.

The supposedly doomed Xyran teleported to the other side of the plaza as the flames scorched a portion of the wall into a blackened, crumbling mass. Spear in hand, he stabbed at Nehrut's chest, and would have ran him through had he not jumped hastily backwards.

Xyran signaled the Heartless and Nobodies to leave the telepath to him, and they all turned their attention toward Axel and Xonem. Four more Assassins appeared to back them up.

Nehrut and Xyran faced each other for a moment. Xyran cracked a wry smile, and nodded appreciatively toward Nehrut's sword. "You're pretty good."

"You're not so bad yourself." Nehrut complimented. "Of course, that's mostly because your copying other people."

Xyran shrugged. "Eh, what're you gonna do?"

"Pummel you."

"Har har." Xyran rolled his eyes. "So you're telepathic, right?"

"Yeah..."

"Cool! That means I'll be telepathic!" Xyran rushed toward him, the end of his spear crackling with electricity.

"Not a chance!" Nehrut snarled. His telepathy was a gift, and he wasn't about to cheapen it by letting this random Nobody copy it. He gathered mental energy, and thrust out his hand.

The telepathic energy surged from his hand just inches from the crackling energy of the spear. This had a very unusual result that neither of them could have foreseen. The first was that the electrical energy burst from the spear, and flew in all directions in the form of thick, white-hot bolts. Heartless and Nobodies alike were struck down.

The second effect was harder to explain.

!

_Nehrut was floating; at least that was what it felt like. His entire body felt numb, aside from his head, which was throbbing to the point where it was almost painful._

_He opened his eyes (had they been closed?) and looked around. He saw nothing but grey everywhere, plus a few vague silhouettes that he saw as though through a heavy mist. As his senses began to return to him, the shapes began to resolve themselves._

_In a few moments, he could everything perfectly. And he definitely wasn't looking at El Dorado. For miles, all he could see was rolling, grassy, bright green plains. Far, far off in the distance, he could see majestic mountains against a bright blue sky._

_He seemed to be standing on a high hill, and he was looking down on what appeared to be a small herd of wild mustangs._

_No, he realized. Not just mustangs. There was a pair of humans down there. One male and one female. Both of them were young._

_As he watched, the two moved away from the herd and closer to his hill. Nehrut realized with a start that the male was none other than Xyran. His hand was interlaced with that of the dark-haired young woman next to him._

_They came to a halt, and the girl said something to Xyran. Nehrut should have been too far away to hear them, but he heard her words perfectly._

"_Just be careful, alright?"_

"_I will. I promise."_

_She practically leapt onto him then, pulling him into a crushing embrace which he returned with a hint of desperation._

"That's private!"

_Nehrut turned around. A very angry-looking Xyran stood there, as well. He looked back over his shoulder, and realized that there was still a Xyran down there, locked in an embrace with the girl. Comprehension dawned on his face._

"This is your memory, isn't it?"

"You have no right to be here!"

"It's not like I meant to do it."

_Xyran sighed, and lowered his head. _"This is why I'm in the Brotherhood... This is why I have to capture a Keybearer."

_Nehrut looked back over his shoulder again, down at the memory versions of Xyran and the girl. He was surprised. The Xyran down there looked exactly like the one in front of him. That meant he was already a Nobody in this particular memory. But he seemed to be in a relationship with that girl._

"You're worried something will happen to her her, aren't you? You're trying to protect her."

"Yes. If aiding the Brotherhood means she stays safe, it's something I have to do."

"Did you love her?"

_Xyran didn't answer for a long time. His hand strayed to his jacket pocket, but he didn't reach inside of it._ "I don't know... I don't exactly have a heart to love her _with_, do I?" _He chuckled weakly._

"But when I was with her, well... I felt like I did."

_Nehrut felt very sorry for the Nobody. He was in a similar boat to the one Bariss had been in when the group had first met her. Except that perhaps he had it worse. Their motivations were slightly different, but Xyran had much, much higher stakes. Bariss had found herself able to leave, but he didn't enjoy the same option._

"We can help you, you know."_Nehrut offered._

"I doubt it."

"No, really. We can protect her from the Brotherhood if it needs to be done. That's what we're trying to accomplish in the first place. Peace and protection for the decent people across the worlds."

"You won't be able to get to her before Serndask does." _Xyran actually looked like he might cry. _"This is all I can do to make sure she's safe."

_Before Nehrut could say any more, everything abruptly went black._

_!_

The telepath snapped back into consciousness to see Xyran crouched on his knees a few feet away from him. He himself was also on the ground, with Bariss (_where'd she come from?) _and Axel standing protectively in front of him. From what he could discern, Bariss had smashed her shield into the Nobody's head. The Heartless and lesser Nobodies were nowhere to be seen, though he still heard sounds of battle from elsewhere in the city.

"Stay away from him." Bariss growled.

Xyran rubbed the top of his head, grimacing. He looked quickly back and forth between Nehrut and Bariss, and chuckled slightly. "Nehrut, bro... she is _really_ into you."

Bariss threw her sai at him, but he quickly leapt backwards, and was on his feet in a moment. He brought his spear back to his hands. He looked Nehrut in the eye.

"Please don't say anything."

He suddenly left. Just like that, he was running out of the plaza, and into another part of the city.

Bariss glared after him, but her expression softened immediately when she turned around to face Nehrut. She helped him to his feet, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?"

He smiled slightly at the gesture, and took the hand that was on his shoulder in his own. "Fine, thanks."

"What happened to you two?" Axel asked. "You just froze in place for a moment. I was starting to get worried, and then Bariss came and smacked the guy."

"I saw his memories." Nehrut replied, gazing curiously after Xyran.

"What'd you see?" Bariss asked.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you."

"Why not?"

Nehrut shrugged, and grinned slightly. "He just asked me not to."

!

Riku snatched Sora out of the air just ten feet before he hit the ground and broke every bone in his body. The Keyblade Master was only semiconscious, and had a deep gash across his side from the massive jaguar's attack.

The huge stone cat noticed this, and raised its paw to smash the two into the ground. The stone claws were meters away, when Riku's Guardian rushed up. It stopped the attack dead using only its burly fists.

The jaguar didn't seem to have expected this, and raised its paw to strike again. In the time it took for it to do this, however, Riku and Sora were already gone.

Riku set Sora carefully down on the nearest building that hadn't been partially demolished. "Hang in there, pal." He said quickly, slapping Sora a few times on the face to keep him awake. He turned him on his side, and took a High-Potion from his back pocket. He cracked it open, and allowed the magical substances to spill onto Sora's large wound.

He watched as the magic materials did their work, stopping the bleeding and closing the wound in a few short seconds. Only a faint scar was left, and then, Sora's magic clothing repaired itself, blocking it from view.

Sora sat up, blinking rapidly. "That _hurt_."

"Well, that's just one of our many occupational hazards, isn't it?"

Sora got to his feet, and eyed the jaguar, which was still trying to destroy the Guardian, with little luck. "Be careful of that thing, it has a longer reach than you'd expect."

"Clearly."

Sora summoned the Keyboard, and leapt onto it. He wore a sly grin. "I've got an idea. Think you can keep it distracted for me?"

"No problem." Riku took to the air again, and was soon joined by the Guardian.

Sora watched closely. The two weaved around the massive creature's head, harassing it with quick bursts of Dawn energy to its face and upper body.

The younger Keybearer waited for a moment, and then summoned the Keyfist into his right hand. He flexed his fingers, and a Keywhip appeared in his left. This one was obviously formed from the Kingdom Key.

Sora grinned, and shot forward, gripping both ends of the whip in his left hand. He soared toward the jaguar, which was roaring loudly at Riku as he continued to pester it. It frequently lashed out at him and the Guardian with its claws, but Riku was doing a better job than Sora of avoiding them.

It didn't realize that Sora was so near. It opened its mouth wide to try and bite down on Riku, and Sora acted. He threw the business end of the Keywhip forward, launching it through the side of its mouth, and out the other. The length of its chain extended to several feet.

Sora moved over the jaguar's head, and shot back down to catch that end in his left hand. Now, he held both ends of the whip, which was locked around the jaguar's head, and lodged in its mouth. He landed on its head, and with a gesture, he shortened the length of the chain until it was taught around it.

The jaguar reeled back, realizing too late that Sora had made the Keywhip into something of a giant bridle. Sora held tight, and with his right hand (covered by the Keyfist) began bashing into its stone forehead.

It howled in pain, and not too far away, Riku applauded before sending blast after blast of Dawn into its face. The jaguar shied away from the attacks, and bit down hard onto the chain in its mouth. But the magic chains were much, much stronger than its stone teeth. All the while, Sora continued to pound it.

Far away, back in Tzekel-Khan's temple, the high priest howled in agony. He shook his body back and forth, knowing that his creature would copy the movement, and hopefully dislodge the Keybearer.

!

Miguel, Tulio, and Chel didn't realize that the fight might yet be won for their side. They took the jaguar's pained howls for roars of triumph, and feared that their new allies might have been destroyed.

And so, they didn't intend to wait around for it to find them.

"Come on! Get on!" Chel urged from Altivo's back.

Tulio leapt on behind her onto the horse's bare back, and Miguel soon followed. Chel, using the makeshift bridle that had been fashioned for the horse, urged Altivo forward, as if he actually needed to be told to. With a loud whinny, he surged forward down a side street that led out of the city.

Unfortunately, this was perhaps their worst possible course of action.

!

Even over the sounds of the city-wide battle, Sora could hear Altivo's cry, and he briefly halted his assault of the panther's head to try and see where the former warhorse was. It didn't take him long.

His very foolish riders had chosen a street that was fairly close to the fighting, and Sora could see the speedy Wild Dog and Wildcat Heartless pursuing it. Altivo was surprisingly fast himself though, and was keeping well ahead of the Dark creatures.

The jaguar noticed the horse and its riders, as well. It suddenly stopped trying to shake Sora off of him, and rushed after the horse. It trampled its way through several buildings to close the space more quickly.

In a desperate attempt to distract it from its new targets, Sora increased the force of his blows to the head as much as was possible. But now, the creature seemed impervious to the pain, so numbed was it at the prospect of taking down the 'gods.'

A handful of Aerial Knockers flapped toward the top of the sprinting jaguar's head, moving directly toward Sora. He grimaced. He only had one free hand, and he was in an awkward position to fight them.

Still, he tried, and was able to smash three of the Heartless, before one landed a hit on his chest, loosening his grip on the Keywhip by a dangerous degree.

It slipped loose of the jaguar's mouth, and Sora was forced to leap off of the creatures back to avoid the continuing blows from the Aerial Knockers.

He fell several feet before summoning his Keyboard beneath his feet. He changed the Keyfist back into the familiar Oblivion Keyblade, and cruised forward after Tzekel-Khan's jaguar, and the Heartless. He hoped that his friends could hold off the remaining enemies back in the city as they all rushed into the jungle.

The first thing they encountered was a high cliff wall with a man-made stone ramp leading up the side. Altivo rushed up first, followed by the ground Heartless that Tzekel-Khan's jaguar hadn't trampled in its enthusiasm.

Sora extended his blade toward the flock of flying Heartless flapping over its head, and shouted "Thundaga!"

Bolts of lightning shot from the tip of the black blade, incinerating the Heartless in microseconds. Not one survived.

The jaguar was too large to follow the horse up the cliff, so instead, it clawed at the side, accidentally tearing apart the remaining Heartless in its attempt to send him and the riders over the side.

It was partially successful. Large pieces of rock slid loose, and Altivo began to fall. Fortunately, one of his back hooves landed a solid kick into one of the jaguar's glowing eyes, cracking the jade it was made of. It cried out in fury, and swiped furiously at the horse.

The blow connected, and Altivo, Miguel, Tulio, and Chel went flying in all directions.

Sora poured on the speed when the jaguar raised its paw to crush the dazed Chel. He extended his blade, shouting "Blizzaga!"

A large particle of ice connected with its paw. It didn't do it much harm, but it did distract it for a crucial moment that allowed Chel to get out of range of its claws.

"Altivo!" Sora heard Tulio shout. "Get Chel out of here!"

The horse understood this command, and rushed over to the woman. She leapt onto his back, and galloped away at high speed, as the jaguar turned its attention back to Miguel and Tulio.

The two cons were running at full speed toward a narrow gap ahead of them. It was between two sheer cliff walls, and would hopefully prove too small for the stone creature to follow. The second they reached the fissure, Sora met them, grabbing them both by their collars, and yanking them forward a few more crucial meters to break into a wide open space on the other side of the cliffs.

Before them was a wide area of dark rock, which Sora thought might be rapidly cooled lava sitting at the site of some past volcanic eruption (he noticed what might have been a dormant volcano nearby). He released his grip on Miguel and Tulio's shirts, and looked through the gap they had just moved through.

Tzekel-Khan's jaguar was trying to shoulder its way through. To Sora's horror, large portions of rock began to break loose from the the cliffs on either side of it.

He didn't even bother to warn Miguel and Tulio before he grabbed them both roughly by the arms, and flew away from it, across the cooled lava. The moment he took off, there was an earth-shattering noise behind them as the jaguar knocked huge pieces of rock from the cliffs, forming a space wide enough for it to move through.

The rocks it had launched into the air plowed into the blackened lava. As it turned out, there was actually a lake of bubbling lava hidden underneath the deceptively boring surface. The debris formed massive holes and cracks in the surface, exposing the lava beneath. Gouts of the fiery liquid shot up into the air, nearly frying them as they passed.

Sora flew over it, supporting the screaming Miguel and Tulio as he did so.

The jaguar attempted to follow them, only to fall head-first into the lava with a horrified roar.

Sora smirked, and continued past the lake of lava. He carried the relieved Miguel and Tulio a short ways further. To his surprise, they had wound up right back at the platform where Tzekel-Khan had tried to sacrifice a man three days before. The giant whirlpool was still spinning in full force far below them.

At last, Sora set Miguel and Tulio down on the platform. They rubbed their arms where he had grabbed them, trying to relieve the pain his vise-like grip had left them with. "Do you work out, or something?" Tulio asked.

"I'm the Chosen Wielder of the Keyblade. I think super-strength comes with the package."

"Really?"

"I don't know; I just train a bit."

The two of them took a moment to catch their breath. "Well, even though our arms are broken, we're away from the freaky Tzekel-Khan cat."

Sora was about to make a sarcastic remark about being careful not to jinx them, but then there was a loud roar from behind them at the land-facing end of the platform. They twisted around to look, and saw the jaguar barrel into the area, and stand on the end, blocking their escape.

Sora summoned Oblivion again, while Miguel and Tulio took a few reflexive steps back, nearly falling over the edge of the platform into the whirlpool that supposedly led to Xibalba.

The jaguar growled once, and Tzekel-Khan himself emerged seemingly from nowhere to stand between its two front legs. He was smiling horribly, and his eyes were glowing in the same manner as the jaguar's.

"I know what you are." He said, his eyes losing their glow at the same moment as the jaguar's. "And I know what you are not. And you are _not_ gods!"

They were all silent for a moment, before Tulio did something that took Sora completely by surprise. He grabbed Miguel roughly by the front of his shirt. "You're not a god! You lied to me?"

Sora gaped at them. He was about to speak, when Tulio suddenly shoved his partner away from him. "How dare you?"

"Hey, hey, it was _his_ stupid plan!" Miguel said defensively to Tzekel-Khan, pointing an accusing finger at Tulio.

Now the high priest looked confused. "What?"

His question went unnoticed. Tulio walked up to Miguel. "Woah, woah, _my_ plan was that we should _lie low_! But _your_ plan was to run off, and be all 'Ooh, look at me, look at me, I'm a god!'"

"That's not true!"

"No! Who're you kidding? You're buying your own con!"

"At least I'm not dating mine!"

"I- Ooh, low blow..."

Miguel smirked in satisfaction, and began to walk away. He had just passed by Tzekel-Khan, when Tulio began to follow him. Tzekel-Khan made no move to stop them. Sora only now realized that his massive jaguar wasn't moving. He raised his eyebrow in suspicion.

"Listen Mr. High-and-Mighty, we'd both be sailing out of here right now with a mountain of gold if you had just listened to me!" He shoved him in between the shoulder blades.

"Well, now you've got all your precious gold, _and_ Chel!" Miguel shot back. Tzekel-Khan turned to look at them. He was smirking now, enjoying the show. He chuckled slightly when Miguel slapped Tulio in the back of the head. "So what do you need me for!"

"Well, maybe I _don't_ need you anymore!"

"Well, why don't you just go back to Spain, and I'll stay here? Then we both get what we want!" He shoved him.

"That's fine with me, pal!" He shoved him back.

"Fine with me, too!" Miguel slapped him, and Tzekel-Khan grinned.

"Fine!" Tulio slapped him back, and the high priest's grin grew.

"Fine!"

"Alright!" Miguel punched Tulio. There was low laughter.

Sora realized that these two were criminal masterminds just one second before Tzekel-Khan did, and he smiled widely.

"_Alright_!" Miguel and Tulio were about to punch each other, when their fists suddenly flew into Tzekel-Khan's face with enough force to send him sprawling backwards toward the end of the platform.

The two cons –having just pulled off an old tactic that had gotten them out of more than fifteen tight spots- grabbed a few nearby vines that had been sitting on the ground, and rushed toward Tzekel-Khan with the intention of tying him up.

Unfortunately for them, the man was not unconscious, as they had first believed. His eyes took on a horrible green glow, and he raised his hands, roaring.

The roar was echoed by the now mobile jaguar statue behind them, which pounced toward them with the intention of finally destroying them.

Sora rushed forward to place himself between the jaguar and Miguel and Tulio. He raised his hands, and cast a powerful Reflega spell around the three of them. The massive creature skidded across the transparent dome.

He heard Tzekel-Khan scream as his creation collided with him, and both of them skidded over the side of the platform into the whirlpool below. A few seconds later, there was a loud splash.

Sora lowered the shield, and rushed over to the edge to look down over the side. He saw nothing but the swirling, churning waters just as they had been three days ago. He breathed a sigh of relief, and heard Tulio chuckle weakly behind him.

He turned, and Tulio patted Miguel on the back. "That was good!"

Miguel didn't reply, and it soon became clear that what he had said to Tulio during their act had actually been partially true. He turned his back on his partner, and began to walk back down the platform in the general direction of the city.

Tulio began to follow him, "Miguel..."

Sora was about to follow them, when he stopped suddenly. He could feel something strange. There was a great Darkness nearby, and they were all in danger. Slowly, he turned around, and looked back over the edge of the platform into the whirlpool.

There was something moving in there.

Something very, very big, and glowing green.

Sora twisted back around, "RUN!"

Miguel and Tulio looked at him curiously just as the huge creature burst from the whirlpool, water streaming off of it. The massive jaguar had doubled in size, and there were now mosaic patterns of the same glowing green color as its eyes all over its body.

It landed on the platform, which shook under its feet, but didn't give way. It gazed down at Sora, who was mere feet away, and opened its mouth wide.

Sora was slightly repulsed to see Tzekel-Khan inside its gaping mouth. His back seemed to be connected to thin, glowing green cords that ran down the jaguar's throat. He had somehow acquired the skull mask that he had worn during his attempted tribute, and his eyes were glowing green once more.(1)

The Keybearer was reminded of how Xehanort's Heartless had merged himself to World of Chaos during their final battle. Tzekel-Khan looked rather like that now.

The high priest smirked. "I will cleanse this city, starting with you."

Sora looked calmly back up at him. "Miguel, Tulio, back away a little, and watch me turn this statue into rubble."

The two men backed away slowly into the temple entrance that was built into the mountain. Tulio moved about twice as quickly as Miguel. "Are you sure you don't want us to get help, Sora?" Miguel asked slowly.

Sora snorted, and looked up at Tzekel-Khan with a smirk. "So you've made yourself more powerful. Well, I can do that, too."

He clapped his hands together, hard. "Light!"

He let off a great flash of blinding energy. And when the light faded, Sora was floating a few inches above the ground. His clothing had become bright silver and white. His shoulders and legs were black, with a swirling white pattern that resembled wind. This was the apex of Sora's power thus far: Final Form.

Two Keyblades were floating in the space directly behind him. The first was Oblivion. The second was a new one. The shaft was pure gold, and resembled the horse-like creature that had been present on the gods' tablet. The teeth of the key were the heads of the horse and gods. The guard was shaped like an eagle (also gold) with its head at the pommel of the blade. The Keychain hanging from the end was a tiny reddish ball with eyes, which looked suspiciously like Bibo the armadillo.

'The Trail We Blaze.'

Sora allowed the overall effect of his transformation sink in for a moment. He felt, more than saw Miguel and Tulio's jaws drop. He chuckled to himself when Tzekel-Khan scowled at him. The jaguar's mouth closed, obscuring the high priest from view once more.

He raised his claw, and brought it down hard onto Sora –or tried to, anyway.

Sora was already gone. He had moved with such speed that he had temporarily vanished from view. He had moved backwards, and now made a single gesture with his hands. His two Keyblades flew forward without him even having to touch them.

The two weapons sliced into the stone creature's wrist three times each within one second, tearing off great pieces of the stone that composed it. Greenish light burst forth from the 'wounds' as the Keyblades flew back to Sora, who didn't even need to catch them.

Tzekel-Khan howled, and charged at Sora, his huge paws cracking the stone platform. Sora leapt directly toward him, landing on his head. He flew down his stone-ridged back, his Keyblades slashing back and forth across it as he made his way to the other side of the massive thing.

He shot out over to the center of the pit, and hovered high over the whirlpool. His Keyblades spun slowly around him, and they both seemed to be glowing with faint silver light. Sora extended a hand, and beckoned to Tzekel-Khan challengingly.

He stomped his front paws down onto the ground with a roar, and green light extended out across the pit. It soon solidified into a greenish platform of glowing mosaic patterns. The jaguar almost seemed to smile as it rushed out onto this new platform, and leapt at Sora.

The Keybearer shot directly toward him, his blades spinning quickly around him. But this time, Tzekel-Khan was the one who moved out of the way, stopping abruptly, and leaping nimbly to the side of the attack.

Sora twisted in the air, and both of the blades flew horizontally toward the creature's face in wide arcs. They struck across his brow, narrowly missing his glowing eyes. This time, he didn't wait for his blades to return to him, and shot forward to snatch them from thin air, and drive them both into the jaguar's forehead.

He rushed away from it before the creature could react to the attack, and hovered just outside of his reach. Tzekel-Khan shook his head as though trying to ward off the pain that he had just inflicted on him.

He then opened his mouth, revealing the human within once more. Tzekel-Khan was holding a large glowing ball of green energy between his hands, and it was pulsing with inner power.

With a shout, he released the energy in the form of a broad beam, rushing toward the floating Sora with a loud roaring sound.

"Refleja!" Sora exclaimed, rushing directly into the beam as the magical barrier formed around him. The energy flooded over the protective bubble he had made, only succeeding in stopping Sora's charge at Tzekel-Khan.

Sora waited for the blazing attack to end, and then let the shield drop. Tzekel-Khan seemed surprised to see that he was still alive. The Keyblade Master spun his blades around him, their points aimed at the sky. "Thundaja!"

Thunder boomed, and lightning flashed overhead. Dozens of broad bolts of lightning streaked from the cloudless sky, striking all over Tzekel-Khan's stone body. Chunks of the jaguar's body fell loose, crumbling to the magically created floor he had created moments earlier.

He had just recovered from the massive electrical attack, when Sora went back on the offensive. He landed on the ground, and sprang toward Tzekel-Khan's face. His Keyblades spun rapidly around him, carving away great chunks of the face, leaving great scars in the stone.

Sora continued up his head and neck, and stopped in between his front shoulder blades. His blades floated out to either side of him, with their points facing down. They spun in place, and great gouts of silver light blasted down into the jaguar's back, sending him crashing to the ground with a wail of agony.

The Keybearer leapt away from the injured creature, as he got wearily back to his feet. It wasn't yet defeated. It opened its mouth again, and the human part of Tzekel-Khan shot out his hands. Dozens of balls of green energy shot from his fingertips, screaming at Sora at high speed.

Refusing to back down, Sora twitched his fingers, and his floating weapons shot away from him to strike a few of the blasts. The energy exploded against the magic metal of the Keyblades, and then both of them shot in a completely new direction to collide with a new blast. Out of all of these blasts that Tzekel-Khan sent at him, only one came close to hitting Sora, and he easily slid out of its way.

The jaguar growled, and rushed toward Sora with a slight limp. Sora summoned his Keyblades back to him, and waited for him to arrive. In seconds, the creature was looming over him. He brought his claw slashing down to swipe him away.

Sora didn't even flinch. He shot forward, blades spinning blindingly fast around him, and tore apart the jaguar's wrist, completely separating his paw from his leg. Before Tzekel-Khan even had time to react to this, Sora was shooting high into the air. Light gathered around him and his spinning blades.

Tzekel-Khan roared in pain and fury, and looked up at Sora. He had reached the peak of his ascent, and was completely covered in bright silver. He was painful to look at.

With a shout that echoed for miles, he shot down at Tzekel-Khan like a meteor. He struck the base of the jaguar's neck with enough force to break completely through his neck –severing his head, plowing through much of his chest, and cracking the magically created ground open.

The ground shattered, and the fragments of the stone jaguar fell through the remains, hurtling toward the whirlpool far below. Sora flew out of the way of the destroyed jaguar and back toward the platform where Miguel and Tulio now stood. As he did, he could hear Tzekel-Khan's terrified, disbelieving screaming.

It came to an abrupt halt when the stone jaguar's head struck the water.

!

"That's that." Xyran muttered, with a shrug.

He and Cossex stood on the opposite side of the pit, and had watched the entire battle between Sora and Tzekel-Khan.

"If we don't go up against him now, I don't think anyone would blame us." Cossex noted. "If that form could defeat _that_ beast in about five minutes, he'd probably be able to defeat the two of us."

"It's just a matter of self-preservation." Xyran agreed. Then, a strange look passed over his face. After a moment, he reached into his jacket pocket, and pulled out an interlocked pair of silver charms, linked together by their chains. Each one was marked with the silhouette of a running horse.

"And I could 'accidentally' drop these..." Xyran muttered.

A small portal opened in front of him, similar to the sort that Xigbar had used on occasion. He gave the charms one last look, and tossed them inside.

Cossex looked at him curiously. "What were those?"

"I found them earlier." Xyran grinned slyly. He opened up a corridor of Darkness behind him. "Let's blow this place."

!

Sora touched down on the platform, and reverted back to his normal state. His clothing turned back from silver to black, and he let out a long breath. Using that form even for a few minutes always tired him out. The power it granted however, made it worth it.

He chuckled at the awe-struck expressions Miguel and Tulio wore.

"Tha... tha tha- uh..." Tulio stuttered.

"...was amazing?" Sora finished for him, receiving a dumb-struck nod in return. Sora looked down, and noticed an odd pair of interlocked charms sitting on the ground before him.

_Were those there before?_

As he bent down to pocket them, he heard somebody shout, "Over here!"

The three of them turned toward the direction the voice had come from. On the far edge of the platform, there were people gathering. Each of them were filled with awe and joy. They started cheering, and rushed forward toward their heroes.

They were lifted onto the shoulders of the crowd, and Sora soon found his friends in the midst of the mob.

"I take it you did all the work?" Axel asked.

"Duh." Sora replied with a slightly smug grin.

Chief Tannabok madehis way up to Miguel and Tulio, and crushed them in a massive bear-hug instantly. When he released them, Miguel said to him, "I've decided to stay!"

Tannabok beamed, even as Tulio, Chel, and the others looked at him in surprise. "This is wonderful news! What a glorious day for El Dorado!" He raised his voice to where the whole crowd could hear him. "Lord Miguel has decided to live among us!"

The crowd rushed forward toward Miguel, practically ignoring the others in his midst. They were soon escorting him away from the site of the whirlpool, leaving Tulio, Chel, and the off-worlders behind.

"Are you okay, Tulio?" Kairi asked.

He definitely wasn't. His expression was one of intermingled betrayal, sadness, and anger. He couldn't seem to decide which expression he wanted to go with, so he settled for none of them.

"Everything's fine." He replied flatly.

!

_I've been waiting for quite a while to write a scene with Final Form. That was way too fun to use in KH2._

_1) Inadvertantly inspired by Ansem in the final boss battle of KH1, I think… Woops!_

_Well, leave a review please!_


	119. Chapter 118: The Trail We Blaze

_Okay, last one for El Dorado. Took us a while to get here, I'll admit. But this chapter comes with a bit of a twist._

_Kairi: "No idea where you're going with it, but okay. Hey what about that Skyrim idea?"_

_It's in motion. Watch for it in the next couple of days!_

_Kairi: "DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, Dreamworks, or anything else."_

_!_

Chapter 118: The Trail We Blaze

Many, many miles outside the city of El Dorado, a river ran smoothly through the jungle. One special section of the river ran by a large rock formation. A few conveniently placed holes and jutting rocks gave it the appearance of a woman crying into the river.

All was calm here, until something broke the surface of the river.

That something was a waterlogged Tzekel-Khan, panting and gasping for air. His mask had been lost somewhere during the 'trip' from the whirlpool. His jaguar had been destroyed from the rushing water pounding it repeatedly against rocks in the caverns that connected that place to this portion of the river.

He crawled through the water, and onto the river bank.

He stopped cold at the sound of many 'clacking' noises, and looked up.

Tzekel-Khan was astonished. Standing before him was an army; a small army, but a formidable one. Every last man was wearing bulky grey armor and helmets. Some held long swords or sabres, while most held rifles. Some of these rifles had bayonets fixed to the end.

Standing at their head, just a few feet away from him, was a dangerous-looking man. He was taller than most of the men behind him, wearing armor that was a shade or two darker than theirs. He had a roughly square-shaped sort of face, with dark brown hair that was cut short. He had a thin goatee, and gleaming dark eyes. In his hand, he held a long, double-barreled gun.(1)

In his mind's eye, Tzekel-Khan was looking at the page in his tome: One depicting the coming of his true gods. He smiled.

He bowed down before him, his nose practically touching the sandy ground. "My Lord."

The big man in front stepped forward, gazing intently at the golden earrings Tzekel-Khan wore. He extended the barrels of his weapon, and forced the high priest's head up to get a better look at them.

"Where did you get these?" Cortes asked with narrowed eyes.

Tzekel-Khan smiled, and rose slowly to his feet. He bowed graciously to him. "I will show you the way, my Lord. I am Tzekel-Khan, your devoted high priest. I am at your disposal, as are the forces I command.

A handful of Heartless materialized around him, and while many of Cortes' men started, the big man eyed them with greedy eyes.

!

The morning had at last dawned. Today, they left.

Sora and the others were in their temple. Most of the tribute that the people of El Dorado had given them had been moved to their waiting boat. Each of them was looking worriedly at Miguel and Tulio, who were both standing at the entrance.

Neither of them were speaking, but merely stood stock still as they looked out across the city, and determinedly away from each other. They may as well have been completely alone.

Sora looked at Kairi, wondering if they were supposed to step in now. But they all knew it wouldn't do any good. Most of them had tried to make the two old friends talk to each other at least a dozen times apiece the previous night, to no avail.

He sighed in resignation. It wasn't looking like the two would be able to work out their differences. Tulio and Chel were leaving El Dorado in minutes. Miguel would stay in the city.

The Keyblade Master got wearily to his feet, and the rest followed suit. They walked to the entrance, and past the two friends who refused to speak with each other.

The ten of them walked down the temple steps into the crowd that awaited below. Chief Tannabok was at the head of the crowd, accompanied by the warriors that had participated in the fateful ball game three days previous.

He embraced them all with open arms and a big grin, as was his nature. The warriors were next, and then the children that they had befriended. Sora recognized Tanni immediately, and lifted her up into the air, making her laugh. He let her tug at his hair a few last times before setting her down on the ground again, where Kairi hugged her.

They gradually made their way over to the beautiful boat that Tannabok's men had constructed. It was fully ready to sail, and treasure was piled high on the deck. Chel was waiting nearby, leaning against a ladder that led up to the deck.

A few minutes later, Tulio came down, and received the same treatment the rest of them had been given. He hugged and shook hands with anybody he could, and put on a smile, despite the fact that he clearly had mixed feelings about leaving. A moment later, Miguel was there, as well, looking much more subdued. Altivo trotted along at his side.

The two of them looked up at the boat. Not breaking his gaze away from it, Miguel said to Tulio, "Well... good luck."

"Yeah. You too." Tulio returned. It may have been Sora's imagination, but he thought his voice cracked for just an instant.

Without so much as a backward glance, Tulio stepped forward, and walked after Chel up to the deck of the boat. It was a bittersweet moment, which nobody was quite sure how to react to.

Sora contemplated some way of breaking the silence, when something else did it for him.

It was a barely noticeable noise, which only he and Altivo seemed to be able to pick up. But it was definitely there, and Sora recognized it for what it was when the sound came again: It was the sound of distant gun fire.

Altivo began to freak out, and Miguel had to run forward to take hold of his reins. "Woah boy, what is it?"

The horse whinnied frantically, and rapidly jerked his head toward the entrance of the city. Everyone followed his gaze, and gasped. Far beyond it, in the jungle, there were thin, rising columns of smoke. The sounds of gun fire were louder now.

Sora heard Miguel hiss one, terrified word, "Cortes..."

"My Lord," Tannabok asked, sensing his distress, "What is it?"

"Chief Tanni!" A man shouted before Miguel could reply. A man rushed forward, coming from the opposite direction of the temples, and down from the general direction of the city's entrance. He was out of breath, and practically collapsed against the chief. It took him a moment to say, "Approaching the city is an army of strangers. With them are the creatures from last night."

While this news seemed to trouble Tannabok, he used a reassuring tone of voice. "We're safe here. They'll never find the entrance to the city."

"But sire, they are being led by Tzekel-Khan!"

The crowd gasped and whispered in panicked voices, as Tannabok snarled. "He survived... Warriors! Prepare yourselves for battle!"

"Chief, wait!" Miguel interrupted. "We cannot fight them!"

"Then how can we stop them?"

"We can't!"

Oblivion appeared in Sora's hand, and all eyes were suddenly on him. "_You_ can't... But we can."

"Are you sure?" Miguel asked, skeptically.

Sora smirked. "You saw my handiwork last night, didn't you?"

"Fair point."

"Chief!"

Now everyone was looking at Tulio. He stood at the end of the boat, looking slightly pained. He looked at them for a moment, and then hurriedly composed himself. He even smiled a little. "I've got a plan..."

!

"I can't believe we're doing this." Donald grumbled a few minutes later.

Tulio's plan was simple, dangerous, and unorthodox, but it would guarantee that Cortes and Tzekel-Khan wouldn't be able to access the city.

They would sail the boat down the river that went to the tunnel's entrance. When they were at a specific point, several of Tannabok's strongest men would ram the supports out from under one of the pillars that lined the entrance, sending it into the river to cut off the city entrance from attack. And to be even safer, the resulting waves would conceivably collapse the pillars on the other end of the tunnel, and close off the entrance from there, as well.

They would ride the wave down the caverns toward the entrance, and sail on out. Sora and the others would hold off Cortes' army while Tulio and Chel made their escape.

"It's for the best Donald, now stop complaining." Riku said. "We all know how insane this is already."

"More insane than jumping off a flying carpet over a hundred feet in the air?" Kairi said, glancing at Sora, and remembering what he had pulled before the battle with Sa'luk and his men.

He just grinned.

The boat was moving at a decent speed down the river, and they were nearly to the point where the pillar would be toppled. It was a surprisingly easy craft to handle, only requiring a rower and someone to man the rudder whenever the sails were down (as they were now).

"Okay, Chief!" Tulio shouted. Tannabok and his men were in position. "Ready... Hit the pillar!"

"NOW!" Tannabok bellowed.

A group of warriors carrying a battering ram rushed forward, and smashed the head into the stone support beams supporting the massive pillar. They gave way easily, and the structure began to fall.

Tulio smiled, and nodded in satisfaction. But his smile soon became a grimace of horror, upon realizing that the supports were collapsing much more quickly than he had anticipated.

If it continued, they would be crushed underneath it. Luckily, more of Tannabok's men had fastened thick ropes to the pillar, and would be able to hold it for just a while. They pulled with all their might, but the pillar was still falling resolutely forward.

"Somebody get the sail!" Chel shouted.

Immediately, Sora, Riku, Goofy, and Tulio ran toward the rigging on the mast. All together, they gave it a hard pull... which yielded absolutely no results.

"It's stuck!" Tulio exclaimed unnecessarily.

"Yuffie!" Sora exclaimed.

"On it!" The ninja vanished, and then reappeared in a cloud of smoke, balanced uneasily on the rigging overhead. She edged slowly over to the stuck section of rope. But before she even had a chance to move it, somebody else beat her to it.

For a moment, nobody knew exactly what it was. There was some form there, briefly blocking the sun's light. But when a few hundred pounds of war horse crashed onto the deck, Sora understood immediately.

Miguel hit the mast, and grabbed the bottom of the sail, pulling it down manually with his own weight. He landed in the large pile of gold on the deck even as the ship started to accelerate forward.

Sora beamed, and Tulio rushed toward his friend, and helped him to his feet. "Are you crazy? Get off the boat, Miguel, or you'll never see the city again!"

"I know." He replied with a slight smirk. "You don't think I'm gonna let you have all the fun, do you?"

Tulio smiled, and chuckled weakly.

"C'mon!" Mickey exclaimed. "We've got a wave to catch!"

Miguel picked up the nearest oar, and shot a salute to Chief Tannabok, who nodded to him –seemingly in approval. The moment that the boat was safely out from under the pillar's shadow, the warriors released their grip on the ropes, and the whole thing fell.

It took a few agonizing seconds for the thing to hit the water. When it did, a massive wave formed, sending them surging forward toward the tunnel entrance to the city (which, to Sora, was suddenly looking very, very narrow).

Holding on to Kairi's hand and the starboard railing as tightly as he could, he gritted his teeth as they approached at high speed.

"Everybody hang on!" Tulio shouted over the roar of the surging water. Most of them either dove to the deck, or grabbed the mast or railing in a death grip. The only exception was Nehrut, who stood in a crouch, and who –Sora suspected- was using his abilities to keep them on course.

They did stay on course, but as they passed through the entryway, the water level rose significantly from the wave, and smashed their sail and most of the mast to slivers against the ceiling.

This also dislodged much of the gold on the ship's deck, which splashed into the water, never to be seen again.

The boat and its crew continued to streak down the flooding tunnel, crashing against the rocky walls and man-made structures along the way. Sora noticed that what must have been half of their tribute had been knocked overboard by their less-than-graceful flight from the city.

The very end of the tunnel was in sight after a few minutes of choppy sailing. The waterfall was visible on the other side of two rocky 'pillars' jutting from the river. Sora knew if they brought them down, the entire cave opening would be filled with a layer of rock and debris so thick that it would take years to clear away.

"We'll have to hit it broad side!" Tulio shouted.

"That's your plan!" Donald quacked in shock. "But the gold!"

"I know!" Tulio half-sobbed. "Just turn the boat!"

Not willing to argue the point, all those with oars paddled frantically on one side, while Tulio adjusted the rudder. Their starboard side was soon facing the pillars as the boat shot toward them. "When it connects, everybody jump!"

They all braced themselves, and the ship collided with the pillars. The Reflega spell that Donald had desperately tried using to protect the boat couldn't take the force, and shattered. They all went flying, and rubble fell from the ceiling around them as the pillars crumbled around the boat.

They hit the water as the waves continued to surge forward, but Sora still kept his hand locked onto Kairi's, and she reached for it with her other hand. Water gushed forward to overtake them, and they were all thrown completely out of the tunnels, back into open air.

They landed in the river, and were then thrown forward further more when it overflowed, sending most of its water out gushing across the ground as the debris from the tunnels collapsed into it.

They all lay there for a moment in the water, catching their breath. Eventually, they were each able to stagger to their feet, sopping wet, but mostly unscathed and uninjured. Sora grinned as he watched Kairi part her hair that was clinging to her face. It had grown since their departure from Destiny Islands, and now went down her shoulder blades, though she still kept it very straight.

"It worked..." Tulio said weakly. He then started to smile, and laughed hysterically. He hopped up and down a little in the ankle-deep water. "It _worked_! HA HA!"

While Tulio seemed happy enough, Donald looked like he was about to cry at the loss of over a ton of pure gold. Goofy walked up to him, and placed a consoling hand on his shoulder, lowering his head.

"They're coming..." Riku said quietly. His silver bangs were stuck to his forehead, but he didn't seem to notice. Way to Dawn appeared in his hand.

Sora felt what he did a moment later, and summoned Oblivion. Several beings were approaching, and they radiated Darkness. The semi-familiar presence of Tzekel-Khan accompanied them.

"Miguel, Tulio, Chel, Altivo, hide behind the rubble." He ordered. "We'll take care of this."

They followed his advice, and quickly stepped behind a large section of rock from the collapsed cave, where the waterfall had used to flow. In just a moment, they were out of sight.

Just in time. From the far side of the tablet showing the gods of El Dorado, several figures emerged from the mist. Tzekel-Khan was in the lead. Not far behind him was a large man on horseback, who gave off a palpable sense of danger. This was the kind of man one didn't typically want as an enemy.

Sora knew at once that this was Cortes. He grimaced when he realized that Miguel and Tulio had been trapped in his iron grip for several days.

Behind him were several men, accompanied by still more Heartless. Sora wondered just how many of them had once been Cortes' own men.

The procession moved toward them, and stopped abruptly. Tzekel-Khan scowled at the familiar faces, but Cortes merely maintained his cool, dangerous composure.

"I am Hernan Cortes." He said. "I am here on a mission. In the name of the Spanish Crown, I order you to lay down your arms."

Naturally, they disobeyed him. Tzekel-Khan said. "These are the interlopers I warned you about before, my lord."

"I see..." Cortes' eyes narrowed dangerously. He stepped down off of his horse, and pulled a gun from a scabbard sitting on the back of it. It was a double-barreled weapon, and it looked as if it could pack a punch.

Inwardly, Sora grimaced. He had taken a glancing hit from a bullet in the skirmish aboard the _Flying Dutchman_, and didn't look forward to repeating the experience.

The big man walked toward them, and aimed the weapon directly at Sora's chest. "Form up." He said to his men and Heartless in an almost casual way. His remaining soldiers ran forward, sloshing through the water to surround them as much as possible. They leveled their guns at them, and cocked them. Heartless prowled around them, their eyes fixed on the Keyblades.

Tzekel-Khan stood next to Cortes, holding somebody's machete. Greenish energy crackled around him.

"You have one option that doesn't end in death." Cortes said, his weapon still aimed at Sora. "Surrender or you die. Either way, I'll be moving onward to El Dorado."

"Tough luck there, man." Riku inclined his head toward the rocks behind them. "We just trashed the entrance."

"It doesn't make a difference to me. We'll just climb over these mountains. It'll take longer, but we'll get in there, surely enough. Now I say again: Stand down, or your bodies will never leave this God-forsaken jungle."

"You know, you're not the first one who's said something like that." Sora answered with a smirk. "The rest of them aren't in any position to talk any more. You don't know who you're dealing with."

Cortes didn't seem to care. He shrugged slightly. "I'm better than they were."

"We'll see, won't we?" Sora had to respect the fact that Cortes' mind hadn't been blown at the prospect that a few young people were exceedingly dangerous, and had handled an incredible amount of danger with barely a blink.

Then, the man fired, and the rest of his men copied him.

"Reflega!" Donald shouted, holding Save the Queen high.

A large shield formed all around them, catching the bullets before they could hit a single one of their targets. The projectiles bounced off the barrier, ricocheting all over the battleground. Some rebounded back toward the soldiers that had fired them, stunning them, or sending them reeling to the ground. A few of them struck Heartless.

The guns must not have been entirely effective, because while some of the men immediately began the process of reloading, the rest brandished melee weapons, and ran forward with the Heartless.

Sora rushed at the first of the men, striking upward to knock his pike spinning from his hands. As it soared through the air, he slashed him across the chest, taking him out with one blow.

A Wildcat rushed toward him, and he dodged out of its way just before it sank its claws into him. He drove Oblivion into its side, and tore it free in time to slap a fresh bullet aside almost casually. He slashed an oncoming Neoshadow in half just as easily.

Kairi leapt over him, slicing apart three Rapid Thrusters in mid-flight. She landed in a crouch, and a Wild Dog leapt, intending to chomp down on her exposed neck. She barely even moved her blade, and removed its head from its body. A soldier ran toward her with a large survival knife in hand, not realizing how grossly overmatched he was.

She ran toward him, swiping Destiny's Light at his legs, and sending him sprawling. When he began to look up, a ball of Light hit him full in the face. Kairi jumped over his unmoving form, and toward Tzekel-Khan.

Bariss was already there, and giving the now exiled high priest trouble. The end of her whip cracked around his head and shoulders, and only his desperate leaps were saving him from losing his face.

He tried to get in close to Bariss with quick swings of the machete he held, but he wasn't anywhere near fast enough to hit the girl. She continued to hassle him with rapid whip strikes until no less than three soldiers appeared behind her, muskets pointed at her back.

She twisted around, already bringing her shield to her hand. This proved unnecessary, however. The second before they could fire, Nehrut had shot into the way, slicing off the barrels of their guns with one fluid movement. He sent all of them flying into the remains of the tunnel entrance with one twitch of his fingers, and then speared a descending Dark Beak.

By the time he and Bariss turned around to fight Tzekel-Khan again, Kairi was already pushing him backwards under a relentless assault of Keyblade strikes.

Suddenly, the sound of a horse's whinny pierced the air through the sounds of battle. Nehrut and Bariss looked toward the direction of the noise, and saw Altivo bolt from his cover behind the rocks. There were several Shadows chasing him.

Miguel, Tulio, and Chel were on his back.

Nehrut groaned, and was seconds away from chasing after them to cover them, but Riku and his Guardian beat him to it.

The Keybearer swept his blade in a wide arc, sending a crescent-disk of Dawn shooting at the group of Heartless that were chasing the horse. They were completely decimated, but a pair of soldiers soon replaced them.

Before they could fire, the Guardian shot toward their backs, and grabbed both of their throats in its massive fists. It slammed both of their heads into the ground, and Riku soared over them.

He hovered in front of Altivo, who's slightly foolish riders had accidentally directed him toward a group of soldiers. He raised a shield of Dawn to catch their bullets. The Guardian rushed forward into their ranks, sending them flying. One of them shouted, "Get this demon off of me!" before a giant fist drove his head into a rock.

Donald and Goofy covered Altivo's other end. A Wild Dog pounced at them, only to meet with Goofy's shield. Before it could pull back to strike again, Donald had shot a fireball into its face. One Thundaga spell later transformed a small flock of swooping Dark Beaks into piles of ash.

"Sorry about this!" Tulio shouted over the noise. "The horse wouldn't hold still!"

"Just keep your heads down!" Riku ordered. He shot two beams of Dawn into an approaching Wildcat and cut down the Neoshadow that managed to get close to them.

Axel ran past them, his chakrams a fiery blur around him as he twirled them, striking a Heartless with every movement. He lunged forward, beheading a Wildcat. He rolled forward, and cut down three Neoshadows when he came out of it. He threw one chakram at a far-off soldier that had been aiming at him, sending him flying away with severe burns on his upper body.

He stomped his foot, and sent a column of fire up from the ground beneath a trio of Shadows, incinerating them instantly. A soldier ran toward him with a spear, and drove it toward his face. He caught the weapon with both of his, and drove it into the ground. With his counterattack, he came close to beheading the man.

Yuffie sliced the head off of an Aerial Knocker as it dove toward her. In the same movement, she threw her shuriken behind her. Without even aiming, she caught a Wild Dog in the chest. She teleported over to the dying Heartless, and ripped the weapon free of its chest.

A soldier took careful aim, and fired a bullet at her head. She vanished in black smoke, and reappeared in midair in front of the man. Before she touched the ground, she drove her heel into his face. She landed on his chest, and leapt off of him, directly at a pair of Rapid Thrusters. She cut them in half with one strike of the shuriken, and landed lightly on the ground.

She somersaulted forward, and nearly collided with Tzekel-Khan's back. The high priest was dueling King Mickey, and losing.

The mouse leapt at his head, Kingdom Crown aimed at his throat. The man hastily blocked the block, but staggered backwards under the force of the blow. Yuffie drove her foot into the small of his back, kicking him hard enough to send him down to his knees. He dropped his machete.

Before he could return to his feet, Mickey had his Keyblade held to his nose. "Stand down, Tzekel-Khan." He ordered.

The man glared daggers at the King, and a low growl escaped his lips. For a moment, his eyes turned blue-green. His teeth became sharp, and his nails extended, making his hands like talons.

With a shout, and the ferocity and desperation of a trapped animal, Tzekel-Khan lashed out at the King, catching him under the chin with his hand, and knocking him over. He kicked behind him, knocking Yuffie backwards into the water.

He leapt over Mickey before he could get up, and ran through the battlefield, sometimes on all fours like an animal. He made a beeline toward Kairi, who had her back to him as she fended off some of the airborne Heartless. He leapt, with his hands outstretched to grab her throat and crush the life from her.

No such luck, however. She spun around, and slashed toward him with her blade before he could touch her. The tip of the Keyblade caught him in the side, sending him flying toward the edge of the battle (which was rapidly becoming less crowded).

He landed on all fours, and awaited her approach. He didn't have to wait long, as she sprinted toward him, gathering Light to her blade. She was mere feet away, and one second from bringing her Keyblade down on his head, when explosive pain seared through her left shoulder.

She cried out in agony, and dropped her blade as she fell to her knees. Through her peripheral vision, she saw a soldier approaching her, the barrel of his gun still smoking. No- not just a soldier: Cortes.

She closed her eyes, sinking farther into the ground as he approached, and Tzekel-Khan chuckled. One word –one wonderful name- passed through her mind.

_Sora!_

The Keyblade Master was several feet away, finishing off one of the few remaining Heartless. He drove Oblivion into the Wildcat's head, and twisted around suddenly, when he heard his name, as though somebody had spoken it directly into his mind.

What he saw at the edge of the battleground, past Altivo, Riku, Nehrut, and all the others that ran past his field of vision, was his beloved on the ground. Her hands clutched at a bleeding hole in her shoulder. Tzekel-Khan stood over her, hunched over slightly.

Cortes stood next to him. He was reloading his musket with an almost casual air, and gazing contemptuously down at the girl. He cocked his weapon, and lowered the barrel for the coup de grace.

Sora's eyes went wide, and his hands shook with rage and fear. Acting on an impulse that was unfamiliar to him, but far, far too strong to be ignored, Sora dropped the Keyblade, and thrust out his right hand. In a voice loud enough to shake the earth itself, he shouted, "NO!"

What happened next was unusual.

As Sora shouted a massive surge of energy shot from his hand. This energy was released in the form of bright, blinding flames of pure silver and gold. These flames roared across the field of battle. They passed harmlessly over Kairi's head, and struck Tzekel-Khan in the chest.

The flames exploded against him, throwing him many, many feet backwards with a cry of pain. Some of the flames splashed from his body, and into Cortes, who stumbled as though he had been physically struck. For the first time, he showed emotion other than contempt: Fear.

Sora, still following the unfamiliar instincts that had made him fire the mysterious flames in the first place, moved his hand just slightly. He shouted, and a concentrated ball comprised of the silver and gold fire burst forth from his fist, shooting straight for Cortes.

It exploded against his chest, instantly shredding his armor into useless scraps of burnt metal. The big man was sent flying high into the air, and fell down to the ground nearly ten seconds later. He didn't move again, and neither did Tzekel-Khan.

With his death, the Heartless abruptly vanished. The battlefield was suddenly still: None of Cortes' men had survived to retreat after their leader's fall.

Sora gazed at his hand for a moment, in awe of what he had just done without even knowing how. It was steaming slightly. What had those gold and silver flames been?

But then he snapped himself out of his contemplations, and rushed toward Kairi, who was still knelt on the ground clutching her wounded shoulder. She was moaning low in pain, and small tears clung to her cheeks. She started whimpering.

"Kairi..." Sora whispered. "Easy..."

He knelt down by her, gently removing her hands from her shoulder. He resisted the urge to gag. The bullet Cortes had fired had pierced her shoulder completely, and run through the other side. He could have stuck two of his fingers through it. Fortunately, it didn't seem to have hit any bone, and the low flow of blood from the wound suggested that all vital veins had remained untouched.

That didn't mean it didn't hurt, of course, as was apparent when Kairi had to restrain a scream when he touched her shoulder.

"Donald, help me." Sora said. Donald walked up next to him, and examined the wound closely.

"She'll be alright." He declared a moment later. He tapped his staff on the ground. "Curaga."

Green light poured into Kairi's wound, and Sora followed the wizard's example with his own Curaga spell. The green tendrils of healing energy that flowed from his hands seemed to be streaked with a very light gold and silver, which made him slightly suspicious.

The matching spells staunched Kairi's bleeding, and closed her wound, leaving only a pale scar behind. The magic cloak that she wore stitched itself back together over the wound where the bullet had pierced it.

She let out a soft hiss of air, and stood to her feet. Sora helped her stand, and she patted his shoulder to let him know that this was unnecessary, though she smiled gratefully at him.

Kairi stretched her arm out to the side experimentally. She grimaced only slightly, but it was clear that maneuverability wouldn't be much of a problem. "Thank you." She said to them with a smile.

There was a collective sigh of relief, and Sora pulled her into a tight embrace. "You scared me."

She gladly returned his hug. A moment later, Miguel asked. "What was that that you did a minute ago? With the fire?"

"I have absolutely no idea."

"Can you do it again, Sora?" Goofy asked.

"I don't know." He admitted. "But, let's save that for later, huh?"

No sooner had Sora finished speaking, than a soft light emitted from the giant slab of rock that depicted the gods. It steadily grew, until it covered most of the space on the front. There was a flash, and the light suddenly formed into the shape of a Keyhole.

Mickey stepped forward, and pointed Kingdom Crown at the thing. Gold light speared from the tip of the blade, and shot forward into it. There was a bright flood of light from the slab, and then the unmistakable sound of the Keyhole closing. When the light faded, it was gone.

Everyone was silent for a moment, before Tulio started laughing. It started as a small, relieved chuckle, but grew slowly. Miguel and Chel soon copied him, and in seconds, the former battleground was filled with relieved, jubilant laughter. Even the horse gave its own approximation of laughter.

"Now, _that_ was an adventure!" Miguel stated with something that sounded like pride.

"Yes, yes it was and..." Tulio's voice dropped a little. After a moment he cried. "And it was so much _gold_!"

He sobbed for a slightly uncomfortable moment. During this time, Donald also shed a few tears, and Sora noticed that Altivo had a slight glimmer underneath his hooves (and was looking nervous). He vaguely remembered that he had been given golden horse shoes by a few of the natives of El Dorado.

He traded a quick glance with Kairi, who raised her left hand (displaying the golden bracelet from the temple) and put a finger to her lips in a 'don't ask don't tell' gesture.

Miguel was just about to nudge Tulio to snap him out of his fit, when he abruptly composed himself. "I'm fine."

"Good." Chel kissed him on the cheek. "Now let's go."

He watched her get onto Altivo's back with a fond smile, and then turned around to look at Miguel.

The blonde man smiled, and extended his hand. "Partner?"

Tulio grinned, and shook his hand. "Partner."

"Now that's more like it." Sora said with an approving nod.

"Hey, guys! C'mon!" Chel called. "You don't want to stay here forever, do you?"

"But, we don't have a map..."

"We don't have a _plan_."

"That's just what makes it interesting, guys." Sora said with his usual grin.

They looked at him for a moment, before grinning. "You're right! What're we waiting for?"

"Follow that trail!" Riku shouted to them, as they leapt onto Altivo's back behind Chel. She pulled back on the reins, making Altivo rear back on his hind legs and knock them out of the seat. She then took off, laughing.

Miguel and Tulio smiled, then ran after her. Over his shoulder, Miguel shouted. "If you're ever in Spain, look us up! Odds are we'll be the ones running for our lives."

They waved after their departing backs, laughing at the things they were shouting to Chel. Sora looked over at Riku, and got a grin.

"You got that line from a song."

"So?"

"Sing it."

"No!"

"Sing it."

"No way."

"Riku." Yuffie fixed him with a smirk. "Sing it."

He sighed, and rolled his eyes.

"_Look out new world, here we come._

_Brave, intrepid, and then some!"_

Sora grinned, and sang with him.

"_Pioneers of maximum,_

_Audacity whose resumes,_

_Show that we are just the team,_

_To live where others merely dream,_

_Building up a head of steam..."_

The rest of them who knew the song finished it with them.

"_On the trail we blaze!"_

_!_

_Don't know why I added that. I blame Elton John. But anyway, we're one world down, and the plot thickens a little bit more. I hope you enjoyed the ride!_

_1) Artistic liberties aside, and speaking as a history major, I think Dreamworks did a pretty accurate job with Cortes here. Just a thought._

_Please leave a review!_


	120. Chapter 119: Hunters for Hire

_I'm a little late, but everybody raise their glasses to ten years of Kingdom Hearts!_

_BotD Cast: "Cheers!"_

_And with Dream Drop Distance coming later this year (and I think it might already be out in Japan) it looks like the legacy of awesomness isn't going to be over soon! I just kind of hope that Square gives me enough time to drop all of this fic before the real KH3 is released!_

_Axel: "DK doesn't own anything that he didn't invent. Got it memorized?"_

!

Chapter 119: Hunters for Hire

"How's it feel?" Sora asked Kairi.

It had been almost a full day since they had left El Dorado. The two of them were propped up in their bed. The lights were off, with only the soothing starlight illuminating the room through the window. It was a cozy setting, and Kairi was coming close to sleep.

"Not bad." She answered casually. "I can barely feel it anymore. You and Donald were quick

"Please don't make with the magic; otherwise it might have been worse."me think about that." Sora said.

Kairi smiled softly, and pulled Sora close to her on the bed. "You don't need to worry about me, Sora. I'm a big girl now."

Sora grinned, but it slipped away quickly. "I can't help it... Kairi, two seconds later and well, he might have...

He left the sentence hanging in the air, though she knew exactly what he meant. She leaned in closer to him. "Well, I guess it's a good thing you were there, then."

"I'll always be there, Kairi." He put a palm to her cheek. "I promise."

"And I know how good you are at keeping your promises." Kairi said, smiling softly. She placed her lips to his in a gentle kiss. "Try not to worry too much. We'll both get through this whole thing, I'm sure of it."

She snuggled into his shoulder, and they fell asleep minutes later. But Sora's thoughts had kept drifting back to that moment where he had stopped Cortes from pulling his trigger. And Kairi's narrow escape from death wasn't the only thing on his mind.

_Where did the flames come from?_

Serndask stood in the one of the eight hangers of the _Noctis_.

Formerly the _Munio_, it was a large, orbiting space station set into the space above Pax Pacis. It had originally been used by the people of Pax Pacis to defend the world from hostile attackers. From the right angle, it resembled two huge dark grey square pyramids stuck to each other by their bases. Eight long docking arms stretched out from the sides of the station (meant for larger ships that couldn't access the hangers), and the sides of the pyramids were dotted with weapons emplacements.

The station had sat empty for a long time, not having been touched since the Brotherhood had moved in to occupy Pax Pacis. Serndask had only recently brought it back online, and renamed it. One ship had already escaped the surface because their air defenses had been minimal. He wouldn't let a similar incident happen again. Hundreds of Heartless and Nobody ships cruised around the station.

Serndask looked down out of the window of the hanger he stood in. He was the only being on the station, save for a handful of Heartless. The rest of the Brotherhood was on the world below, save for one, who was en route to a new world.

Cossex and Xyran's defeat at El Dorado meant that all but one of the Brotherhood (aside from himself, of course) had failed to defeat a single Keyblade wielder.

He had to take new measures to ensure their capture. So he had summoned a special group of people to the world with the promise of a hefty sum of munny. He had arranged the _Noctis_ as the meeting place, since their ship wouldn't have the proper equipment to enter the world itself.

From here, Pax Pacis resembled nothing but a swirling mass of black storm clouds.

A nearby console emitted a beeping noise, and a series of red indicator lights began to flash. A female voice issued from the console. "This is the _Assailant_, hailing _Noctis_. Request permission to dock."

Serndask pressed a finger to a button on the console. "_Assailant_, you are to dock on arm one. The Heartless will escort you."

"Copy that."

Moments later, Serndask saw the ship in which his soon-to-be employees traveled. It was a larger ship than most, and was a dull, copper-colored vessel. It had a roughly triangular shape, and eight large warp engines attached to the end. Two large 'fins' protruded from the rear sides, and angled to point outwards below the main body of the vessel. It bristled with laser turrets. He could just barely see a few shadowed figures through the crimson-tinted viewport.

Serndask instructed the Heartless ships to escort the _Assailant_ to its destination, and left the rest to the station's automated systems.

He walked into the briefing room. It was a twenty-foot long, hexagonal room, with a holographic protector set into a large, circular, metal table in the center. Computer consoles and large screens lined the walls, which currently displayed the space around and inside the station. These were the only source of illumination in the room, as he kept the lights off here, along with most of the station's space.

Serndask watched as the _Assailant_ docked with the station. Moments later, he watched three beings walk down the hallway toward the briefing room, led by a small group of Heartless.

The one in front (possibly the leader of the three) was undoubtedly the woman who had spoken earlier. She had a thin, athletic frame, and sharp green eyes. Her skin was pale almost to the point of being chalky white. She had long, jet black hair that went down to waist level. She wore a full-body skin-tight suit that had a green and black dazzle pattern.

The man walking just behind her was about as tall as her, but drastically different in appearance. He had very high, red hair that wouldn't have looked out of place on a troll doll. He wore a black suit with a large white 'S' across the front. He also had white boots and gloves, and a thin black mask around his eyes. There was a thin black cape with dark blue lining on his back.

And next to this man, was a being that resembled a lizard. He had a long, purple-scaled, snake-like body. He walked on four, flat feet with, which had three toes. He had four sets of forearms, which had four, long fingers. Three thin protrusions sat on the top of his head, and a narrow streak of blue ran down his back. When his lips moved, it was revealed that he had rows of sharp teeth.

They made an intimidating threesome, and Serndask eyed them closely. Each one of them gave off a sense of danger, and he immediately knew that he had made a good choice with these three.

He cloaked his true form in Darkness as he usually did just a moment before they walked in. He gestured, and the Heartless that had escorted them vanished. They halted in the doorway, and looked confusedly around the room, wondering where their future employer was.

"I'm right here."

As if suddenly gifted with superhuman sight, their eyes flashed toward him, seated at the other end of the table. He gestured to the empty seats at the other side of the table. "Please, sit."

The three cautiously sat down, eyeing Serndask with undisguised suspicion. None of them spoke, so he decided he'd have to speak first. "You know what I've called you for."

"No we don't." The lizard-thing replied. "You promised us big bucks to do a job, and that was all."

"Randall, can it." The woman interrupted. She then turned back to Serndask. "What my scaly friend here is trying to say is that we like to know what we're up against before we actually commit to a job."

"We'd rather not go up against an army of giants, only to find out later that we get a hundred munny." The red-haired man agreed.

Serndask smirked. They'd have better luck against the giant army than against four Keybearers. They didn't need to know exactly that yet, though.

"Shego, Syndrome, Randall..." He said, addressing the first two by name for the first time. "I assure you, that the prize you will be hunting is not infallible. And, I might add, worth a tidy sum of munny."

Shego allowed the hint of a smile onto her lips. "What are we hunting?"

"'Who', actually." Serndask corrected. The holo projector in the center of the table hummed to life, displaying the image of the Keyblade Master Sora. It lingered for a moment, while Randall, Shego, and Syndrome committed his appearance to memory. It then changed, becoming Mickey, then Riku, then Kairi.

"The four current wielders of the Keyblade." Serndask elaborated.

"So these are the ones, huh?" Syndrome muttered curiously, as the image switched back to Sora. "What do you want with them?"

"Syndrome, we don't ask questions." Shego said. "Except for one, of course..."

"How much?" Randall finished, with a small smirk.

_Ah, pure, simple greed._

Serndask smiled to himself. It was so easy to manipulate beings who were greedy. No scruples, no limitations. Just pay them, and that was the last you'd have to see of them.

"Five billion munny."

That brought a greedy gleam to their eyes, and he knew he had them hooked. "How do you want 'em?" Shego asked.

"I only need one of them: _Alive_." Serndask replied. "Preferably Sora, though it doesn't matter in the long run. Feel free to do whatever you wish with their allies. Use lethal force if necessarily."

"Anything we need to know about them?" Randall asked.

Serndask produced a small pad of paper. He slid it across the table to Shego, who took it with one hand, and flipped it open. "Anything that my people and I have discovered about the Keybearers and their allies is recorded in there. As are the instructions for the mark you'll need to keep them in line."

He also slid a small bag filled with a greenish substance across the table. "You'll be needing that."

"You've got a deal." Syndrome said with a nod. "Where do we meet once we've got 'em?"

"Simply return to this station once you've captured a Keybearer. You'll receive your payment then."

_And your payment will be a one-way trip to the Realm of Darkness._

Not knowing Serndask's true intentions, the three hunters got to their feet, drawing their surprisingly brief meeting to a close. "We'll get you a key in a few days." Shego said, smiling a feral –and slightly alluring- smile.

The three walked from the room, and back the way they had come, talking in very low voices amongst themselves.

Serndask watched them go, still not standing from his chair. He still had a bit of business left to conduct. He waited patiently.

Shego, Randall, and Syndrome had been gone for nearly five minutes before something noteworthy happened.

There was a quiet hiss, but Serndask still didn't move. There was absolutely no sound for another few minutes, but he was acutely aware of a second presence in the room. He waited.

Suddenly, the face of a massive cobra was inches from his, gaping, fanged mouth open, and forked tongue flickering. It hissed, its red, slitted eyes burning. The rest of its body coiled around his chair, effectively trapping him.

Serndask didn't even flinch. "Very impressive."

"I like to make a good first impression on my clients." The snake answered in perfect English.

It slithered away from Serndask, with what appeared to be a smile. It stopped at the other end of the table, and coiled around its own body. It seemed to implode in upon itself, and then quickly took on a brand new shape.

In just a moment, a man of about twenty stood in the place of the snake. He had black skin, a clean-shaven head, and a thin black beard and moustache. He wore a black fedora on his head, which was slanted down slightly to cast his dark eyes (already covered by shades) into shadow. He wore a slightly baggy dark red jacket with a hood. The hood (which was currently down, and seldom used) had a thin layer of reddish fur around the rim. His black T-shirt had a thin layer of black armor over the chest. He wore black jeans, with a few red pouches strapped to his legs. He also wore a pair of black leather boots. A survival knife was tucked into his right one.

He was leaning casually against the head of a seven-foot long staff. It was made of a dark red metal, with a pyramidal head, which was abruptly cut off at the top.

"The legendary Thomaias." Serndask said in way of greeting.

"At your service." The man replied, taking his hat off momentarily, and inclining it toward him.

"Please, take a seat."

Serndask watched the shape-shifter closely, wary of the man. Thomaias was one of the greatest bounty hunters that had ever lived, all sources agreed. But he was also notoriously unpredictable and crafty. He was a far cry from the three beings that had left moments before.

He'd be a bit harder to deal with.

"I've got an assignment for you, if you're interested." He told him.

"Obviously you do. Why else would I be here?" Thomaias had his booted feet propped up on the table before him, with his arms crossed behind his head.

"Of course." Serndask grimaced. "I find myself in need of the Keyblade..."

"The legendary sword that brings either salvation or destruction to whatever world it touches? _That_ Keyblade?"

"Yes."

"Alright, we're on the same page, then!" Thomaias grinned, showing very white teeth. "What do ya need?"

Serndask sighed. "I need one of these people alive." He showed the images of Sora, Mickey, Riku, and Kairi again. "These are the four current wielders of the Keyblade. I'm willing to pay you five billion for one of them. The rest don't matter if you bring me just one, though I'll grant you a bonus for any others."

"Three teenagers and a mouse? Really?" Thomaias wondered aloud, looking at the hologram. None of them, except perhaps Riku, even remotely resembled warriors, let alone the ones who would carry the greatest weapon that had ever existed. Still, he'd seen enough in his life to know not to take things at face value.

He was living proof of that philosophy, after all.

He shrugged. "I could probably snag one of 'em for you. What do you want the Keyblade for?"

"That's not your concern."

"I like to know my clients motives before I take a job for them, my friend."

Serndask growled. The Darkness around him surged forward briefly, coming within an inch of Thomaias' face.

The man didn't even flinch. He just smiled slightly. "Nice trick."

He was a bit thrown off. Serndask wasn't entirely sure how he should react to Thomaias's defiance, so he retracted the Dark energy back to its typical place over his body.

"Let's just say that I need a door opened, and leave it at that."

"Works for me." Thomaias shrugged, and stood up. "But just so you know, my time is pretty valuable. I'd like payment for even confronting these guys at all. Since your brilliant Brotherhood couldn't take them on their own, I'm guessing that the Keybearers aren't easy to take on. I want seven thousand in my account up front in a week's time."

Serndask glared at him through the blackness, his orange eyes flashing into view momentarily. Unfortunately, it seemed that the shape-shifter before him was immune to intimidation. "Very well. But I expect _results_, Thomaias."

"And I assure you, you'll get them, Mister Serndask." He tipped his hat toward him again. Serndask noted the use of the new title. "I'd like a little more info on my targets, though."

Serndask tossed him a notepad which was identical to the one he had given those who had come in before him. Thomaias caught it easily, and flipped it open to the first page. He looked for just a moment. "I need a mark?"

"To keep them from summoning their Keyblades. Otherwise, it becomes virtually impossible to hold them." He slid a small bag across the table.

Thomaias looked at it for a moment, before picking it up, and tossing it back into the shadows. "I'd rather take my chances without creepy black magic, thank you."

"You'll regret it later."

"We'll see about that, won't we?" Thomaias replied with a roguish grin. He turned and walked to the door, sending a casual wave over his shoulder. "Good luck looking out, Mister Serndask. I'll be back before you know it."

Serndask watched him closely as he walked back down the hall, rising slowly to his feet. He wasn't entirely sure what he should make of the man, yet. He wasn't at all like Randall, Shego, and Syndrome. He at least seemed to have some form of moral compass, though he couldn't judge it adequately.

_He can't be trusted. But he'll probably win this little war for me._

His business completed, he opened a corridor of Darkness. In seconds, he had left the _Noctis_, and was back in the palace of Pax Pacis.

!

_Further developments. Rest assured that you'll be seeing more from all of these guys really soon…_

_In the meantime, please review!_


	121. Chapter 120: The Planet's Past

_Namine: "We apologize for the interruptions in your semi-regularly scheduled updates, and thank you for your patience. Now for some good news!"_

_So as it turns out, I'm not actually dead. As it turns out, there's something to the whole Murphy's Law thing. Computer problems stacked on top of finals and the need for a replacement hard drive to delay my beta and I for a while._

_But, here's a new world arc, which should be a good one. Plus, the first chapter of my Skyrim fic goes up tomorrow. And, a Batman one is in the works. So without further adue, let's get started!_

_Namine: "DarthKingdom does not own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else he might use that exists in other media. Enjoy!"_

_!_

Chapter 120: The Planet's Past

The world far below the _Unity_ was composed mainly of dry, rugged desert, interspersed with forests and sprawling urban centers. From where Sora sat at the pilot's seat of the ship, there seemed to be three large continents, along with a few large islands sitting in the ocean.

"Interesting place." Sora observed. Most of the party was assembled in the cockpit. Axel was the only one not in attendance yet. They had only exited warp space moments ago.

"So what is this world, Donald?" Kairi asked.

The duck looked into one of the screens on the consoles around him. "Um, it's called 'The Planet.'"

"Really?" Riku asked. "That's kind of unoriginal."

"Where are we?" Axel asked sleepily as he walked in. Apparently the entrance into the Planet's orbit had jarred him from a nap.

"A place called the Planet." Goofy relayed.

Axel's eyes suddenly went wide, and he sprinted up to Donald's console, pushing him aside to look into his console. It confirmed what they had told him, as did a look out of the forward view port.

He half-smiled. "No... freaking... way."

"Um... Axel?" Bariss began, tapping him on the shoulder. "No freaking way, _what_?"

"This is _my_ world!"

"Really?" This came from Roxas, who rushed out of Sora without warning. "Dude, I tried to get that out of you for months! Why didn't you ever tell me?"

Axel shrugged. "Well, I didn't feel like talking about my old life then."

"So... Does this mean you'll tell me your old _name_?"

"Ugh... Fine." Axel grimaced slightly. "It was 'Ale.'"

Things were totally silent in the cockpit for several seconds, while the others tried to gauge whether or not the former Nobody was joking. When he merely continued to grimace, they all laughed.

"Suddenly it all makes sense!" Sora was holding himself up on a nearby console and Kairi was writhing in silent laughter on the floor next to him. Riku was clutching his sides.

"It's how he was conceived!" Roxas said through his laughter.

"When you've gotten it out of your system," Axel muttered darkly, walking from the room, "I'll be waiting at the transport pads."(1)

!

_The black clouds poured water and fire as the city fell apart all around them._

_Great, burning chunks of rock fell from the stormy sky, colliding with buildings and reducing them to piles of debris instantly. Those that collided with the streets themselves crushed panicking civilians under hundreds of pounds of burning rock._

_Many of those who weren't smashed under the meteors were overtaken by the horrifying black creatures below, and had their hearts forcibly ripped from their bodies._

_The sounds of screams, explosions, and gun fire echoed through the air._

_Cloud did his best to block it all out._

_His opponent was fast, powerful, and highly skilled. It was taking every bit of Cloud's years of SOLDIER training to hold him at bay. The fact that this man had once, a long time ago, been his friend and brother-in-arms wasn't helping him much, either._

"_Pathetic, Cloud." Sephiroth said, his cold grin firmly in place as always. "Just pathetic."_

_The man had yet to acquire the black angel wing that would earn him his infamous title 'One-Winged Angel', but the jacket he wore was the same, as was the seven-foot long katana he wielded._

_Musamune sliced toward Cloud's face, and only desperate parries of the large, bandage-covered Buster Sword. He was forced into a desperate retreat across the rooftop they were fighting on, until he came to the very edge. Sephiroth lunged forward and Cloud leapt nearly twenty feet backwards, landing heavily on the next rooftop._

_His eyes caught sight of one of the meteors shooting down toward the building he had just left, where Sephiroth still stood. A small flicker of hope entered Cloud's heart. If he stayed where he was for just a few more seconds..._

_The meteor struck the roof of the building head on, sending burning bricks and chunks of rock everywhere._

_For a moment, he smiled –one of the last times he would do so in a long, long time- not having seen Sephiroth leap from the building. He almost didn't see the man flying toward him with his blade aiming for his throat until it was too late._

_Silently cursing, he lifted his sword to block it, stumbling backwards a few feet. Sephiroth smiled cooly, and pointed the blade at him, forcing Cloud to take a few steps back to keep out of range of its tip._

"_The world will fall, Cloud. I've gone to great lengths to guarantee it. Once the heart of the Planet is taken by the Darkness, I'll be there to collect the remains of the Lifestream. There's no stopping it, Cloud... Just stand down, and I'll make sure the Heartless finish you quickly."_

"_Shut up!" Cloud roared, slapping his sword aside with his own, and rushing to behead Sephiroth with the Buster Sword._

_He slipped to the side, just out of reach of the oversized blade. He kicked off from the roof, and floated in the air about ten feet above him. He still didn't attack._

"_Does it make you angry, Cloud?" He taunted. "Thinking about all of those who will die and vanish today? Zack, Barret, Ale, Rude... precious, precious Tifa?"_

"_I said SHUT UP!"_

_Cloud shot into the air, swinging his sword in a ferocious horizontal strike that could have cut Sephiroth in half had the blow connected. Instead, the swordsman turned it aside in an almost casual manner, and soared higher into the air, smirking down at him._

_The battle continued to unfold for several minutes, moving in the general direction of the massive building in the center of the city. It was made of a rough assortment of towers, one of which stretched higher than the rest, pointing into the stormy sky. Several large smoke stacks surrounded the building._

_Cloud and Sephiroth were soon dueling over the high central tower, their very different blades meeting with sparks and clangs of metal, travelling at such high speeds that they appeared as blurs._

_Sephiroth twisted his wrist, causing his blade to come in from a seemingly impossible angle. Cloud hadn't seen it coming, and was caught in the side. A narrow gash opened up in his hip, and he fell toward the roof of the tower._

_He landed roughly on his feet, and leapt backwards in time to avoid the descending strike of Sephiroth. The man didn't immediately follow him, however. He merely adopted his fighting stance again, holding his sword by the side of his head with both hands, pointing it toward his opponent. He was still smiling coolly._

_Cloud realized with burning anger that Sephiroth was toying with him, in the fashion that a cat would play with a mouse. Though in this case, the mouse still had some fight in him._

_He was about to move again, when he saw something astonishing behind Sephiroth's shoulder. An entire section of the city had suddenly disappeared; Not in the destructive fall of one of the numerous meteors. It was just _gone_._

_Sephiroth barely looked over his shoulder. His smile grew by a fraction of an inch. "Ah... they've found the heart. Time's running out, Cloud."_

_With a cry of rage, Cloud sprang forward, his sword slashing back and forth with blinding speed. Sephiroth intercepted nearly every blow, and nimbly wove around the strikes that he didn't catch with his blade. The duel moved all over the rooftop, and Sephiroth didn't strike back against Cloud's ferocious offensive. He merely allowed him to vent all of his fury at him. He waited..._

_And finally lashed out, his blade cutting deep into the meat of Cloud's left shoulder._

_Cloud shouted in pain, and dropped the Buster Sword. Blood poured from his shoulder as he collapsed to the ground at his opponent's feet. Musamune was at his throat the moment his knees touched the roof._

_Sephiroth gazed down at his seemingly beaten opponent with a horrible smile. For a moment, he resembled something inhuman._

"_You've lost, Cloud." He taunted in a soft tone that was somehow worse than a shout. "You're a failure. And you've _always_ been a failure. You failed as a SOLDIER. You failed as a hero. And you've failed to save this pathetic world. And due to your failure, everyone will perish."_

"_Because you were just too weak to protect them."_

_He shouldn't have said that._

_Mustering strength seemingly from nowhere, Cloud plucked his sword from where it had fallen. He slashed at Musamune, coming out of his crouch, and then swung hard at Sephiroth's head._

_The silver-haired man barely escaped the unexpected attack with a fast leap backwards, which put nearly twenty feet between them. Cloud hefted the Buster Sword before him, with his firm, two-handed grip. He no longer seemed to notice the deep wound in his shoulder._

"_I'm not weak." He said. "And I'm not a failure. Even if the Planet vanishes, there's still hope for survival. And hope never dies, Sephiroth!"_

_With his last sentence, he charged forward at a higher speed than ever before. He struck vertically, then horizontally. For the first time, Sephiroth stumbled slightly as he gave ground._

_Cloud continued to pound away at his defenses, driving him backwards. His onslaught came too quickly for his opponent to counterattack. Sephiroth could only back away at high speed, and search in futility for a chance to end the fight quickly._

_He never found one._

_Cloud pumped his legs, and passed completely over Sephiroth's head. He flipped once, parrying Sephiroth's strike at his head. He landed on his opposite side, and slashed at his back, driving it deep into the flesh of his lower back, spilling blood onto the building rooftop._

_Sephiroth fell forward with barely a groan, dropping his blade, and pitching face first to the ground._

_Cloud stood over him, looking wearily down at his defeated enemy. "Stay where you belong: in my memories."_

_He was dying, but Sephiroth's words were still somehow clear, despite the fact that he had face-planted with the roof. "I will never be a memory."_

_As if reacting to the man's dying words, the massive building beneath them disappeared without warning, as many of the others in the city had already done. The two swordsmen fell fifty feet, streaking toward the ground below._

_The only one that still was capable of movement; Cloud tried desperately to right himself in midair. He spun in the air, and saw to his horror that the largest meteor yet was shooting from the sky directly at him. At its current speed, it would crush them long before the impact with the ground would._

_What happened next was a mixed blessing. As Cloud and the dying Sephiroth plummeted to the ground, the Planet was seconds away from destruction, as the Heartless Sephiroth had brought discovered its heart. As was the norm for such things, random corridors of Darkness tended to pop up all over the vanishing world._

_A particularly large one formed beneath the falling warriors, and they fell right into it. It closed, just as the huge meteor fell into the space where it had been._

_The world vanished seconds later, taking several people with it into the Darkness. Some, like Tifa and Barret, were fortunate enough to be spirited away to other far-off worlds. But none of them had an experience quite like Cloud did as he plummeted through the Darkness through space, toward the world of Traverse Town._

_He gritted his teeth as he soared through the blackness. The Buster Sword passed by his head, and he immediately reached out to grasp it by the hilt. He was dimly aware that Sephiroth's unmoving body was next to him._

_Pain suddenly shot through his injured shoulder. Through the almost nonexistent light, he saw what looked like tendrils of Darkness seeping from his wound. Slowly, they migrated through the heavy air toward Sephiroth's body, and flowed into the massive wound on his back._

_That was the last thing that Cloud saw, because suddenly there was a blinding light, and he was falling directly toward the ground._

_Below him, he saw what looked like a quiet, peaceful little village. The only illumination came from the moonlight above, and the golden glow of street lamps. Directly below him was a large, plaza-like area. A golden fountain sat in one corner, and there were elevated walkways leading to other sections of the town._

_He hit the ground hard, getting the breath knocked out of him, and losing his grip on his blade again. He heard something beside him –which he assumed was Sephiroth's body- hit the ground with a loud _thud_._

"_How many times do I have to fall on my face today?" Cloud grumbled, as he got to his feet. He took a moment to observe his new surroundings. This was definitely not Midgar._

_He rubbed his aching shoulder, wincing at the pain. He needed medical treatment, and information. He had seen people nearby, while he had been falling. With any luck, they'd be able to help him. He picked his blade up and turned around._

_For the first time, he noticed Sephiroth. To his utter terror, he was moving._

_The silver-haired man got slowly to his feet, facing away from Cloud. The wound in his back could no longer be seen. A large plume of Darkness formed at his right shoulder, gradually taking shape, and solidifying into the form of a black angel wing. Similar wings appeared on his legs._

_The sound of low laughter floated to Cloud's ears._

_!_

Cloud jerked himself awake, sweating and breathing heavily as though he had just run a marathon.

He sat on the seat of his motorcycle –dubbed _Fenrir_- still hearing Sephiroth's laughter echoing in his ears. He gazed up at the full moon overhead, trying to catch his breath.

His bike was sitting in the desert that surrounded the partially-rebuilt city of Midgar for miles upon miles. There were several rocky cliffs all over the area; most of them extremely high. Small plumes of sand were blown across the landscape every few minutes whenever a breeze came along.

Cloud put his head in his hands. He had that dream every time _he_ was near. Each time, it felt worse. _He_ had created Sephiroth. The Darkness in his own heart had escaped over to his enemy's dying form, re-kindling the tiny spark of his life back into a flame.

The two of them were destined to fight for the rest of their lives until one of them finally died. Cloud was starting to think that he'd never know true peace again.

Yet, his own words bubbled back to his consciousness, "Hope never dies..."

He was starting to wonder if that was indeed true. When his fate was dominated by the next time Sephiroth would show up with his blade at his throat, there seemed to be little chance for hope.

Meditating on his future wouldn't change it. Action, however...

Cloud strapped on a pair of goggles that he wore when he drove. He gassed up _Fenrir_, relishing the sound of its powerful engine breaking the silence of the night. He throttled it, and rushed through the night in the direction of Midgar.

If he rode fast, perhaps he'd reach the city by the next day.

!

_So, that's my theory on the KH version of Sephiroth. What do you think?_

_Hope you enjoyed it! The next gap won't be so long, I promise._

_(1) This was obviously written before Axel's actual origins were revealed. I still prefer 'Ale' though…_

_Please leave a review!_


	122. Chapter 121: Warriors of Midgar

_A plethora of new characters await you in this chapter! I had to use a FF VII world, because it is the most iconic story of the whole franchise, and its cast is a huge part of Kingdom Hearts… So coming up with which version of the story I'd base if off of was fun!_

_Tifa: "DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Square Enix, Disney, or anything else he will use later. If he did, why would he just be writing fan-fiction? Wouldn't he have a staff of people working on putting his ideas on a disc or something?"_

_Hope that clears up any confusion. I don't own anything! …Yet we still need to do disclaimers. Really, who's going to buy that we're taking credit for an entire video game franchise? …Moving on!_

_!_

Chapter 121: Warriors of Midgar

Axel inhaled deeply. "_Ah_, the beautiful smell of decay and desperate living! Midgar, how I have missed you!"

The group had set foot in a massive city just moments ago. It had a feeling of slightly faded glory. Civilized life still thrived here, though it was amongst the wreckage of buildings that suggested that the city had fallen victim to a massive catastrophe. Efforts to rebuild could be seen in the form of cranes and other similar construction equipment hard at work on the greatest of the buildings.

It had a similar air to Radiant Garden when Sora, Donald, and Goofy had first learned of the restoration efforts, though it seemed that the people of Midgar weren't _quite_ as advanced as the people of Radiant Garden when it came to technology.

"So this is Midgar?" Riku repeated, gazing across the starry cityscape. Despite the apparently late hour, there were still a few people roaming the streets.

"In all its slightly dirty glory." Axel confirmed, with a nostalgic grin. "Man, I figured the place would never recover after all the crap Sephiroth put it through."

"Sephiroth!" Sora exclaimed, looking directly at Axel. "He was here?"

"Oh, yeah I forgot to mention... This was his home world."

"Wait..." Sora thought for a moment. "That means that this is Cloud and Tifa's world!"

"Wonder where we can find them?" Yuffie wondered aloud. "I've never been here, but Tifa told me once that she owned a bar called uh... what was it... 7th Heaven."

"Ah, yeah. I remember that place." Axel said. "They had nice-" He stopped.

"Ale?" Riku finished with a smirk.

"Shut up."

"I don't suppose you could lead us there, then. Could you?" Sora asked.

"I might be able to. Provided it's still standing, and I can remember the area correctly. I was only ever there about twice."

"Lead the way then, Axel." Mickey said.

For once, Axel was on point. The party of ten walked down the street they had landed in, and out into the open city air. Most of the inhabitants out on the streets didn't pay them much attention, and went about their business.

Down the street, Sora saw a young girl walking merrily down the sidewalk, humming a little song under her breath. It struck him as unusual that a small girl who couldn't have been older than six was out alone at night. She was just a few feet tall, with brown hair and eyes. She had a pink bow on the back of her head.

Yuffie looked at this girl curiously for a moment, and in a second, the girl noticed her, and returned the look. All of them stopped for a few seconds while the two very different girls stared at each other.

"Yuffie?" Riku asked at last. "Is everything alright?"

The ninja didn't reply right away. Then suddenly, her face broke out into a wide, comprehending smile. "Marlene!" She squealed.

The little girl seemed to come to her senses at the same time she did, and she beamed. She ran toward her, exclaiming, "Auntie Yuffie!"

Yuffie met her halfway, and scooped her up into a tight hug. The girl squeezed her arms around Yuffie's shoulders, giggling. After a moment, the ninja set her down, looking her over closely.

"It's been so long! You're such a big girl, now!"

"I'm six years old now!" Marlene stated with gleeful pride.

"Wow, really!" Yuffie hugged her again.

"I think they know each other." Sora stated jokingly. The rest of the group walked forward to join the two of them.

"Guys, this is Marlene." Yuffie introduced. "She's Barret's daughter."

"Really?" Sora disregarded the slight surprise he got from discovering that Barret Wallace was also a native of Midgar. He bent down to get a closer look at Marlene. She didn't look anything like the large man that Sora had met those months ago (it seemed a very, very long time ago, now). He assumed that she was adopted. "Hey, Marlene. I'm Sora."

"My dad told me about you!" She said, grinning at Sora. "He says you're really cool!"

"He did?" Sora smiled.

He and Yuffie introduced the others. Sora laughed when Yuffie introduced Riku as Marlene's 'Uncle Riku.' He blushed bright red, and Yuffie grinned at him, taking his hand.

"Marlene, what are you doing out here so late?" Bariss asked gently.

"I saw a bright light coming down, so I went to see what it was."

"Gawrsh, that was us." Goofy said. They usually forgot that a beam of light was occasionally visible when they teleported people down from the _Unity_ to a world's surface.

"Is Barret nearby?" Yuffie asked Marlene.

"Yeah! He's at the 7th Heaven with Auntie Tifa and Za-"

She was cut short by her own cry of terror. Twisting around, all of them saw Heartless pouring down the moonlight street directly toward them. People were fleeing from the mob, practically shoving others out of the way in their frantic haste.

Among the Heartless were Shadows and Neoshadows. Soldiers, Minute Bombs, Morning Stars, and Large Bodies accompanied them on the ground. Hovering just over them were Invisibles, Surveillance Robots, and Bookmasters.

_All my favorites._

"Marlene, run." He ordered quietly, summoning the Keyblade as all of his allies brandished their own weapons. "Get back to the bar, tell Tifa and your dad what's wrong, and stay there. We'll make sure they don't chase you."

Without waiting for a response, he ran forward, and the others followed suit.

The Surveillance Robots opened fire on them immediately. Narrow red laser bolts streaked through the air toward them. Sora merely raised his blade to catch the shots that otherwise would have hit him head on. He thrust his other hand forward, sending a large bolt of lightning into the horde of Heartless, frying several of them.

He waded into them, Oblivion slicing all around him, cutting into Heartless with every swing. With only his first swing, he had sliced apart five of the lesser Heartless. He leapt into the air, slicing through a Surveillance Robot, and landing on the shoulders of a Large Body.

Before he could bring his blade to bear against it, Kairi had fired a beam of Light directly into its face. Sora fell lightly off of its fading body, and parried a strike from an Invisible as he landed. Kairi was suddenly there, and carving a long gash into the Heartless' chest.

She ducked under the fiery blast of a Bookmaster, and leapt up toward it. She sliced her blade through the spine of its giant tome, leaving the Heartless hiding behind it defenseless. With a quick flick of her blade, she beheaded it.

Mickey leapt past her, his blade a golden blur. He smacked away a Minute Bomb that was two seconds from detonating, throwing it into the center of a group of Neoshadows. When it exploded, it took them all out. An Invisible dove at Mickey's head, stabbing at his face. The King slipped to the side, knocking its blade upward, and out of its grasp.

He drove his Keyblade into its body, and withdrew it in time to leap away from a Large Body's descending fist. He fired a small ball of Light from the tip of his blade, which struck its stomach, and knocked it rolling backwards. It squashed a pair of Shadows, and rolled right on toward Goofy.

The knight saw it coming, and smashed his shield into it with all the strength he had. The large Heartless flew into the air, and directly toward Nehrut. The telepath also saw it coming, and grabbed it in a mental hold. He threw it into a second Large Body with enough force to destroy both of them.

Nehrut sliced a leaping Neoshadow in half, and erected a mental shield to catch the laser bolts of a Surveillance Robot. He leapt up toward it when it ceased fire, and cut it in half. When he landed, a Soldier slashed its claws at his throat, and he was forced to duck out of the way. As he came to his feet, he plunged his sword into its chest, up to the hilt.

A Morning Star threw itself into the air nearby, intent on smashing Axel with its bulk. The former Nobody threw both chakrams up at it, knocking it off-course just slightly, and causing it to crash unceremoniously to the ground next to him. He hosed the creature with fire until it vanished, and then called his weapons back to him.

He sidestepped an Invisible's lunge at him, and sliced into its back as it passed him by. A Minute Bomb scrambled towards him on its little legs, intent on exploding, and taking Axel with it. He blasted it with a fireball before it got within five feet of him.

A Large Body appeared behind him, and was about to smash him into the ground, when a Blizzaga spell impacted with the side of its head. Axel waved a casual thanks to Donald, and threw one of his chakrams into its partially-frozen face.

Bariss rushed through the space where it had been moments before. Her sai flashed, slashing open the throats of two Neoshadows at once. A Shadow leapt at her, but she ducked under it easily, smashing it into the ground with her shield. She slipped her sai back onto her belt, and switched to the whip.

She lashed it out toward a Bookmaster, catching it in the face with the very tip of her weapon. Two Invisibles that had been hovering near it swooped down to cut her apart. Bariss ran to meet them, flourishing Rose Thorn, and wrapping it around the throat of the first one. She flexed the whip, and brought it to the ground.

She jerked it toward her, and sliced its forehead with the edge of her shield. The other nearly lodged its blade into her skull, when a shuriken passed directly over her to hit it in the chest.

Yuffie leapt over Bariss to retrieve it, waving off her hurried thanks. The ninja teleported into the air amidst a few Surveillance Robots. She held four kunai in each of her hands, and threw them out in all directions. Seven of them struck the flying Heartless, with only one continuing on through the fight to harmlessly hit the side of a building.

Yuffie landed on the ground, and immediately leapt away from the blasts of a surviving Surveillance Robot. She pulled out her shuriken again, and threw it at it. It cut completely through it, and struck the back of a Large Body Riku had been fighting.

"Thanks!" He shouted. He summoned the Guardian behind him, and rushed toward a trio of Large Bodies converging on his ninja girlfriend. He slashed his way through the more dangerous Heartless, and allowing his massive protector to smash Shadows and Neoshadows into the ground as he went.

He leapt up to the first Large Body, and cleanly sliced its head off before it was aware of his presence. The second, he destroyed with a blast of Dawn right to the face. The third was destroyed by a beam of Light that Kairi had fired after she had dealt with a pair of Soldiers.

The battle went on in that street for several minutes. Dozens of Heartless had fallen, but they showed no sign of stopping their attack. For every one that fell, it seemed that two or three came from nowhere to replace them.

Sora stood back-to-back with Kairi. She was breathing heavily, and he was sweating.

"How many more can there be?" She asked.

"Plenty. We just need to outlast them."

"Right now, that's looking a little tough."

"Well, we've been through a lot worse, right?"

She was about to respond, but stopped short when a familiar sound ripped through the night air. Sora heard it to, and looked to the nearest rooftop, from which the sounds of gunfire were issuing.

There stood none other than Barret Wallace. He wore a dark green combat vest, and thick, khaki pants. His metal arm had transformed into the gatling-gun like weapon that Sora had seen him using before, and he was emptying a hail of bullets into the Heartless below.

He waved casually down at them with his normal arm. "Welcome to AVALANCHE, kids!"

Before Sora could reply to him, or even shout a greeting, a Large Body slid on its belly toward him and Kairi. He raised his blade to bat it away, but somebody beat him to the creature.

What resembled a tattered, deep red cowl shot in front of them. There were gunshots, and the Heartless flinched repeatedly, until a bullet struck it directly in the eye.

The cowl vanished, and reformed into a human being a few feet away from Sora and Kairi. He was a tall, intimidating man. He had crimson eyes, pale skin, and long, wild black hair. The red band he wore around his head let his bangs hang in front of his face. He wore a tattered red cape buckled over his shoulders, and the lower part of his face. Underneath was a black, full-body suit. His left hand was covered by a golden claw, and his right held a three-barreled revolver.(1)

The newcomer nodded to Sora and Kairi, and then turned back to the action, firing away at the Heartless with his unusual gun. It fired off three bullets with every shot, which was more than enough to take care of most of the Heartless.

Suddenly, there was yet another warrior on the ground.

The man looked a little like Cloud, and for a while, Sora was convinced that he was.

His hair was in a similar style to Cloud's- long, slicked-back spikes- but it was jet black. He had dark blue eyes, and lightly tanned skin. He wore a dark blue sleeveless shirt and pants. He wore a large, thick, black leather belt. He had large, black metal shoulder pads on each shoulder, and black combat boots and gloves. The large broadsword he was fighting with looked similar to Cloud's (minus the bandages), and he fought in a similar manner.

He sliced right through an Invisible, and leapt over the head of a Large Body, beheading it in midair. "Hey, Vincent!" This man shouted with a grin. "Quit hogging all the Heartless, huh? The rest of the team wants to have some fun, too!"

The 'rest of the team' soon came into Sora's field of vision. Three very different beings rushed into the area.

The one in the lead, Sora recognized immediately. Tifa was exactly as he had remembered her. She had long black hair, fierce brown eyes, and still wore the black outfit and gloves.

Right behind her was a tall, bulky black man with a straight, stoic expression. He wore a jet black suit with a white-collared shirt. He had a shaven head, and a thin goatee. Dark shades covered his eyes, and he had silver loops running through his ear. His large fists were covered by black leather gloves.

The third was a lion-like creature with sleek red and orange fur. A thin brown mane ran partway down his back, stopping before his thin, flame-tipped tail. A thin scar ran across his right eye, while the intact one was yellow. Strips of his mane were adorned with beads, and one or two feathers. He had black tattoos and golden bands on his four legs, and his front-left shoulder blade was branded with the number 'XIII.'

Axel was the first one to notice them, and he grinned widely at the sight of the big man. "Rude, you dog! How've ya been!"

The man that Sora now knew as Rude rushed over to Axel's side, an odd half-smile on his face. He smashed a leaping Neoshadow with his fist. "Ale."

"It's Axel, now. But it's good to see you again, man."

"Let's catch up later, huh?" Tifa said, leaping, and driving her fist into the side of a Soldier's head. Enough force was packed into her blow that she smashed its head into the side of a building, and left a nice crater behind.

The animal creature rushed past her, and sank his teeth into the arm of a Large Body approaching Mickey. With amazing force, he yanked it to its tiny knees. Mickey leapt up, and beheaded it quickly.

The fight wound down fairly quickly after that, with the addition of a half-dozen fresh, and incredibly dangerous new warriors added to the mix. The Heartless went down like ducks in a shooting gallery. Less than ten minutes after Tifa, Barret and the others had arrived, the few remaining ones retreated from the street, vanishing quickly.

The weapons were holstered, dismissed, or transformed.

"So..." Sora said. "How've you been?"

It was such a casual comment that they all laughed.

"You're just the same as always, aren't you?" Tifa pulled Sora into a sisterly hug, and Barret gave him a hardy slap on the back. Sora got the impression that neither was fully aware of their own strength, as Tifa's hug took the wind out of him, and Barret's pat on the back buckled his knees.

"We hear you've got a Brotherhood problem." Axel said.

Only now did Tifa seem to register Axel's presence. "I had no idea when I saw your picture that I was looking at _you_, Ale."

"_Axel_." He corrected. "I find that that name gets much fewer laughs. Got it memorized?"

"What do you expect when you're named after a drink?" The Cloud-like man replied with a smirk. Then he turned to Sora. "So, the famous Master of the Keyblade." He extended his hand. "Zack Fair. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise. That was some nice swordsmanship I saw over there."

"Hey, that's what a few years of SOLDIER training and travelling around the worlds does to you."

"Zack speaks for all of us." came a surprisingly soft voice. It was from the mouth of the lion-like creature. "Nanaki. Red XIII if you prefer. It's an honor."

"And this is Rude and Vincent." Tifa said, nodding toward Rude and the man in red. Both of them nodded wordlessly.

"We should leave." Vincent said, in a low, gravelly, unsettling voice. He began walking down the street. "The Heartless may be gone for now, but whoever commands them may decide to make an appearance soon."

"Right. We'll catch up at 7th Heaven. It's not far." Tifa followed Vincent, and each of them went after them.

"I owe you guys one." Barret said, clapping a hand on Sora and Yuffie's shoulders. "I tell Marlene to stay put, and what does she do? Ah well, thanks for keeping the Heartless off of her."

"It was no problem." Riku shrugged.

"She's grown so much!" Yuffie said. "She's just as cute as ever. Congrats, Barret, you haven't worn off on her."

The big man promptly shoved her away as she laughed.

!

"Somehow, it never gets old."

On a high building not far from the very street where AVALANCHE and the off-worlders had fought off the Heartless, sat Sephiroth.

He had supremely enjoyed watching the fight. It had been difficult to resist the urge to swoop down and cut them all down before they were aware of him. But, he had endured it, and watched as the Heartless had been slaughtered.

He had special plans for this world, and he hadn't talked Serndask into giving him leave just so he could wipe them all out immediately. Patience was essential, and besides, not all of his targets were here yet. Not all of the players were at the board.

He silently stood to his full height, and took to the sky, extending his black wing. One kick from the rooftop, and he was soaring toward the center of the city. There stood the ruins of the massive building where he had battled against Cloud during the Planet's destruction. Now, the building was only a shell of its former self, and was no longer used for anything. There was talk of rebuilding it as a spaceport for travel to other worlds, but for now, it sat empty.

This suited Sephiroth just fine. He landed lightly on its roof, out of sight to anybody who might have been looking toward the building.

The One-Winged Angel gazed up at the full moon, and reached into a pouch strapped to his leg. He pulled out a marble-sized silver ball which pulsed with a faint inner light. He held it up to the moonlight for a moment, and then made a fist, crushing the ball. Bright silver light shone from between his fingers, and he then opened his hand.

He pressed it to his chest, gritting his teeth against the icy feeling this gave him. For a moment, his chest was shining with silver, and then a tendril of light burst from his chest. Two more accompanied it, and they each stopped ten feet away from Sephiroth.

They gradually took shape, taking on the form of humans kneeling on the ground. They gradually turned solid, and the glow faded from them. In a moment, there were three figures kneeling before him.

The farthest one to the right was slightly taller than the others, with green eyes. His silver hair was short, and spiked up near the back. He had sideburns on his face. He was heavily muscled, and wore an all black body suit and coat. He had thick shoulder pads on. On his left forearm was what appeared to be some kind of silver pilebunker weapon.

The one on the far left had longer silver hair that went past his shoulders. He also had green eyes, but he was much thinner than his 'brother.' He wore a similar coat to the other, zipped all the way up, and fully buckled shut. Strapped to the back of his belt was an unusually designed gun that could have possibly doubled as a sword.

The one in the middle was only slightly shorter than the other two. He had shoulder-length silver hair, and bright green eyes. He had the same black coat, though the top was unzipped slightly, and the collar went up a bit higher. Sheathed on his belt was a double-bladed katana.

"Loz. Yazoo. Kadaj." Sephiroth said, addressing each of them. They bowed their heads to him, smiling in anticipation.

!

_Soon it will all be over. Tomorrow, the Keyblade Master will be in my possession. And Cloud will be dead at last._

_So who's seen _Advent Children_? If you haven't, and are a Final Fantasy fan, I highly recommend it._

_1) To all you Vincent fans who have been asking about his possible inclusion in the story: Happy now? :P_

_Please review!_


	123. Chapter 122: Brothers of Sephiroth

_I'm on vacation, YAY! And E3 happened, Double YAAAAAAY! Life is looking up again!_

_Nehrut: "We like video games here. Can you tell? Anyway, here's more Midgar, and once again DK doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else."_

_!_

Chapter 122: Brothers of Sephiroth

Looking at 7th Heaven, Sora thought it looked a little more like a small fortress than a bar. It was a two-story building with thick-looking metal walls. The door was the only thing made of wood, and it too, looked very thick. There were two relatively small windows on the first floor, and another three (smaller ones) on the second. The sign with the bar's name on it was in the middle of the second story.

Tifa unlocked the door, and led the group of sixteen inside.

"Hold it!" A voice with a heavy Scottish accent cried out when Tifa turned the lights on. "Oh, it's just you lot."

Stepping inside, Sora saw that the bar was empty, save for them, and two others. One was Marlene, who was sitting on a chair at the bar. The other was sitting on the bar itself.

The one who had spoken was a cat. This cat was mostly grey, with a white stomach and lower face. It was wearing a small red cape, white gloves, and a tiny crown.

"A cat..." Riku began.

"Technically a robot, but for all intents and purposes yeah, a cat." Barret confirmed.

"Aye, I be Cait Sith." The cat said, springing from the bar, and onto Rude's shoulder. "And you must be the Keyblade Master and his friends, would I be right?"

"You'd be right." Sora said.

Tifa waited until everybody was inside and then locked the door back up again, tucking the key securely into a pouch in her skirt. She then walked across the room, and stepped behind the bar. "Can I get anybody a drink? For the record, I have non-alcoholic stuff back here."

Axel was at the bar in about two seconds. "Whatever ale you've got back there, I want it."

Tifa laughed, and reached below the counter, reappearing with a glass, and a bottle of the ale. Sora took a moment to examine the interior of the bar. It was a roomy enough setting. There were several tables, and a few booths lining the walls. Two doorways were set in the back wall. There were several framed pictures surrounding them. Many of them displayed the reconstruction of the city, as well as the warriors all around them.

Moments later, everybody was seated comfortably at the bar. "So, Tifa." Sora finally asked. "You find Cloud yet?"

"Not yet." She replied with a hint of sadness. "But I'm starting to think that he might be back here, on the Planet."

"Why do you think that?" Nehrut asked, taking a sip of some cola Tifa had given him.

"Like I told Sora before, Light is easy to find." She replied with a small smile. "I just feel that he's here somewhere. I'm waiting until he shows himself. He always does, eventually."

"No kidding." Sora chuckled, remembering how unexpectedly Cloud had come to his aid during the battle for Radiant Garden. A Morning Star had been about to crush him, and suddenly he had rushed in to save him.

"So what's been happening in the old neighborhood lately, guys?" Axel asked, after taking a big swig of his ale. "You trying to rebuild after what Sephiroth did?"

"AVALANCHE and the local authorities have been working on repairs to the city." Rude answered.

"It's been slow going lately, since the Heartless have been acting up a little." Zack said. "But, we're making definite progress."

"Could somebody please explain what AVALANCHE is?" Kairi asked.

"It was an underground anti-ShinRa operation." Barret replied. "We acted against the old ShinRa corporation, which tore the planet apart."

"Along with Sephiroth and the Heartless, when they showed themselves." Red XIII added.

"The Planet was dying from their influence." Vincent said. "The company corrupted the Lifestream, and slaved it to their own will. People's lives were better, but the Planet was being destroyed."

"What does AVALANCHE stand for?" Kairi asked.

"And what's the Lifestream?" Riku added.

"AVALANCHE is the Alliance to Vindicate All Life And Neutralize Communal Home Endangerment." Zack answered. "And before you say anything, we know the 'communal home' part sounds a little weird, but otherwise it doesn't spell anything."(1)

"And the Lifestream is the life-blood of the Planet, laddie." Cait Sith said. "It keeps the Planet alive, and allows it to give life to everything on the surface. It's also where we who live here go when we die."

"ShinRa was harnessing the Lifestream to power cities like Midgar." Axel finished with a grimace. "Rude and I used to be two of their grunts."

"But let me guess, you betrayed them?" Riku said.

"Uh, yeah."

"Shocker." Riku smirked.

"Ha ha ha." Axel rolled his eyes. "See if I ever open up to you guys again."

"Do you think this ShinRa corporation is responsible for the Heartless activity?" Sora asked.

"Not likely." Vincent said. "Sephiroth and his Heartless did away with most of ShinRa's forces during the attack that destroyed the Planet the first time. Whatever was left, we took care of when the world was restored."

"But you said that Sephiroth was in the Brotherhood now, didn't you?" Barret said to Bariss.

"I'm afraid so. Serndask seemed to hold him in pretty high regard. More so than Ruxik, which is troubling."

"There's a reason for that." Sora murmured. "That guy's in a league all his own. I barely beat him last time, and even then, he hardly seemed to have been hurt."

He looked at his feet. "I think that he might have actually let me win."

"I hear you." Zack agreed. "The guy _stabbed me in the chest_ once. I don't need to tell you that that blade really hurts."

"So do we look for him, or what?" Kairi asked.

"If Sephiroth doesn't want to be found, you won't find him." Vincent said.

"We have to wait for him to come to us." Tifa agreed reluctantly.

"I really, _really_ don't like the sound of that." Yuffie grimaced.

"We don't have a choice." Rude replied.

"We'll stay here in the bar. Three of us'll stay on watch duty at any given time, and we'll take turns for shifts." Zack said. Sora was beginning to see him as something of the leader of the group. "Any volunteers for the first hour?"

"I'll do it." Vincent offered.

"Me, too." Yuffie said.

"I'm in." Riku agreed.

Riku and Yuffie followed Vincent upstairs, and up onto the roof after the others bid them goodnight.

Tifa led the rest of them to the bedrooms up on the second floor of the bar. There were only four small rooms, so the ones that weren't staying in the crowded bedrooms were on the chairs or tables below in the bar.

Sora and Kairi were in the smallest of the rooms. They were sharing it with Nehrut and Bariss, who had already fallen asleep on the pile of blankets on the carpeted floor. Bariss was leaning on Nehrut's shoulder, and he had one of his hands on hers.

Sora chuckled at the sight. "Any day now." he said.

He looked down at Kairi, who wore a thoughtful expression. "This Sephiroth... Is he _really_ that strong?"

Reluctantly, he answered, "Yeah."

She sighed, and laid her head on Sora's chest. "We'd better be well-rested then."

!

The night passed without incident. The following morning was grey, the bleak clouds above threatening rain.

7th Heaven didn't open until nine o'clock, which meant that the team still had about an hour until any patrons arrived. Tifa had already had a modest breakfast of ham and eggs ready for everybody as they came down to the bar area.

When Zack, Axel, and Rude (who had comprised the last watch of the night) walked down into the bar after the rest of them, Sora emerged from his plate of eggs. "Did you guys see anything last night?"

"Nothing at all." Rude answered.

"I don't like this." Mickey said, sitting at a table with Vincent and Cait Sith. "If Sephiroth is as ruthless as you guys said, then why hasn't he made his move yet?"

"Sephiroth is as smart as he is strong." Vincent answered. "If he had planned on attacking last night, he may have seen the sentries, and decided to buy his time."

"Aye, he's a clever man." Cait Sith admitted. "But he migh' just want to see us sweat for a wee bit before moving."

"I hate enemies like that." Riku muttered.

Having to wait for an enemy to attack was never an easy thing to do. For several minutes, they all sat there, chewing absently away at their breakfast.

Nehrut looked up suddenly, as though he had heard an unusual noise from far-off.

Sora knew him well enough to recognize the gesture for what it was by now. Cautiously, he asked, "What is it?"

"Everybody down!" Riku shouted quickly, having smelled what Nehrut had sensed at the same instant.

A telepathic shove brought everybody in the bar flying out of their chairs, and crashing ungracefully to the ground. Less than one second later, the windows were shattered by a hail of bullets.

Dozens of bullets sped into the room, sending the window glass flying, and smacking into the walls. Several picture frames were cracked or dislodged, and glasses and containers on shelves behind the bar were shattered. Their contents spilled to the ground.

None of them were injured, though Marlene was whimpering a little. Sora placed a comforting hand on her head. "It's going to be alright. Don't worry."

Three separate voices were heard laughing when the gunfire stopped a few seconds later. A slightly high-pitched voice called out, "Can the Keybearers come out to play?"

"That's not Sephiroth." Tifa said quietly.

Slowly, Sora crawled toward the door, and the others followed suit. As they did, whoever was outside continued speaking. "This doesn't have to be difficult. Just stand down, and we'll take you to our master. He's really eager to see you all, and we'd really hate to disappoint him."

"We _won't_ disappoint him."

"He'll disappoint him." Riku muttered. He and Sora were crouched on either side of the door. Each of them held a Keyblade in his right hand. Sora nodded to Riku, and the Guardian appeared. It immediately smashed through the door, with Riku following right behind it.

As expected, the shooting started again, but the bullets bounced harmlessly off of the Guardian. Everyone else poured out after it, weapons ready.

The shooting abruptly stopped, and Sora finally saw their attackers standing in the middle of the otherwise abandoned street.

They could best be described as looking like Sephiroth's brothers. Each one had silver hair, and green eyes. They all wore identical black coats and body suits. The muscled one to the right had an unusual weapon fastened to his left arm. The one on the right held a strange gun (he was the only one who hadn't dropped his). And the middle one held a double-bladed katana.

This middle one held his weapon in his left hand. He stepped forward with a cool smile, and glinting eyes. His gaze settled on Sora. Sora recognized his voice as the one that had spoken while they were still inside. "You're the one he wants most." He extended his gloved hand. "Come on. We don't want to keep him waiting too long, or he'll get upset."

"And nobody's happy when that happens." The big man added. "Come on. Let's go."

"You're joking..." Sora began. "Who are you guys?"

"I'm Kadaj." The middle one said. "These are my brothers, Loz," He gestured toward the big one. "And Yazoo." A nod toward the other one. "We exist only to please our master, and we're here for you. Now come with us, we won't ask again."

"Who is your 'master?'" Zack asked, though everyone had already guessed at the correct answer.

"The one we serve is our elder brother, Sephiroth." Yazoo answered in a slightly dreamy voice. His weapon was aimed directly at Zack's chest. Sora had an uneasy feeling that he was very, very accurate with it. "If we can't do that, then nothing else matters."

"Boy, you guys have some serious hero worship issues, don't you?" Nehrut commented.

"Shut up!" Kadaj barked.

"I will not allow you to talk about brother like that!" Yazoo added.

"You meanie!" Loz agreed.

Nehrut snickered at the word 'meanie'.

Kadaj scowled. "You'll be the first to go." His sights settled back on Sora. "Now come with us. We're taking you to Sephiroth."

"No. You're not."

Sora shot toward Kadaj, Keyblade aimed at his neck. The silver-haired man smirked, having already expected resistance. He raised his blade, and blocked the powerful strike. Sora all but flew over his head, landing on his other side.

Kadaj adopted a reverse-handled grip on his unusual weapon, and dashed toward Sora.

He soon discovered that Kadaj was a dangerously fast individual. He was always in motion, and made every one of his movements into an offensive action. He didn't just walk toward Sora, he tried to trip him. He didn't just dodge an attack, but he also slashed at his head while moving.

_Oh, this is going to be hard._

Predictably, Heartless arrived at the front of the bar. Most of AVALANCHE (and its new honorary members) got too caught up with their attack to concentrate on Sephiroth's other two 'brothers.'

Kairi, Tifa, and Nehrut had somehow gotten mixed up with the giant Loz. He was much faster than his bulky frame suggested, and he was able to keep each of them on their toes. The function of his strange weapon was soon understood. The two short spikes at the end of it shot forward about eight inches on his command.

Kairi noted on the occasions when Loz's attacks missed them, and instead impacted with the ground or the side of a building, that they had a massive amount of force behind them. A small crater had been left in the side of 7th Heaven after he drove his fist into it in an attempt to hit her.

She drove her blade up toward his still outstretched arm, only for him to pull it away at the last second. Loz drove his weapon toward her face with enough force to split it open. Luckily, Tifa intercepted his fist, pressing it toward the ground. With her free hand, she punched him in the chest, sending him flying several feet backwards.

Nehrut flew after him with his blade raised over his head. Before he could strike, Loz kicked his feet up, striking him in the chest, and knocking him away into a nearby building.

Loz sprang to his feet with surprising speed, and ducked under a flying kick Tifa sent to his head. While she was still in the air, he grabbed hold of her ankle. He spun her around his head once to get a feel for her added weight, and then threw her at Nehrut, who had yet to get back to his feet.

Nehrut caught her in midair, and sent her shooting right back at Loz. She oriented herself in mid flight, and drove both of her fists into his stomach. He let out a loud gasp as the breath was knocked from him, and he flew backwards, down another street.

"Thanks for the save." Tifa said to Nehrut as they and Kairi rushed after him.

"Anytime. Just make sure I don't have to do it again."

Yuffie and Riku joined them in their fight against Loz. The older Keybearer reached him first, and slashed at his neck with his blade. Loz brought his pilebunker weapon up to catch the attack. He threw the blade off of it, and aimed a hard punch at his face with his free hand.

He ducked under the blow, and Yuffie appeared. She seemed for a moment to run up Loz's fist, and delivered a kick to the point of his chin.

This should have floored the man. He looked for a moment as if he would hit the pavement, but instead, he moved his arms backwards, and pressed his hands to the ground. He shoved himself up, and threw himself at Yuffie in an attempt to crush her in his massive arms.

He held her for a moment, before she vanished in a cloud of smoke. Kairi ran forward, and sliced repeatedly at Loz with her Keyblade. He rapidly gave ground, choosing to avoid her attacks rather than try to go up against them. He hadn't expected her to suddenly stop.

She brought her hands together, and brought a staggering amount of Light to them. It gathered between her hands, and formed into a ball shape.

"Shining Assault!" She shouted, thrusting her hands forward, and releasing the ball of Light at him.

It hit Loz's chest and exploded. He howled as he flew backwards, to land on the roof of a nearby building.

They followed him up there, in time to see him emerging from the crater he had formed upon his landing. He only bore a grimace of pain, and adopted a fighting stance. He smirked at their expressions.

"This guy is really getting on my nerves." Riku muttered.

"In the immortal words of Captain Jack Sparrow," Nehrut said, "'Close your eyes and pretend it's all a bad dream, and you'll get by.'"

Loz charged them, reminding him unnervingly of an angry bull.

"Then again, Jack's not that great in a fight." Riku murmured.

Meanwhile, Mickey, Vincent, Axel, and Rude were going up against Yazoo. Early on in the fight, Yazoo had adopted a run-and-gun sort of strategy; firing rapidly upon them from afar, and retreating to a safe distance when they got close enough to attack him themselves.

The King finally got close enough, and leapt high into the air. He brought his blade down toward Yazoo's head, nearly slicing through it. The man parried the strike with the sharpened edge of his gun, knocking his Keyblade to the side.

He nearly sliced Mickey in half when he touched down, and only a quick leap backwards saved him. Vincent appeared behind him, and opened fire with his three-barreled revolver (appropriately named 'Cerberus'). But Yazoo was very quick, and weaved around the bullets as they neared him.

He leapt backwards, and fired upon Vincent. He transformed into the unnatural-cowl form he had taken the previous night, and avoided the attack completely. Axel and Rude rushed forward at Yazoo while his attention was on Vincent.

Gloved fists barely missed him as he dodged out of their way. Rude tried not to give him room to breath, and continued towards him with fast, powerful blows. However, Yazoo soon got away from him, stepping nimbly backwards, and then surging forward with a kick to Rude's chest.

Axel and Mickey attacked from either side of him, both of them leaping with their weapons held high.

Yazoo almost casually fired off a round of bullets at the King, forcing him to change course to deflect the projectiles. He landed several feet short of him. But Axel, he met head-on. He parried both of his burning chakrams, and sent him spinning completely over him. Yazoo then kicked him to the ground.

He stood over him, smiling smugly. "Are we having fun yet?"

"The time of my life!" Axel snarled, leaping to his feet, and swinging at his head, narrowly missing.

Zack Fair had joined Sora in his battle against Kadaj, and for this, the Keyblade Master was enormously grateful. Kadaj –while certainly not as powerful as Sephiroth- was a very, very dangerous man.

"All we want is to please brother!" Kadaj barked.

The three of them were battling far down the street from where they had started. They were well separated from the main fighting, which was just as well, because at the speed they were moving, they might not have even had time to distinguish between friend or foe before attacking.

Kadaj leapt over Sora's head, parrying the Keybearer's strike in midair, even as he flew toward Zack. He brought his blade down onto him, only to be blocked at the last instant by his broadsword.

Sora ran toward him almost before he had touched the ground, stabbing his blade forward at Kadaj's chest. The silver-haired swordsman took a nimble step back, and slashed quickly at Sora's face. He parried the attack, and several others like it, which barely missed him.

Zack aimed a hard slash at Kadaj's exposed back. The man turned suddenly, and moved his blade. Zack's massive sword got caught between the two blades of Kadaj's katana. Kadaj twisted it to the side, wrenching the sword from his grasp, and sending it skidding across the ground.

He lunged at the now unarmed Zack, intending to finish him with one fatal strike. He apparently hadn't counted on Sora's Blizzard spell to the back, which sent him sprawling to the ground.

He was back on his feet almost instantly, but it had been long enough for Zack to get out of his way, and reclaim his weapon. Together with Sora, they rushed at Kadaj, who blocked their matching overhead strikes, and slipped away from them yet again.

Sora and Zack started alternating their attacks. One would move in and attack Kadaj, then pull back, and allow the other to move in while he caught his bearings, and then attack again. This strategy kept Kadaj on his toes, but they had yet to pierce his guard.

!

Marlene –still hiding in the relative safety of 7th Heaven- peeked cautiously out through the shattered window. She almost regretted it.

A flailing Morning Star flew past her window, thrown by Rude. It crashed into the front of a Large Body. The thrown Heartless vanished, but the one who was hit stayed right where it was. It began to walk forward, until Red XIII (who carried Cait Sith on his back) leapt up at its head.

Crackling greenish energy burst from his mouth, incinerating half of the Heartless instantly. Bariss rushed by them, her whip flying in all direction, taking down Heartless with every move. One of Donald's Thunder spells crackled past her, taking out an Armored Knight.

She ducked back down immediately, praying that nobody would misfire a similar spell toward her window. She quickly decided that she'd probably be much safer in one of the back rooms of the bar.

Staying as low to the ground as possible, Marlene crept toward the direction of the bar, trying to ignore the battle noise behind her.

She barely made it halfway across the room before she was stopped. She let out a scream.

!

Kadaj was a hair's breadth away from death, when his 'big brother' saved him.

Before Sora could plunge Oblivion into his chest, a dark shape moved in to cover him. Sora drew back reflexively, and saw clearly what the thing was.

It was a black angel wing. But before Sora could get a decent look at it, it had vanished, along with Kadaj.

The Heartless vanished around them all, and Loz and Yazoo stopped what they were doing, as well. Before any of them could process these events, they too, were covered by the black wing, and disappeared.

Everybody cast their eyes around, trying to find their enemies.

Vincent saw him first.

Standing on the roof of 7th Heaven was a horribly familiar figure with a very long blade. Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo stood to either side of him, looking like a trio of body guards. The man in the center smiled cooly down at those assembled.

"Sephiroth!" Tifa exclaimed, falling into a fighting stance along with everyone else on the street.

Sora gazed at Sephiroth, watching for any sign that he was going to attack. He still bore a few scars from his last battle with the man, and was immensely glad that there were sixteen other people here to back him up if a fight broke out.

"Nice to see you, too, Tifa." Sephiroth replied casually. "And you as well, Sora."

"What do you want?" Sora shot back.

"Impatient, aren't we?" Sephiroth smirked. "As much as I would love to fight you –as you have so clearly intended- I'm afraid it just wouldn't be fair. After all, there are four of us, and only seventeen of you."

"Har har." Riku rolled his eyes. "I'm good for about five people, probably."

"In any case..." Sephiroth continued, completely ignoring Riku's comment, "Work has to come before pleasure, and I have a job to do."

He gestured to Loz, who smirked. He walked a little farther back onto the roof, and came back, holding the squirming Marlene by the wrist.

"Let her go you son of a-" Barret began angrily. He stopped short when the big man adjusted his grip on her wrist enough to make her squeal.

"You should be careful about what sort of language you use in front of your little girl, Barret." Sephiroth taunted. "Now, here's the situation: If you want precious Marlene to live to see puberty, you'll come to what's left of ShinRa headquarters at seven this evening. By then, hopefully our missing player will have arrived. When you arrive, Sora is to surrender to me without a fight, and I'll release Marlene unharmed. If I see any indication that you're amassing greater forces to attack us, I'll go ahead and kill Marlene on the spot, and then proceed to tear apart what's left of this pathetic city."

Sora growled, and white-knuckled the hilt of the Keyblade. This only served to make Sephiroth and his brothers smile more. "Remember, seven."

His wing flashed, and the five of them were gone.

!

_Well, that took off quickly, didn't it? More to follow!_

_Am I bad person for putting that cute little kid in mortal peril at the hands of the most dangerous villain in the franchise? Probably, but I'd rather not think about it._

_1) So, I couldn't find what this stood for... So, I made it up. Would you buy this?_

_Review, please!_


	124. Chapter 123: Strife

_Finally, I'm properly on vacation. And to make things better, today's my birthday! I'll be going out of town for about two or three weeks starting tomorrow, so hopefully I'll be able to update at least once while I'm away._

_To hold you over, here's one more Midgar chapter, and the start of my new Bat-story over on some other part of the site will follow as soon as I can find the time to make some grammatical corrections. Enjoy! And I'll see you when I get back._

_Riku: "DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else he wants to use."_

_!_

Chapter 123: Strife

Barret was frantic. He was pacing up and down the bar of 7th Heaven (which Tifa had decided not to open that day) at high speed. He barely seemed to comprehend what he was doing, and was bumping chairs and tables over as if he didn't see or feel them. Donald had made the mistake of getting in his path once, and was nearly trampled.

Sora couldn't exactly blame him. His daughter had just been kidnapped by one of the most evil beings in the universe, and he was now being forced to wait for several hours until there was any chance of getting her back.

The group had since decided to leave him to his silent pacing, watching him carefully to make sure he didn't do anything rash.

"Well, what do we do?" Sora asked the others.

"I don't know." Mickey admitted. "Trickery worked on Hamsterveil and Xarcs, but Sephiroth is a whole different animal."

"If he suspects anything, then Marlene..." Zack left his sentence hanging in the air, as if they couldn't see the thought behind it.

"We need to have faith." Tifa finally said, quietly. "We need to have faith that there's still a way out of this..."

!

At last, Midgar was coming into view. It was little more than a dark speck on the sandy horizon, but it was there.

Cloud had been riding all night, and for most of the day, stopping only for a short lunch from the contents of his pack. It was about seven o'clock, and the sun was low in the sky, painting it a yellow-orange color.

He fixed his eyes determinedly on the distant buildings, and scowled. He could feel Sephiroth there. Interestingly, it seemed that he was in more than one place. He had no idea what that could possibly mean, but he wasn't about to try to decipher the reason for it. He poured more speed into _Fenrir_.

He was determined to reach Midgar within the hour, and it seemed an attainable goal. Already, the distant city seemed to be growing larger.

Not for the first time, he was aware of a familiar presence, as though somebody was sitting right behind him on the bike. He felt a soft hand on his shoulder.

"_Don't let him get to you, Cloud. And remember, we're all here for you."_

Cloud took a moment to reply to the voice in his head. "I won't, Aerith."

!

ShinRa headquarters was a mess. After the Planet had been restored like all the other worlds, it had been allowed to crumble. It sat empty, save for whatever the ShinRa workers had left behind when AVALANCHE had attacked the building. The evidence of their attack remained in the form of holes in the thick walls, rubble that had never been removed, and cracked glass strewn all about.

Coincidentally, before the Planet's destruction, Cloud and Sephiroth had dueled on its roof.

Nothing stirred as AVALANCHE walked up to the front of the building. They had taken a chopper that had been 'liberated' from the ShinRa warehouses after the company was dismantled. The chopper was positioned about half a mile away, because that had been as close as they could get without crashing the thing.

They had walked the rest of the way, Kairi clutching Sora's hand in hers the whole time. They had desperately tried to think of a way to get out of surrendering him to Sephiroth with no bloodshed for hours.

And they hadn't come up with any ideas at all.

Now, they were just hoping for the best.

They all stepped into a sort of courtyard at the front of the main ShinRa building. Huge chunks of the building lay strewn across it, and the pavement was cracked. Ahead of them was a smaller building that connected to the tower that had served as the main place of business.

On the roof of this smaller building stood Sephiroth. He smiled coolly at their approach, and stepped off of it. He floated slowly to the ground, and touched down on the pavement in front of it.

"You made it. I was starting to get worried."

"Where's Marlene?" Barret barked, barely restrained by Vincent and Axel.

Sephiroth didn't react to the menace in his voice, and merely gestured with his left hand. Loz appeared, once again gripping the squirming Marlene by her wrist. Kadaj and Yazoo were just behind them.

"I said I'd leave her unharmed, and I meant it." Sephiroth said. "Now, you hold up your end of the bargain."

Loz released Marlene, and shoved her forward. She stumbled a few feet, and then began to walk slowly toward the members of AVALANCHE. Slowly, Kairi released her grip on Sora's hand. He turned to her, and kissed her for what might have been the last time.

He walked slowly forward, his gaze locked on Sephiroth's. He passed Marlene, placing a comforting pat on her shoulder as she passed by him. She arrived in her father's arms at the same time Sora stopped in front of Sephiroth and his gang.

Yazoo stepped forward, tossing a small burlap bag in between his hands. Sora guessed that it contained the material that would make the evil mark that would incapacitate him. Yazoo reached inside, dipping his fingers into the material. His fingertips were green and shiny when he took them back out.

He approached Sora carefully, and something unusual happened.

From the ground just before Sora, a greenish light appeared. Tendrils of the green energy shot forward, wrapping themselves around Yazoo before he could react to their sudden appearance.

Sora's first thought was of a Cure spell. But a Cure spell would never do anything like this...

The tendrils of green energy wrapped tightly around Yazoo, and squeezed him as a boa constrictor would do to its prey. Yazoo cried out in pain, as wisps of Darkness rose up from where the energy touched him.

The tendrils of energy threw him –still screaming- from their grasp. He flailed through the air, and into the side of the ShinRa building, breaking through the wall, and falling inside.

Sephiroth darkly murmured, "Lifestream..." before Sora seized the moment, summoning Oblivion, and rocketing forward with the intention of running him through the chest. With Marlene safely out of the way, and already running back to the chopper, it was much safer to do so.(1)

Sephiroth had drawn Musamune in a heartbeat, and parried Sora's blow, knocking him a step backwards. Kadaj and Loz rushed forward to come to their brother's aide, only to be stopped in their tracks when the Guardian appeared before them.

Kairi flew past them, ignoring Kadaj and Loz completely, and rushing to aid Sora against their brother. Sephiroth's blade flicked toward her face, and she narrowly ducked under its tip. Sora took the initiative, and stabbed at Sephiroth's exposed chest. The older man slipped out of the way, however, and nearly took Sora's head off with a counterattack. Kairi saved him by quickly blocking his blade with her own.

"How precious." Sephiroth taunted. "The two young lovers are going to fight me together."

Sora and Kairi merely smirked at him.

Sora lunged forward, coming in high with Oblivion, while Kairi went low with Destiny's Light. Sephiroth stepped back from the attacks, and allowed them to come to him again. They advanced in a flurry, their blades striking at every inch of Sephiroth that they could reach. But the man barely gave ground as he moved his long blade to catch each blow.

He took to the air with a single beat of his wing, rocketing into the air high above them.

Sora and Kairi let off matching flashes of bright light. When it faded, they were revealed to have transformed into their respective Final and Goddess forms. Sora wielded Oblivion and Fenrir, while Kairi held Destiny's Light and Oathkeeper. They both looked each other over quickly, and smiled.

The two Keybearers launched themselves into the air after Sephiroth. They arrived to either side of him, and struck simultaneously with their four Keyblades. The moment before impact, and shield of pure black energy formed around Sephiroth, repulsing their weapons.

"And here I thought this would be as boring as last time." Sephiroth said, as his shield vanished.

"Boring isn't how I remember it." Sora replied, slashing at his neck without even touching either of his blades.

"Yes, but the sweat was in your eyes, and fatigue effects the memory." He taunted, blocking his attack, and then a similar one from Kairi.

"I still remember beating you."

"Did you?" Sephiroth tried to cut Sora in half, but had his attack blocked by one of his floating blades. Kairi fired a narrow beam of Light at Sephiroth, which he barely dodged.

He shot backwards, leading them toward the ShinRa tower.

!

Naturally, Heartless had arrived. While the majority of the party was dealing with them, Riku and Vincent were fighting Loz. They had wandered away from the main battle, and were fighting on something of a wide balcony, which may have once served as a chopper's landing pad.

Vincent's constant gunfire –while it rarely found its mark- was suitable to keep Loz on the defensive. His pilebunker moved to intercept the bullets as they approached, and they ricocheted harmlessly away from him. Occasionally, they would graze his skin, however.

Riku was having slightly more luck. He punched out his hand, sending quick bursts of Dawn energy at the big man. Loz weaved out of the way of the blasts, barely missing them each time, as he gradually made his way toward the Keybearer.

He got within a few feet of him, and aimed a punch at Riku's face. The spikes on his weapon skimmed just over Riku's nose as he ducked underneath the attack. He brought his arms up, and took a firm hold of the big man's arm. With strength he didn't even know he had, he tossed Loz over his shoulder.

Unfortunately, Loz had incredible coordination. He was able to plant his feet firmly on the ground before Riku let go of his arm, and reversed his grip to where he was now holding Riku's arm. He tossed him as hard as he could into a nearby concrete wall, where he left a small crater.

However, while his attention was elsewhere, Vincent was able to fire three rounds at his back. To bullets connected with his left shoulder, only partially stopped by his thick shoulder pads. Loz grunted, and went down to his knees.

But, before Vincent could move in to finish the man, he was on his feet again. He turned to face Vincent, looking rather like a very angry bull. He shouted, running full-out toward the his assailant, raising his wrist-mounted weapon to catch the bullets he fired at him.

Vincent never showed any fear as Loz rushed toward him with the intent to kill. He dodged out of the way of every one of his fast punches, easily avoiding harm. At one point, he was able to bring the barrels of his gun up to the point of Loz's chin. Unfortunately, before he could pull the trigger and end the man's life, he brought his thick arms around him in a massive bear hug.

But, there was nothing friendly about the gesture. The gun had fallen from Vincent's grasp, and Loz smirked at him. He began the slow, painful process of crushing the shooter with his massive arms. Vincent grimaced in pain, and his red eyes met his green ones.

With a great effort, Vincent rammed his forehead into Loz's. The maneuver worked, and Loz dropped him back to the ground, staggering backwards, and seeing stars. Unfortunately for Vincent, Loz's forehead wasn't much softer than the wall he had thrown Riku into, and he had to keep himself on his feet by grabbing a nearby chunk of rubble.

"That wasn't cool." Loz growled, staggering. Vincent had raised a large red welt on his forehead, and it was amazing that he could still stand at all.

He walked over to him, and brought the pilebunker to his temple. Before he could act, however, there came the shout of, "Ray of Dawn!"

A massive blast of red-orange energy blasted into Loz's back, sending him flying completely over Vincent's head, and tumbling over the edge of the platform they had fought on. He screamed as he fell, rapidly becoming harder to hear as he fell from such a distance.

Vincent looked over at Riku, who was now getting to his feet. He held one hand to his back, grimacing in pain. The Keybearer reached into his jeans pocket, and produced a potion. He cracked the container open over his head, and felt the pain and stiffness fading.

He walked over to Vincent, and helped him fully to his feet. He handed him the gun he had dropped, and they looked over the side, toward the menagerie of buildings below. "Think that got him?" Riku asked.

"Possibly. But it never hurts to be careful." Vincent abruptly fell forward, and free-fell toward the ground. His crimson cape flapped behind him, making him resemble some form of massive, ferocious bird of prey.

"That dude has style." Riku noted, before following him down.

!

Yazoo had mostly recovered from the attack that the Lifestream had somehow dealt toward him. He'd sprinted the whole way back to the battlefield, and had somehow gotten involved in a fight against Mickey, Yuffie, and Barret.

They stood on a sloping area that had been a bridge before the near destruction of ShinRa headquarters. But fighting on an inclined area wasn't slowing any of the combatants down.

Yazoo had the high ground, and was firing rapidly down at the other three. Mickey made it up to him first, as Barret opened fire on Yazoo from below. The silver-haired man never stopped moving, and stayed out of the path of the bullets. Mickey leapt at his head, with his Keyblade high above his head.

Yazoo parried the King's attack with the sharp barrel of his weapon, and slashed at him twice. Mickey blocked the two attacks, and kicked off from the ground the moment he touched down again. Yazoo blocked his next attack, and still had time to duck underneath Yuffie's thrown shuriken.

She didn't seem particularly disheartened, however. She ran toward him, sidestepping his bullets as she did so. She leapt forward, her foot flying at his face. It was a solid connection, and he let out a muffled shout from underneath her boot.

Before he had even fallen, Yuffie had vanished in a cloud of smoke. She reappeared on his other side, and kicked him hard in the small of his back, sending him reeling forward. Yazoo lost his footing, and tripped. He then began to roll down the incline directly toward Barret, who had just reloaded his rapid-firing arm-gun.

Fortunately for Yazoo, he was able to roll to his feet a few feet before Barret opened fire. He leapt straight up, and the pavement where he had just stood received a hail of lead. Barret changed his aim immediately, and began firing straight up at Yazoo.

The airborne man miraculously deflected each of the bullets with the blade of his weapon, and managed to get off a few shots of his own before he touched the ground again. Before Yazoo could fire another shot at Barret, Mickey had leapt over the man's head. He struck at him nearly a dozen times before he could completely catch himself.

He was just able to get his blade away from him, and then pointed his gun at the King's head. Suddenly, a kunai whistled over Barret's shoulder, and past Mickey's ear, and struck Yazoo in the shoulder.

He grunted with pain, and quickly ripped it from his shoulder. He tossed it to the ground, and barely had enough time to dive out of the way of Barret's trail of bullets. He ran to the edge of the partially fallen bridge, and vaulted over the edge.

Yazoo fell a long way down, leaving his three opponents to watch his descent.

Mickey was the first one to leap after him, jumping over the side, and rocketing after him. Yuffie leapt after him, angling her body to intercept the still falling Yazoo.

"You know, just because you can do that doesn't mean the rest of us can!" Barret shouted after them in an annoyed tone of voice. Knowing that they'd probably be able to take care of Yazoo before he got to them, he turned his sights back to the main battle, where most of the group was fighting against the Heartless.

!

Nehrut, Bariss, and Red XIII (plus their 'motivational speaker', Cait Sith) were going toe-to-toe with Kadaj.

If Nehrut could describe this brother of Sephiroth in one word, it would be this: FAST. His blade resembled a shining silver blur as he fought.

The five of them were fighting on a building near the ShinRa headquarters that had suffered very, very heavy damage. The place was so run-down, in fact, that several steel girders were all that remained of the top half of it.

Currently, they were all rushing back and forth across these girders, having as much trouble balancing on them as they were fighting against their enemy. Red XIII rushed across one of the beams toward Kadaj, with Cait Sith hanging onto his back, shouting encouragement.

He leapt, and clamped his sharp teeth down onto Kadaj's blade, keeping it stuck in place. He attempted to rip the blade from his grasp, but found that he wasn't quite strong enough to do so.

Unexpectedly, Cait Sith leapt from his comfortable position between Red XIII's front shoulder blades, and into Kadaj's face, his claws extended to rip his eyes out.

Kadaj leapt away, onto a new girder several feet away. He extended his hand, and his double-bladed katana shot from Red XIII's toothy mouth, and into his grasp. The timing had been perfect, because Bariss was a millisecond from slicing his face apart with Rose Blade. Kadaj barely parried the attack, and thrust his blade forward to pierce her chest.

Her shield intercepted the attack, and she continued to block anything he tried on her. Nehrut appeared behind Kadaj, and struck at his back. The man twisted around at the last moment to block the strike, and leapt into the air to avoid another attack from Bariss.

Kadaj jumped from the girder when Red XIII joined them, and onto another one. During the brief lull in the fighting, Nehrut called over to him, "Even if you do capture one of the Keybearers, what happens then? What'll happen to you?"

"Brother's going to tell me." Kadaj replied.

"I guess a _minion_ wouldn't really know." Bariss said.

An odd expression came to Kadaj's face. There was something between a smirk and a pitying smile on his lips. He spoke softly. "So what if I'm a puppet? Once upon a time..." Kadaj shouted his next words, as he rocketed toward Bariss, "You were, too!"

The battle became more and more ferocious, and it was seemingly because of this comment. Bariss didn't like to be reminded of her service to the Brotherhood. It was one of the few things that really set her off. She was moving almost faster than Nehrut had ever seen her move as she slashed and whipped at Kadaj, who met her onslaught with equal intensity.

"She's quite skilled." Red XIII noted.

Nehrut just now realized how ridiculously lucky he was to have survived their initial encounter at all when she was finally able to penetrate Kadaj's guard. She left a narrow gash across his sword arm, which he tried to ignore.

!

Cloud throttled the bike faster than he ever had. He had long since passed into Midgar, and was now riding toward where he could feel Sephiroth. He probably wasn't as surprised as he should have been when it turned out to be ShinRa headquarters.

Sounds of battle floated toward him from across the cityscape as he came ever nearer to the massive tower. He caught sight of a trio of specks flying around the sides of the building, producing great flashes of light that he guessed were showers of sparks from colliding blades.

"Time to settle this." Cloud said to himself. A large side compartment in his motorcycle opened up, and he withdrew with the Buster Sword from within it. He moved it into the scabbard on his back, and turned hard onto an abandoned motorway which ran by the ShinRa tower. Moments later, he was even with the tower, and had a perfect view of the ensuing battle. There were a lot of Heartless.

Sephiroth, Sora, and Kairi were battling in the air not far from him. Cloud poured on just a little more speed, and stood up on his bike. At just the right moment, he kicked off from the bike, and drew his sword in midair.

His blade connected with Sephiroth's, and the two flew at high speed toward one of the nearby buildings. They skidded along the rooftop for a moment, before regaining their feet, and coming to stand on the roof. Coincidentally, Tifa and Zack had been fighting Heartless on this same building, and had just destroyed the last.

Cloud stood still as a statue, looking at Sephiroth, who was now on the far side of the roof.

"Cloud..." Tifa breathed.

He slowly turned his head to meet her gaze, and his eyes softened slightly. "Better late than never, so they say."

"Of course in your case, we can only ever hope for 'late.'" Zack said with a half-smile.

Sora and Kairi landed on the roof near Cloud, and reverted back to their normal forms. "Long time no see, Cloud."

"Sora." Cloud barely looked at him, though he saw what might have been the beginnings of a smile on his face. "I should have figured you were here. You have a talent for attracting trouble."

"Hey!"

"Well, actually, he has a point." Kairi admitted.

Cloud was no longer watching them, however. His fierce gaze had settled on Sephiroth again. He raised his massive blade in front of him. "This is our fight, Sephiroth. Leave them out of it."

Sephiroth smiled slightly. He didn't raise his blade just yet. "So good to see you again Cloud. I was hoping you could make it in time for the finale. But you're wrong in saying that this is only our fight, now. I intend to capture the Keyblade Master over there."

"It's not gonna happen." Cloud replied. "I know you'd rather kill me. Why don't you try for that first?"

Sephiroth chuckled a bit. He raised his blade. "I'm always ready for that."

They both moved at the same time, their blades meeting with such speed and force that Sora thought they might have easily broken the sound barrier. Before anybody else could so much as blink, they were soaring into the air, moving far, far away from the ShinRa building.

"How do they do that?" Sora wondered aloud.

"You can ask Cloud to teach you later, let's just go after them." Kairi said, taking to the air on her Light. She looked at Tifa. "I can carry one more..."

"You go on, Tifa." Zack said. "Make sure that that thick-headed moron doesn't hurt himself. We'll finish things up here."

"Thanks, Zack." She said with a smile. As Sora mounted his Keyboard, Kairi created a thin platform of Light in midair. Tifa carefully stepped onto it, and the three of them took off after Cloud and Sephiroth.

!

"I've been looking forward to this, Cloud. Ever since I joined the Brotherhood, I've waited for the opportunity to return to the Planet." Sephiroth said casually to Cloud, blocking a blow toward his head. He countered with a thrust at his neck, barely missing when Cloud slipped to the side.

Cloud hammered down on his blade, pressing Sephiroth down toward the roof of a nearby building. Cloud followed, barely missing him as he struck down toward him. He left a sizable crack in the roof, and then continued toward Sephiroth with heavy strikes of his weapon.

"So what happens now?" Cloud asked through gritted teeth, pressing Sephiroth back toward the wall of a second building connected to the one they stood on. Sephiroth leapt backwards, kicking his feet off of the wall, and taking to the air again. Cloud followed.

"Once I destroy the Planet, I'll collect the remains of the Lifestream." Sephiroth answered, flourishing his weapon with such speed that Cloud was forced into a retreat. "With its power bent to my will, I'll take the worlds for my own."

"So you'll betray your allies... just like you did us." Cloud snarled.

"It's for the best." Sephiroth said calmly, parrying one of Cloud's overhanded strikes. "It's my destiny to control the worlds... I am the chosen one, and I'll ensure the people across the worlds know their place."

"You're an inspiration to us all." Cloud replied sarcastically.

Sephiroth delivered a hard slash at Cloud's waist. While it only connected with his blade, there was enough power behind it to send him spinning to the ground. Cloud skidded across the pavement of the street below, and slammed into a long-since abandoned car with enough force to dent it.

He got to his feet, putting a hand to the back of his head, which had collided with the door handle of the car. Sephiroth touched down a few short meters away. He lifted his free hand, conjuring up seven explosive balls of dark energy. He gestured, and the projectiles shot toward Cloud.

The blonde swordsman leapt into the air, and the energy struck the car, igniting the gas still in its tank, and overloading the battery. The vehicle exploded in a fireball, sending scorched car parts all over. Fortunately, this particular section of the city had yet to be repopulated, and there were no bystanders that could have been injured by the explosion.

Cloud landed several feet away from Sephiroth, and once more fell into a fighting stance.

Sephiroth made no move to approach him, because he had reinforcements.

With loud battle cries, Kadaj, and the slightly injured Loz and Yazoo rushed from behind him, charging at Cloud with weapons bared.

"Let us help you, brother!" Kadaj said, using a tone that suggested he was hoping to play with Sephiroth in some kind of game. He brought his blade down on top of Cloud's, who only seemed moderately surprised to find three Sephiroth copycats attacking him.

"Fire away, Kadaj. Enjoy yourselves." Sephiroth said casually, standing out of the way to observe the action. Truth be told, it didn't matter to him whether or not his creations were victorious or not. Even if by some miracle they managed to defeat Cloud, their fate would be the same, once he no longer had any use for them.

So, he hung back for a few minutes, enjoying the action. He had to admire the skill of his creations. They fought with reckless abandon in the name of their brother and master, but still seemed to think out their moves, as well. This made for an unorthodox –but deadly- trio of warriors.

Kadaj and Loz gradually pressed Cloud down the empty street with fast, powerful strikes, while Yazoo harried him with gunfire from a safer distance. But, Cloud kept his cool, and while he seemed to be having a hard time getting his own attacks in, he didn't seem to have much trouble protecting himself from theirs.

He suddenly dove completely out of the way of one of Kadaj's swipes, and sprinted behind an abandoned pickup truck. Using the flat side of his blade, he struck the truck on its underside with surprising strength. It flew at the three silver-haired fighters.

Loz and Yazoo dove out of its way, but Kadaj actually ran toward it. He took a running start, and then slid on his back, feet-first, under the truck. After it had passed over his head, he rolled back to his feet, swinging his blade at Cloud's face almost before he could react to it.

The truck smashed into the pavement behind them, and skidded into the wall of a building on the other side of the street. Loz and Yazoo had barely begun to move to rejoin in the fight against Cloud, when they themselves were attacked.

Tifa fell out of the sky, driving her booted feet into Yazoo's chest, and sending him crashing into the ground. She could hear a few things cracking. Just two seconds later, the unsuspecting Loz was blasted in the chest by a narrow beam of Light sent from Kairi's palm.

As he hit the ground, Sora and Kairi landed directly in front of him, Keyblades in hand. Cloud was able to throw Kadaj's blade off of his for just a moment, and stood with the three newcomers, standing in a group, ready for combat.

"You didn't have to do that."

"Cloud, stop being stubborn and just say 'thank you.'" Tifa said, giving voice to Sora's thoughts before he himself could.

Cloud was silent for a moment before relenting. "Thank you."

"Now, was that so hard?" Tifa asked with a smile.

"Where'd Sephiroth go?" Sora asked.

Looking over the advancing Kadaj's shoulder, Sora realized to his horror that the One-Winged Angel was no longer there.

As the four of them battled with his brothers, they looked frantically around the street, trying to catch a glimpse of him, but to no avail.

Sora had a very, very, _very_ bad feeling that something horrible was about to happen.

!

Nehrut, Bariss, Red XIII, and Cait Sith sprinted through the Heartless-infested streets of Midgar, moving away from ShinRa tower, and the main fighting. They were chasing after Kadaj, who had managed to elude them for a brief amount of time after their battle.

Of course, if somebody who could sense where you were by tracking your very mind, chances were that you couldn't escape for long.

"Why'd that pansy leave in the middle o' the fight!" Cait Sith asked. It took a moment for the others to understand him through the thick Scottish accent.

"I think he went to help Sephiroth." Nehrut answered. "He's pretty much all he seems to care about, and he was in a heck of a hurry."

"It makes sense." Bariss said. "And if Loz and Yazoo did the same thing, than whoever was causing Sephiroth trouble in the first place is going to need some help."

"So we're-" Nehrut stopped in his tracks, and looked around quickly. Bariss looked around as well, but couldn't see anything.

What happened next seemed to transpire in slow motion. Nehrut's eyes widened in horror as he saw something over Bariss' head that everybody else had yet to notice. He acted on instinct, and rushed forward. Without warning, he shoved Bariss roughly backwards, sending her sprawling across the pavement.

There was a gasping sort of noise. When Bariss looked back up, there was a seven foot-long blade running through Nehrut's back, all the way through his stomach.

Sephiroth smiled coldly, and contemptuously kicked Nehrut off his blade, sliding it out of his body, and knocking him face-first to the ground.

Bariss held back a scream as she watched him fall. She barely noticed Red XIII leap over Nehrut, and attack Sephiroth.

He led him away back down the street. During this time, Bariss crawled over to Nehrut, not wanting to believe what she was seeing. She reached his side, and turned him over as slowly and as carefully as she could. He was still breathing, though in sharp, shallow, infrequent breaths.

She began to cry when she saw the wound in his stomach, which was oozing blood. A trickle of the coppery liquid dripped from his mouth.

Nehrut was dying.

And it was _her_ fault, because she hadn't noticed Sephiroth herself!

Quickly, she reached into one of the pouches on the leg of her pants, seeking the Elixir she kept there for emergencies. This certainly qualified as one. Nothing else –even the greatest Cure spell- would have even an outside chance of saving him now.

Bariss finally found it, and held it over the bleeding hole in his stomach. Before she could open it, however, a ball of black energy streaked from Sephiroth's palm. It struck her hand, and she cried out in pain, releasing the Elixir, and sending it bouncing across the street, where it cracked open. It spilled its magic contents uselessly onto the pavement.

She clutched at her burned hand, and looked down at Nehrut, wounded far more horribly than her. She cried, and looked down into his face. His eyes were open, but glazed, and filled with pain.

"Stupid, thick-headed, self-sacrificing boy..." She whispered, trying to disguise her grief behind anger.

He weakly replied, "Smart, beautiful, interesting girl."

Now she cried in full force.

!

_And on that painful note, see you in three weeks! Muahahahahaaa!_

_1) Might I recommend playing 'One-Winged Angel' here? The Advent Children version is the best._

_Review please!_


	125. Chapter 124: Fall and Rise

_Oooh, it looks like that last cliffhanger caught you guys off-guard! It's good to know that I managed to create an OC who's fate people care about. So, I'm back to finish the-_

_Bariss: [violently choking the author] "SHUT UP! I need to see how this ends! The monster doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else."_

_!_

Chapter 124: Fall and Rise

"You son of a-!" Riku roared, rocketing at Sephiroth, backed up by his Guardian.

He, along with Yuffie, Mickey, and Vincent, had been going after Loz and Yazoo, respectively. They had gotten there just in time to see Nehrut stabbed by the silver-haired villain.

They weren't happy.

Sephiroth met Riku's enraged assault with a cool smile, deflecting both his and Red XIII's attacks simultaneously. Mickey joined in the attack a moment later.

Yuffie and Vincent stood over the sobbing Bariss and the mortally wounded Nehrut. "Tell me one of you has an Elixir on you." She asked through her tears.

Vincent spread his cape out to both sides, revealing that he had absolutely no pockets. Yuffie quickly emptied out her pockets, looking for anything that could possibly help. Unfortunately, the best that she had was a Hi-Potion, which wouldn't come close to curing the dying telepath.

Bariss looked back down upon Nehrut, realizing that he probably only had a few more minutes. Nobody could save him now.

She took his hand in hers, weeping silently. She whispered to him through her tears, "Don't die on me, please... I- I never got to tell you that I love you."

The truth was finally out. Nehrut didn't respond with words, but squeezed her hand. He placed his other hand –with great effort- over it as well, and ran the pad of his thumb over her burnt knuckle.

Vincent –reluctantly, despite what his typical neutral expression implied- left them to join the fight against Sephiroth, while Yuffie knelt down next to the two. She started tearing up as well.

"There's still hope." Came a voice.

The two women looked up. Standing a few feet away was the transparent figure of a women. This woman had long, reddish-brown hair, and bright emerald eyes. She wore a dull red jacket over a pink and white dress. A soft greenish glow surrounded her.

She looked down at Nehrut with a sad smile. "If we move fast, we can save him."

"Aerith?" Yuffie said.

"Who else?" She replied. She turned her gaze from Nehrut, to the fight against Sephiroth raging just down the street. "They can handle themselves for the moment. You need to follow me."

Not hesitating for a second, Bariss stuck the fallen Presul into her belt, and moved around to Nehrut's top half to lift his shoulders up. Yuffie grabbed his legs, and in a moment they could hold him up between them.

"What have you been eating?" Yuffie muttered irritably to the motionless Nehrut. The telepath was a lot heavier than he looked.

"Hurry." Aerith said, still in a calm, reassuring voice that didn't at all suit the horrible situation. She walked quickly down the other end of the street. Bariss and Yuffie moved as quickly as they could after her glowing form, managing to keep up with her even while holding the semiconscious Nehrut between them.

"Where are we going?" Bariss asked.

"You'll see. Just hurry."

!

It was dusk by now, and there was still a trace of blue and orange on the western horizon. The rest of the sky had gone dark, save for a few stars.

For what must have been the eighth time, Tifa drop-kicked Yazoo into a wall, and Sora was forced to dive out of the way. Loz rushed toward him, driving his fist at his face. Sora raised his blade to smack his fist out of the way. He struck forward, nearly running him through the chest.

Loz leapt backwards onto the hood of a car, setting off its alarm. Sora found it odd that the car –which quite clearly been long out of use- still had an active alarm. Apparently the noise it was making irritated Loz, because he stomped his foot down onto the hood with impressive force, smashing the alarm, and a section of the engine.

Sora transformed his blade into the Keyfist. He leapt up after Loz, aiming a massive punch at his face. Loz leapt backwards yet again, onto the roof of the car, denting it underfoot. Sora followed, aiming another punch at his face. He blocked the assault with his pilebunker, though in the process, lost his footing on the car's roof.

He fell back onto the ground, and met Yazoo before Sora could deliver another punch. Yazoo took a leap away from Tifa, and aimed his gun at Sora, who transformed the Keyfist back into a blade. Yazoo fired, but the Keybearer caught the bullets before they struck him.

At the same moment, Tifa aimed a lightning-fast barrage of punches and kicks at Loz's upper body, most of which connected with concussive force. She finished her assault with a roundhouse kick to the side of his face, which sent him flying completely across the street, and smashing head-first into the side of a building.

Cloud barely acknowledged him as he leapt over him. He drove his blade down onto Kadaj's with enough force to buckle his knees. Kairi came up on his other side, her Keyblade slashing at his midsection. Kadaj blocked it at the last moment, and jumped away from his two opponents.

He regarded them with an angry snarl, and clenched his free hand into a fist. Darkness accumulated around it, and he released it in a large ball toward Cloud. Kairi quickly put up a shield of Light, and which it exploded against. Cloud leapt over the shield, and landed directly in front of Kadaj. He slashed repeatedly at the man, who was giving ground so quickly, that he had him up against a wall in seconds.

In desperation, Kadaj sliced through a nearby light post at its base. It fell toward Cloud. While this only served as a temporary distraction, it still allowed him time to leap away from Cloud, and onto a nearby building.

"Loz, Yazoo! Wrap it up, we need to get back to brother!"

He kicked off from the roof of the building just before Cloud could reach him. He landed on the roof of the building on the opposite end, and sprinted across it as quickly as he could. He kept leaping across the buildings, and Cloud and Kairi followed after him.

Loz and Yazoo ran in the same direction. When Sora and Tifa began to pursue, Loz stopped abruptly. He struck the hood of a nearby car in with his pilebunker, leaving a hole in it. With astonishing strength, he lifted it into the air, and threw it at their pursuers. Yazoo lifted his gun, with a smirk.

He fired rapidly into the hole, striking several sensitive parts.

The front of the car exploded mere feet away from Sora and Tifa, and only a hastily conjured Reflect spell saved them. The wrecked car bounced across the shield, and onto the other side of them, smashing with a loud _boom_ into the side of a building.

They barely paused to register the tactic before they took off after Loz and Yazoo at high speed.

!

Sephiroth parried yet another of Riku's strikes, and smacked away Goofy's shield as it flew at his head.

All of AVALANCHE –with the exceptions of Cloud, Sora, Kairi, Tifa, Nehrut, Bariss, and Yuffie- was fighting him now. The initial wave of Heartless he had sent had all been destroyed. He had plenty more he could have thrown at them, but this fight was just too fun, and he was always up for humiliating an enemy in battle.

"Really, this is pathetic." He taunted as he ducked underneath Axel's chakrams, while blocking a strike from Zack. Xonem appeared behind Sephiroth, his blade arms slashing at his neck. He turned at the last moment, catching the attack with his blade, and throwing it off of it.

He shot straight into the air, over the line of gunfire from Vincent and Barret. Donald shouted, "Thundaga!" and sent a dozen lightning bolts shooting up at him.

Sephiroth vanished before the attack hit him. He reappeared on the roof of another very high building. Riku was all over him almost the moment he landed, striking at his head thrice inside of a second.

"Riku, correct?" Sephiroth said, deflecting the blows. "Ruxik's told me a lot about you. He says you have great Darkness within you."

"I don't use the Darkness anymore." Riku snarled. To demonstrate his point, he punched out his hand, sending a large blast of Dawn at his chest. Musamune collided with it, scattering the energy uselessly into the air.

"Ah, of course. He said you'd deny it." Sephiroth lunged forward, nearly slicing the Keybearer in two. "But you can't escape your Darkness forever. It's in you. It's what you are."

"You're not the first person who's tried the whole Darkness spiel on me Sephiroth. It won't work."

The older swordsman chuckled. He slashed quickly down at Riku's legs, nearly removing them from his body. The Guardian emerged from Riku's back, and rushed forward with its fists clenched. It brought its massive hands down on Sephiroth, only to be blocked by the long blade.

Sephiroth smirked, and released a burst of blazing hot energy from his body. It struck Riku full on, and sent him flying from the building toward the street below.

Red XIII saved him from being crushed by his impact with the ground. He leapt up toward him, snatching his collar with his large teeth. His paws impacted with the side of the building he had fallen from, and he landed lightly on the ground. He lowered the groaning Riku carefully to the pavement.

Donald performed a quick Cure spell on him to treat the burns Sephiroth had given him. The Keybearer looked up toward Sephiroth, standing at the edge of the roof he had thrown him from.

"This is going to be really hard."

!

Aerith had led Bariss and Yuffie to an old church. It certainly wasn't Notre Dame. It was quite tall, but more traditionally- built, made of stone, and complete with a steeple. A round, stained-glass window was set in the front, just above the door. The doorway was empty, its doors broken off the hinges as a result of the destructive attack a few years previous.

The transparent woman walked inside, and the other two followed her.

The inside consisted only of a sanctuary. Wooden planks served as the floor, and rough wooden pews still remained. A large section at the center of the wooden floor was missing. In this space, several flowers (mostly white and gold lilies) had grown. There was a large hole in the roof, through which the night sky could be seen.

Bariss and Yuffie set Nehrut down carefully. His condition had only worsened on the way over. He was still breathing, but that was the only sort of motion coming from him. The rise and fall of his chest was the only sign that he was still alive. Bariss bent over him, and placed her hand to his neck. There was barely a pulse.

"You said you had a way to save him." She said quickly to Aerith. The one she loved only had minutes, maybe only _seconds_ left to live. "Where is it?"

The green glow surrounding Aerith intensified, and left her body. It spread out across the patch of flowers, which also began to glow. Before their eyes, water began to bubble up from the soil beneath them. In less than a minute, there was a large pool of sparkling water in the middle of the church.

Understanding what Aerith intended, Bariss quickly pulled Nehrut toward the pool. She stepped in before him, sinking in up to her knees. With Yuffie's help, she lowered Nehrut into the water, allowing him to sink to the bottom.

She suddenly felt a tingling on her arm.

Bariss hastily lifted it from the water, and discovered that the burn that Sephiroth's attack had left on her hand was shining bright green –the same color as the energy of the Lifestream, she realized. Soon, the glow faded away, leaving the skin underneath completely intact.

Looking down, she realized that the wound in Nehrut's stomach was also glowing, and she felt the beginnings of hope rise up within her.

"Please stay alive, Nehrut..." She whispered, a tear falling from her face, into the water. "I won't last long without you."

"How precious..." Came a snide, familiar voice.

The three women looked up. Standing at the hole in the ceiling were Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo. Of the three of them, Kadaj was the only one who was holding his weapon. "You hope some magic water can save him... so _cute_!"

Bariss snarled, and uncoiled her whip. Behind her, Yuffie already had her shuriken ready to throw. Aerith did nothing, and merely looked upon Kadaj and his brothers with something that may or may not have been sadness.

"Go on ahead of me, boys." Kadaj said. "Tell brother I'll be along shortly. There are a few loose ends that need to be tied up."

Loz and Yazoo left, and Kadaj dropped from about twenty feet up, landing lightly on the ground, in front of the church's alter. He walked over to the edge of the pool, being careful to actually keep his feet from touching the water.

Bariss leapt from the water, onto the bank a few feet away from him. Her green eyes blazed with anger and determination. Her voice was low, menacing, and slow when she spoke. "Your _brother_ just tried to kill the one person I love more than anything else. I've brought him here to get him fixed, and when he wakes up, I'm going to make sure he knows how I feel about him."

She suddenly shouted, "And there is _no way_ in _hell_ that I'm going to let a delusional Sephiroth _wannabe_ STOP ME!"

The pure volume in her voice actually made Kadaj take a surprised step backwards, and Yuffie's jaw nearly hit the floor. Aerith smiled proudly.

Without further warning, Bariss attacked with a shout. And in the minutes where she battled Kadaj, she fought more beautifully than she ever had in her life.

Her whip flew at Kadaj's face, barely missing his left eye, but shearing off a lock of his hair as he leapt backwards away from the attack. She continued to harass him with the end of her whip, before she replaced it with her sai, and rushed toward him. He sliced at her waist as he approached, but she jumped over the sword, and drove her heel into his face.

He fell backwards onto the altar, and leapt off just before she would have been able to stab him. Bariss moved after him, aiming quick, lethal strikes at his upper body, and only narrowly missing each time. She pressed him back towards the edge of the pool. He seemed very nervous to be so close to it.

Kadaj pumped his legs hard, intending to leap across it, and over to the other side. When he was halfway across, Yuffie appeared in a cloud of smoke next to him, and drove her fist into his face, knocking him far off-course. As she herself fell into the water, she threw her shuriken at him. Its blades cut into his side, and he hit the ground ungracefully.

He was barely able to get to his feet before Bariss' whip took his eye out. He brought his blade up, managing to get the end of it wrapped around it. He pulled hard, and managed to release it from her grasp. Kadaj smirked, and ran forward with the intention of finishing her before she could bring one of her other weapons to bear.

He wasn't quite fast enough, and paid for his misjudgment with a narrow gash across his chest. Bariss then drove her elbow into his stomach, causing him to double over in pain. She brought her knee up to the point of his chin, knocking him backwards.

Kadaj quickly pushed himself away from her before she could end his life, and rolled to his feet. He leapt high into the air, toward a landing on one side of the church, near the gaping hole in the roof which he had entered from. Yuffie appeared next to him, swinging her shuriken at his head, which barely missed.

The two dueled back and forth for a moment before Kadaj was able to dislodge the ninja from the landing, and send her falling into the pool of water. But Bariss was there almost immediately to take her place, her reclaimed whip in hand. It whistled all around both of their bodies, leaving gouges on the wall and floor, and stinging wounds on Kadaj's arms and legs.

Kadaj's attacks were starting to become desperate under the pure power of her assault.

!

From Sora's point of view, it appeared that they had arrived just in time.

An entire building (mercifully empty, just like all the others in this slightly isolated section of the city) had collapsed due to the ferocious battle between AVALANCHE and the off-worlders against Sephiroth and his forces.

From what Sora, Cloud, Kairi, and Tifa could see, Sephiroth was dueling Riku, Mickey, Axel, Rude, and Zack simultaneously on the ruins of the collapsed building –and more than holding his own. Red XIII, Cait Sith, and Vincent were battling Yazoo in the remains of a one-story shop-like building. And Barret, Donald, and Goofy were fighting Loz on the street.

But Kadaj was suspiciously absent, as were Nehrut, Bariss, and Yuffie. A sinking feeling entered Sora's stomach when he realized just what might have happened to them.

He stretched out his blade, shooting a ball of fire into the shop where Cait Sith, Red XIII and Rude had been fighting Yazoo. It struck the latter man in the side, and sent him flying into the far wall.

He and Kairi leapt in through the shattered front window. "Where are the others?"

"Yuffie, the telepath, and his lady friend, you mean, lad?" Cait Sith said.

"Yes."

Sora began to suspect the worst when the cat lowered his head, as if hoping to stall for a moment. "What?" Kairi asked slowly.

"Sephiroth got to Nehrut." Vincent answered. "He was in bad shape."

Sora's face paled. "No..."

"Where are they?" Kairi asked quickly.

"Yuffie and Bariss took him somewhere." Red XIII answered solemnly. "Whether or not the young man will make it... we'll see."

Sora went silent, but in his head, he was screaming.

_This isn't supposed to happen! Donald, Goofy and I got through all our first journeys all right! None of us are supposed to..._

He was snapped out of his thoughts when a bullet whistled by his face, less than an inch from his nose. Sora and the others leapt back out the window as a hail of bullets shot at him. Yazoo continued to fire at the five of them, and Kairi fired a beam of Light into the store, striking him square in the chest.

He was on his feet again quickly, and sprinted toward the window, and leapt out toward them, still firing away.

Before he had touched the ground, Sora was striking. His blade met his waist, and sliced deep into it.

Yazoo fell to the ground with a scream of pain, and rolled to a stop in the middle of the street. Darkness seeped from the wound in his side in a massive flow. He writhed in agony on the ground for a moment, until he finally cried out, "Brother! Forgive me!"

With one final convulsion, his entire body transformed into black clouds instantly. The Darkness rushed past Sora and Kairi, up toward the battlefield where Sephiroth was now battling Cloud and Tifa in addition to his other opponents.

The dark mist that had once been Yazoo seeped into the man's skin, and his body let off a reddish flash. If it was even possible, Sephiroth's speed seemed to increase. Sora saw him land a glancing attack on Zack's shoulder, and less than one second later, injure Axel's leg.

"They're a part of Sephiroth..." Kairi said, her face the image of dawning comprehension.

"And as they fall, he becomes whole again..." Vincent caught on.

"Oh, this is bad..." Sora muttered. They had to end this fast, before Kadaj or Loz died and Sephiroth got still more powerful.

He leapt high over the heads of the others, aiming at Sephiroth with his blade held high. Almost casually, Sephiroth raised his blade over his head, and knocked his attack aside. Kairi had been right behind him in the air, and was nearly stabbed through the chest when Sephiroth struck out towards her. Only a sudden manipulation of the Light around her saved her, and sent her spinning to his other side.

Both of them struck at his back at the same time that Cloud stabbed at his chest. Rather than try to meet the three attacks at once, Sephiroth blasted straight up into the air.

"Well, as fun as this has been, I think it's time to raise the stakes and make things more interesting." He stretched out his free hand toward the place where Barret, Donald, and Goofy had been fighting Loz. "Return now, Loz."

The big man smiled even as he began to fade into black mist. "Of course, brother."

The mist rushed toward Sephiroth as he sheathed his blade. A scarlet glow surrounded his body, and he smiled. Cloud rushed up to attack him, but Sephiroth's hand shot out toward him, and a large ball of Darkness shot at him. It struck Cloud in the chest, sending him spinning back to the ground.

"Now..." Sephiroth began, raising his arms to his sides, palms up. The red glow surrounding him intensified, and the very earth seemed to shake. He raised his voice. Sora had never heard the man shout before, and it was unnerving. "Descend meteors of Darkness!"

The night sky was suddenly dotted with pinpricks of a fiery color. They were becoming larger by the second, and in almost no time at all, Sora recognized them for what they were.

"Not again..." He heard Tifa breath, an undertone of panic in her voice. All eyes were locked on the descending meteors.

!

Bariss and Yuffie could also see the imminent death approaching from the sky from the church.

The fighting paused briefly, and even Kadaj looked up through the opening in the ceiling to watch their approach. Almost immediately, he broke out into somewhat manic laughter.

"Looks like your sweetheart won't make it after all." He mocked, looking back at Bariss. "Such a shame. But look on the bright side! You get to go with him into the next life!"

Bariss roared at him again, her whip lashing out at Kadaj's neck. He leapt away from it, and landed squarely on the altar at the head of the room. He chuckled, apparently delighted that he could get the angered reaction out of her.

Yuffie's shuriken whistled at his head, and he smacked it away with his own weapon. Bariss put her whip away, and drew her sai and shield. She leapt onto the altar, and the duel between the two of them began anew.

Aerith turned her attention from the battle, as Yuffie ran to back up Bariss. She looked out of the hole in the ceiling, at the oncoming meteors. She knelt down, and her body began to glow.

!

The party pursued Sephiroth relentlessly across the city, back in the general direction of ShinRa headquarters, attacking at every opportunity. Hopefully, the meteors would cease their approach with his defeat.

Cloud and Sora were in the lead, the latter of them gliding on the Keyboard. Riku and Kairi were flying just behind them. Their attacks had yet to pierce Sephiroth's defenses, but it certainly wasn't for lack of trying. Sleeping Lion and the Buster Sword were blurs as they clashed with Musamune in showers of sparks.

Sephiroth rocketed into the air, landing on a high rooftop. "I've thought of a wonderful present for you." He said to Cloud, and acting almost as though Sora wasn't there.

The blonde swordsman rushed forward, stabbing at Sephiroth's chest. He pinned the large blade to the ground with one movement, and thrust his free elbow forward, catching Cloud in the chin. Riku shot forward, blocking the blow that would have taken Cloud's head off.

Sora ran to Sephiroth's side, and struck at his neck, only to have the blow parried. Cloud rushed forward again, and Sephiroth took to the air again to avoid the attack.

"Shall I give you despair?" He asked.

Cloud went after him, and the others followed the two back to the ShinRa building. Sephiroth landed on a balcony on the side of the building, and they stopped below him. He wasn't far below a section of the building that was just barely hanging onto the rest of the structure. It could fall, releasing nearly a ton of rubble and debris down to the earth with even a little force.

"On your knees... I want you to _beg_ for forgiveness."

He gestured. With a mere twitch of his hand, all of the rubble hanging precariously above him fell without warning. Sephiroth vanished as the piles of rubble rained down toward Sora, Kairi, Riku, and Cloud.

The four of them flew down, away from the debris, and those of their party still stuck on the ground broke into a run in the opposite direction.

Those in the air were just able to get out of the path of falling rubble, and made it to a nearby rooftop. The debris crashed behind them, flattening a smaller building, and shaking the ground beneath it. A large cloud of smoke and dirt erupted from the crash site, and blocked out visibility for a moment.

So it was a miracle that Sora saw Sephiroth's blade slicing towards his neck in time to leap away from the attack. Cloud attacked him the moment he saw him, slashing rapidly at his enemy, only for his blows to be redirected each time.

Sephiroth flew away from them before Riku and Kairi could have their say, and landed on a roof across the street from them.

"You're too late." He taunted, waving toward the sky. The meteors were so close now that they were turning the night into an artificial day. Soon, they would hit Midgar, unleashing untold destruction upon the city. "Whatever happens next, you lose."

"We'll see about that." Kairi replied defiantly. She punched her hand out, sending a ball of Light at Sephiroth. His blade moved up to intercept it, but at the same exact moment, Riku had fired a blast of Dawn at him. The two of them continued to lay down fire against him, forcing him slightly backwards as he deflected the energy.

During the smallest pause in the combat, Sephiroth blasted into the air. Sora grimaced upon realization that a meteor was heading right for them. It was so close that it filled most of his vision.

But yet again, they were saved through unexpected means. All around the building they stood on, massive green tendrils of energy from the Lifestream burst from the ground. They shot over the building, and hit the incoming meteor full on. The massive chunk of burning rock came to a complete halt.

The tendrils of energy surged forward, and the tips stretched to cover the meteor completely. Soon, the rock was completely covered in pulsing green energy.

Without warning, it took off back the way it had come. The shining green rock soared back into the sky, showing no signs of stopping.

Looking around, Sora realized that the same thing was happening in other sections of the city. Not one meteor had impacted with the ground, or the buildings themselves. The green tendrils encompassed them completely, and sent them shooting back into space. The entire city was bathed in a soft green light.

"The Lifestream is protecting the Planet..." Roxas said in awe. "Amazing."

Sora silently agreed with his Nobody. But he had to wonder whether there wasn't somebody controlling the Lifestream, and urging it to do what was needed to protect its host world. But such speculation would have to wait. Already, Cloud had caught sight of Sephiroth again, flying back in the direction of ShinRa headquarters.

!

"No..." Kadaj moaned, looking out into the sky from the hole in the ceiling.

Bariss and Yuffie could see the miraculous actions of the Lifestream as well. The sky was filled with glowing green balls of rock blasting away into the sky like ghostly fireworks, save for the obvious fact that they didn't explode.

Despite everything, Bariss actually smiled. It was amazing, it was promising, and it was beautiful. She looked toward Aerith, who was still kneeling on the ground. She had no doubt that the woman was somehow responsible for what was occurring.

Yuffie grinned. "Lady, you are awesome!"

Aerith smiled, but apparently Kadaj didn't share Yuffie's opinion of her. "You witch! How _dare_ you interfere with my brother's plans!"

Driven by his fury, Kadaj rushed at Bariss with renewed strength, his weapon striking at everything he could reach. By some miracle, he was able to strike the handle of her whip completely out of her grasp, and send the weapon spinning across the room.

She made a minor error, and soon found that her sai was missing from her grasp, as well. And the shield still on her back wouldn't help her much as a weapon, she knew...

_I'll improvise._

Silently pleading with the universe to give her a break, she clutched the handle of Presul –which she had remembered to pick up after Nehrut had dropped it. He had said that one could only use the weapon if they had the permission of its proper owner, so she had her doubts that she'd even be able to hold it properly. Maybe she had only been able to bring it here by a fluke.

She drew it with a flash of blue light, and blocked Kadaj's strike at her head.

_Now we're talking._

Bariss had never trained extensively with a blade longer than her sai, though she had been known to use 'improvised' weapons in the past. And of course, she had watched Nehrut very closely as he wielded the crystal blade.

In a fairly impressive maneuver, she slid Presul along the length of Kadaj's blade, and pressed it down to the ground. She lifted the blade back up, and slashed at his face before he could bring the weapon back up. His quick leap backwards saved him from decapitation, but not without a deep gash on his shoulder.

Bariss rushed forward, adopting a two-handed grip on her borrowed sword. She struck at his legs at the same moment that Yuffie ran in to back her up. She slashed at his head with her shuriken at the same moment Bariss attacked. The result: Two injured shins on Kadaj's part.

He desperately rushed away from the two girls, limping toward the side of the room under which the hole in the roof was situated. Yuffie teleported into his path before he could get too close, and drove her fist into his stomach.

She quickly followed up with an uppercut to his jaw that may have knocked a tooth loose. The force of the attack lifted him a foot into the air, and Yuffie only made it worse. She got into a sort of hand stand, and pumped her legs forward into Kadaj's chest.

He flew through the air, and into the space above the center of the pool of magic water. Before he could even hope to compose himself, Bariss had leapt into the air, Presul held high. With a shout, she drove it down into Kadaj's chest.

With a scream, Kadaj shot straight down into the water. His cries of pain were cut short the instant he hit the water.

He didn't even create a ripple against it. The moment he touched the embodiment of Lifestream magic, he dissolved into black smoke.

Bariss hadn't expected such an abrupt end to the fight, and fell into the water where he had landed with a loud splash. She got fully to her feet, dripping wet.

She looked over at Yuffie, who stood at the end of the pool. "Is that it?"

"I think so." She looked out the hole in the roof at the green meteors retreating into the sky. "Things should be over soon. The others still need to take care of Sephiroth, though..."

Bariss walked back to the end of the pool, where the two women had set Nehrut down. The telepath was still there, and the wound in his stomach was still giving off a faint green light. She bent down slightly, and placed a hand on his neck. His pulse was easier to find this time.

"I'm not leaving him, Yuffie." She said. "Not yet."

"Don't worry, I understand." Yuffie sat down by her at the end of the pool. She looked down at the telepath. "So you're really going to admit that you love him?"

"Yes."

"About time."

!

Sephiroth had gotten even stronger, and Sora could only assume that Kadaj had met his end.

His thoughts raced back to his last confrontation with Sephiroth at Radiant Garden. Compared to this fight, that one had been a walk in the park. Despite the fact that he was fighting alongside Cloud (having been separated from Kairi, Riku, and the others when Sephiroth called more Heartless to back him up) he was having more trouble than he had had in that one-on-one duel.

Sephiroth was giving them no room to breathe, let alone counterattack. Musamune was always in motion, flashing toward their legs, arms, necks, chests, or heads. And sometimes, they just weren't quick enough to avoid it entirely.

Sora now sported a scar on his left arm, along with a narrow gash on his hip, and right leg. Cloud had had a far more narrow escape, and the evidence was in the shape of the cut on his forehead above his left eye. Sephiroth had nearly taken the top of his head off.

The three of them were inside ShinRa headquarters itself, in what had once probably been an office area. With every movement, old desks and computers were cut to pieces. The warriors had already smashed through a few walls.

"It's over Sephiroth!" Sora shouted. "The meteors are leaving the Planet."

"Oh, but Sora, my primary mission is to capture you, not destroy the Planet." He replied. "That was merely a welcome bonus."

"Say goodbye to your bonus." Cloud slashed heavily at Sephiroth's waist. The blow was blocked, and Sephiroth stabbed quickly forward, forcing Cloud to move backwards. He then thrust his hand backwards, blasting the wall behind him open. Sephiroth leapt through the hole, and back out into the open air.

Cloud went after him first, striking repeatedly at him in midair. The two landed on a rooftop a fair distance from ShinRa headquarters, and Cloud continued his assault. Sephiroth made no attempt to strike back, until the worst happened.

Sora still hadn't caught up with them, but he could see Sephiroth's fist shoot forward, hitting Cloud solidly in the face. The blonde swordsman flew backwards. The Buster Sword fell from his hand.

Before he could reach out and grab it, there was a searing pain in his shoulder. Looking down, he saw the end of Sephiroth's blade running through it, pinning him in place on the ground.

He grimaced from the pain, and looked up at Sephiroth. He attempted to move, but only agitated his wound further in his attempts to escape.

"Tell me what you cherish most." Sephiroth said casually. "Give me the pleasure of taking it away."

Unnaturally, this remark seemed to give Cloud renewed strength. With only his gloved hand, he grasped the end of Musamune, and ripped it forcibly from his shoulder. He stabbed it into the ground next to him, and reached out for his own blade.

He slashed at Sephiroth as he came to his feet. The One-Winged Angel narrowly avoided the attack with a quick leap backwards.

Sora landed at Cloud's side.

"I pity you." Cloud said calmly to Sephiroth, his blade held before him. "You just don't get it at all."

Sephiroth responded with a cold smile, and rushed forward. Sora parried the blow before it could even get close to Cloud, who finished, "There's not a thing I _don't_ cherish!"

With this profound statement, Cloud let of a bright flash of golden light, which then hung around him as though he were emitting it from some unknown power source. Just being close to Cloud gave Sora the same golden glow, and suddenly, he felt invigorated, unstoppable, and ready to take on the world.

"Let's settle this!" He exclaimed.(1)

In perfect synchronization, Cloud and Sora leapt to either side of Sephiroth, still shining. The struck their blades into the ground, and ran around Sephiroth in a circular pattern. Where their blades touched, they created openings through which bright golden light burst.

When the circle around Sephiroth was completed, Sora and Cloud leapt high into the air, to meet in the center of the circle. The moment their blades touched, the golden energy flooded into the circle, and exploded in a massive burst of light.

The explosion threw Sephiroth straight up into the air, and he didn't fall back to the ground until nearly ten seconds later.

"Almost there!" Sora prompted, landing with Cloud a few feet away from their enemy. The glow surrounding the both of them quickly changed from bright gold to sea blue.

Cloud blasted toward Sephiroth at high speed the moment the man got to his feet. He sliced upward when he was within range of him, sending the silver-haired man high into the air, wounded from the blade's impact with his chin.

He was nearly fifteen feet in the air, when Sora appeared a short distance from him. He thrust forward with his shining Keyblade, striking Sephiroth in the chest with incredible strength.

Sephiroth blasted away, colliding painfully with the roof of a nearby building. Before he could so much as move, however, Cloud was there again. With another upward slash of the Buster Sword, Sephiroth was airborne again, and within seconds, Sora had smashed him down again.

This continued for a few minutes, until the mighty Sephiroth was flailing around like a rag doll.

"It's over!" Cloud shouted.

He and Sora landed next to each other. The two instantly turned gold once more.

Cloud tossed his massive blade into the air, and the glow surrounding it intensified. Suddenly, large bars of golden energy shot from the blade, forming five swords of pure energy. Sora repeated him, tossing his Keyblade skyward, and producing three copies of it.

These ten shining blades hovered in the air for a moment in a circular formation, their tips pointing inward at the severely beaten Sephiroth. He gazed at them for a frozen moment, and then Sora and Cloud punched their fists together.

The ten energy blades surged forward at this movement. One at a time, they ran through Sephiroth, leaving no visible mark on him, but causing horrible damage to his body nonetheless.

The ten blades speared through him, and then shot into the air, forming one huge golden energy blade pointing directly down at the top of his head. Without warning, it shot down onto Sephiroth, and exploded on contact.

There was enough energy behind the blast to reduce the building they stood on to rubble. Sora and Cloud were forced to leap clear of what had become ground zero, and land on the street. The golden glow faded from their bodies.

"You're done." Cloud said to the pile of rubble.

The two walked cautiously forward, searching for Sephiroth, but still wary of a sneak attack. It didn't take them long to find him.

He was half buried under the debris. Darkness seeped up from the numerous wounds adorning his body. Sora was dimly aware of the rest of their party approaching from behind them, the Heartless seemingly having been dealt with.

"What do you know?" Sephiroth said weakly, his eyes shut tight. "You've actually won."

"Try not to sound too disappointed." Cloud replied.

Sephiroth chuckled weakly. "So suddenly you can tell jokes. Well, I've changed you quite a bit, haven't I?"

"You won't anymore." Sora said. "You're finished, Sephiroth."

"We'll see about that, Sora." He replied. "Make no mistake, the Brotherhood will catch up with you with or without me. And Serndask rewards those who are faithful to him. Perhaps he'll see fit to resurrect me, and I'll have a second chance."

He opened his eyes, and looked Cloud full in the face. He was smiling horribly. "Until then..."

At long last Sephiroth dissolved into white mist. At long last, the Planet was safe from his influence.

The One-Winged Angel would haunt them no longer.

In a symbolic act that only he could understand, Cloud stabbed the Buster Sword down into a chunk of rubble, under which Sephiroth had been crushed. He took the end of the large, durable bandage wrapped around its blade. Slowly, he unraveled it, and then held it between his hands.

With a firm twist, he ripped a small section of the end off. He tied this section of the dirty bandage around his arm, as a reminder of the struggles of the past. He allowed the rest of the bandage to fall to the ground.

With this small act complete, he took his uncovered blade, and placed it into the scabbard on his back. He turned to face his gathered friends. For the first time in ages, a genuine smile appeared on his lips.

"It's finished."

With those words, Tifa rushed forward, and embraced Cloud tightly. He seemed more than happy to return the sentiment, burying his face into the gap between her neck and shoulder.

Sora smiled fondly at the two, as the others around them surged forward to hug Cloud and Sora. Almost immediately, Kairi was upon Sora, kissing him senseless.

But she stopped too quickly for Sora's liking, and pulled back with a suddenly nervous expression. "Nehrut..."

!

The last of the glowing green meteors had vanished into the night sky moments ago. The tendrils of Lifestream energy had sunk back into the depths of the Planet. Midgar was safe at last.

Cloud had led them to a place where he believed that Nehrut, Bariss, and Yuffie were. It turned out to be the correct one. Before the doors of the church stood the transparent figure of Aerith.

While this greatly surprised Sora, he was spared having to ask a question. "I spent a great deal of time here, Sora. I'm a better sorceress than you probably expected. Now hurry, come inside."

Yuffie was still sitting at the end of the pool when they arrived, and most of them joined her there. Riku clasped her hand comfortingly, and she pulled him closer to her, as she gazed into the water.

Bariss hadn't left Nehrut's side for an instant. She was kneeling down in the water, with her hand on his neck, monitoring his pulse constantly.

"How is he?" Sora asked quietly.

"I can't say." Bariss had been hopeful at first, but Nehrut had yet to budge an inch. He had remained in the exact same position for practically an hour, and there had been little change in his condition.

Her hopes were growing dim, and she moved her hand away from his body to wipe away the beginnings of tears from her eyes.

As if this was some kind of signal, Nehrut's eyes opened beneath the water.

All was still for a few frozen seconds, before Nehrut actually realized that he was underwater, and in need of fresh air. He surfaced quickly, sitting up as much as he could, and coughing up water.

After he parted the dripping hair hanging over his eyes, he saw where he was. He looked at the assembled faces, all of them wearing identical expressions of equal awe and barely restrained joy.

"Did we win?"

This one simple comment broke the tension in the air, and they all cried out in happiness -save for Vincent and Rude, who smiled slightly.

Nehrut smiled, and his eyes settled on Bariss. She looked poised on a knife's edge between crying and laughing.

Slowly, he reached over to her, and took one of her hands gently in his. He leaned closer to her, and touched his forehead to hers. Their eyes locked onto each other's. He spoke his next words softly, to where only she would be able to hear them. That was fine, because they were meant only for her.

"I love you, too."

Bariss sprang forward, and finally gave into months of temptation. Her lips met his, and it was like a fire had been unleashed between them. She pulled him as close as she could, kissing him desperately. He gladly returned the kiss, tightening his hold on her waist.

The two fell over into the water, not caring where they were. They merely continued to kiss.

"Finally!" Axel shouted with a loud laugh.

A flash came from the far end of the church, just over the altar. Amidst the celebrating, Sora was the only one who noticed it. The Planet's Keyhole appeared on the wall, and he summoned Oblivion to his hand.

He pointed it at the Keyhole, and blue light shot from the end of the blade. It speared into the opening, and it let off more light. But in addition to the usual effects of a closing Keyhole, greenish energy poured out of it.

The magic of the Lifestream poured into the church, spreading across the ground. Before their eyes, the energy began to repair the heavily damaged church one bit at a time. Great sections of wall and flooring were rebuilt from timbers that had appeared from nowhere. Broken glass flew back up into the window panes.

It was a moment of pure magic, of love, and of victory. It was magnificent, and everybody present would cherish the memory forever.

At long last, Bariss pried herself reluctantly off of Nehrut, and looked down at him (she had herself propped up over him). She smiled, and a happy tear slid down her cheek. He reached up, and wiped it gently away.

"Don't scare me like that again."

Nehrut sat up, and pulled her to him. He gently cupped her cheek in his hand. "I won't. Promise."

!

_You have no idea how long I've been waiting to write that. Feels good! Really, really good. Even better now that my windpipe has been released by Nehrut's biggest fan._

_1) 'Ultima Slash'_

_So, hope that you all enjoyed this arc! And as a special announcement I tell you now that things are going to change within the fic… Up to this point we've been doing a lot of world-hopping. The format is going to change in a very significant way._

_We're closing in on Pax Pacis… But until then…_

_Review, please!_


	126. Chapter 125: Interception

_[DarthKingdom walks in, soaking wet, clothes tattered, with an assault rifle over his shoulder and a large bit mark on his leg.]_

_Nehrut: "Where the heck have you been!?"_

_Sora: "We've been waiting!"_

_I don't want to hear it!_

_Anyway, sorry everybody for my long absence. I got sidetracked by quite a few things, and continuing this story had to take a backseat for a little while. But I'm back now! And my New Year's resolution is to try and update at least two or three times a month._

_Anyway, I kind of left things off on an odd note, but the general 'format' of this story is about to take a major shift. So at long last, here we go!_

_Sora: "Great! DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else he might use in this story he didn't personally create."_

_!_

Chapter 125: Interception

A few months previous, Nehrut never had only dreamed of being able to kiss Bariss without fear of rejection. But, in the twelve or so hours since the Planet's Keyhole had been sealed, that was about all that he had been doing.

The two of them were on 'their' couch in the lounge, lost in each other. Bariss was holding herself above him, with his shoulders pinned to the cushions. They had been exchanging gentle kisses for quite some time in this position. The rest of the party had kept clear of the lounge to allow the two a bit of privacy.

"We waited way too long to do this." He murmured.

She laughed quietly. "Well then, we'll just have to make up for a few months of lost time, won't we?"

"That'll be fun." He leaned up to her, kissing her yet again.

"Geez, were you two at it all night?" Axel asked groggily, walking into the room with a newspaper in hand, and clutching a cup of coffee.

Nehrut groaned, and looked over at the grandfather clock sitting on one wall of the room. It was about eight o'clock in the morning –in galactic standard time. They really had been at it all night. Somehow, they weren't tired.

"I don't think that's any of your business, Axel." Bariss replied casually, before returning to Nehrut's lips.

"Well if you're going to suck each other's faces off, you could at least do it in another room."

"You're just jealous."

"Yes, that _must_ be it." Axel rolled his eyes.

"You know," Bariss said slyly, "I hear that Liasa is still available."

Axel froze. "Who told you?"

"The spiky-headed Keyblade Master."

"I'll kill him." Axel muttered, stalking out of the room.

Once he had left, Bariss looked down at Nehrut. "I think I just bought us about fifteen more minutes."

"You are a brilliant girl." Nehrut grinned, pulling her down to him. They didn't even look up when they heard the far-off fight between Axel and Sora, which Goofy immediately set upon breaking up. Though eventually, Bariss started to giggle, and the two broke into peals of laughter.

"I love you." Nehrut whispered.

A few hours passed, and at around noon, the two of them had gotten some rest and Axel had recovered from his injuries. The party of ten was gathered in the kitchen/dining room, enjoying a light lunch.

King Mickey emerged from his grilled cheese sandwich for a moment. "Everyone, I have an announcement to make."

Naturally, this caught their attention quickly. Usually, when the King said something like this, it meant he had found a new concentration of Darkness hovering over a world, and would announce their next destination.

But instead, he said, "As you are all obviously aware, Nehrut and Bariss finally fessed up to their feelings for each other yesterday evening."

Nehrut and Bariss grinned, and many of the others chuckled.

"While this is wonderful news due to the fact that there's a little more love in the worlds," Mickey continued, "It is also good for another reason... Yesterday is one of the days I picked for the pool!"

Nehrut and Bariss gaped, while the rest of the team reached into their pockets, emerging with wallets and pouches containing munny. They each dumped out ten to twenty munny apiece onto the table. Mickey grinned and raked them in, dropping them casually into his own wallet.

"You had a pool...?" Nehrut said.

"Yeah." Sora answered with a grin.

"We figured we'd have some fun with your romantic tension." Yuffie finished.

Nehrut telepathically knocked Yuffie's chair out from under her, sending her crashing gracelessly to the floor. "Good to know that our love life is funny to you."

"We want half the munny." Bariss said to Mickey.

"Sorry. It's as good as spent." Mickey chuckled. He reached for a glass of water sitting on the table near him, and raised it into the air. "To Nehrut and Bariss."

Things got out of hand then.

The ship jerked to a stop, indicating that they had just jerked out of warp space. Everything that wasn't bolted down slid a little ways forward. This was disturbing; as the ship's equilizing systems should have prevented this.

A moment later, something rocked the ship with enough force to launch many of them from their seats.

"We're under attack!" Sora shouted unnecessarily. He was the first to his feet, and he rushed into the hallway leading back to the bridge. The others were behind him just moments later.

When Sora reached the bridge, he leapt completely over a bank of consoles, and into the pilot's seat. He switched the autopilot off by hitting a few switches, and jerked the ship hard to port.

The view outside was a mass of pitch black and purple space, dotted with silver and gold stars. Clusters of massive red-orange nebulae were nearby, giving immediate space an unsettling 'evil' appearance. In this particular section of the cosmos, asteroids of varying sizes were gathered. Sora observed lava bubbling from the surfaces of some of them, and guessed that they were all volcanic in nature.

Donald was the next to make it to his chair, surrounded by sensors and screens. He did a quick check."On our six! A few squadrons of Heartless vessels, and one really big ship!"

"Put it on screen." Sora said, switching into what he called his 'Commander Mode.'

A small section of the viewport suddenly depicted the space behind the _Unity_. As Donald had described, there were several small Heartless ships pursuing them. The majority of these ships were of the round blueish variety, with three spinning fins that fired lasers. Though these alone were no great threat, Sora didn't like the look of the sleek black triangular ones streaking toward them at higher speed.

Just behind these was a ship roughly the same size of the _Unity_. It was bronze, with red viewports, and had two large fins on its underside. It bristled with weapons.

This mysterious ship sent a quartet of proton torpedoes flying through the vacuum toward them. Sora guessed that those things had rocked their vessel moments before.

"Riku, intercept those torpedoes with laser fire, and then lay down fire on the Heartless!" He ordered. "Donald, how's the ship?"

"Holding fine." He quacked. "Our tail was scorched with the opening attack, but the shields are up now."

"Make sure they stay that way. Riku, torpedoes?"

"Taken care of."

"Nice." He turned his head to look at the others on the bridge. "Strap yourselves in, this is going to get messy!"

Without further warning, he propelled the ship forward at breakneck speed, juking easily around asteroids. This prompted a barrage of heavy laser fire from the large ship tailing them with the Heartless. Thanks to Sora's superb piloting, most of these bolts missed, though those that didn't caused an unsettling shaking of the ship.

The Heartless went ahead of it, executing their own attack runs against the massive _Unity_. For the most part, they accomplished nothing, and soon exploded in bursts of Darkness as Riku's laser bolts hammered into them.

Once, the line of fire from one of their laser turrets met with a relatively small asteroid, which exploded in a fairly impressive fashion, and took a handful of Heartless with it. Sora made a mental note of that for later.

"Incoming transmission!" Donald shouted.

"Patch it through."

A small section of the viewport now showed the interior of an unfamiliar bridge. There were three people there. A lizard-like creature sat to the left, a costumed man was on the right. A dangerous-looking woman in green sat at the pilot's seat.

"This is the _Assailant_." Shego said. "You should pull over, kiddo. This is a no-fly zone."

"By that, you mean that you're working for the Brotherhood, and are trying to kidnap us, right?" Sora replied dryly.

"Pretty much, yeah." Syndrome confirmed. "Smart kid."

"Either way, shortie," Shego continued, "Just shut down your ship, allow us to board, and this'll all go a lot more smoothly."

"Here's our answer." Riku said, arming a dozen proton torpedoes. In seconds, he had them locked onto the _Assailant_. "Goodbye, now."

Twelve torpedoes spiraled through space. Out of all of them, two struck asteroids, and took several Heartless with them as they exploded. Another three struck the Heartless themselves before they reached the large ship.

The remaining seven, however, took _Assailant_ head-on. They struck the front of the ship, exploding against them almost all at the same time. One torpedo took it full in the bridge.

The ship kept advancing, firing rapidly as it came. Sora grunted in irritation upon seeing how little damage that had inflicted. That thing either had very powerful shielding or good armor. It possibly had both. Either way, the vessel had taken only minimal damage from the torpedo barrage, which meant that things were about to turn very unpleasant.

"_Real_ scary." Randall replied casually. He looked down onto the console before him, and hit a few things.

A pair of large rockets (which were about the size of an average Gummi ship) launched from the underbelly of the _Assailant_, and streaked toward _Unity_ at high speed.

Sora punched forward, spinning the ship to try and throw the projectiles off of their designated target locks on his engines. They still pursued him. Riku opened up on them with the laser turrets, though to their horror, the lasers didn't seem to have any effect. Sora surmised that they may have had their own shielding units.

It was time to think creatively, because sooner or later, those things would catch up with them.

Struck with inspiration, Sora all but shut down the engines, and allowed the ship to idle in space, not far from a particularly large asteroid.

"What are you doing!?" Donald exclaimed.

"Just trust me!"

The rockets closed in on them quickly, and were seconds away from colliding with the Unity, and making an unrecognizable mess of the warp engines and most of the ship, when Sora acted.

The engines roared back to life, and blasted the ship over the rim of the asteroid, barely skimming its underbelly along its surface as he did so. Barely one second later, the rockets smashed into the asteroid, and detonated.

The explosion ripped apart the chunk of space rock, and caused it to release an intense, fiery explosion of its own. It consumed the remaining Heartless, and scorched the nose of the _Assailant_ as it pursued _Unity_.

Sora rocketed away, feeling rather proud of his maneuver.

"Incoming!" Donald quacked, killing the moment.

A dozen or so small projectiles struck the ship all over. There was a slight tremble that everybody could feel beneath their feet. There was an ominous rumbling from the back of the ship, and all of the electrical systems flickered down. The bridge was cast into semi-darkness.

"What just happened?" Kairi asked.

A very calm, feminine-sounding computer voiced intoned. "Power has been shut down by an outside source. Emergency backup power online. Life-support systems only are active."

"Oh, crap..." Yuffie said.

"Electromagnetic pulse... Can we get the engines back online?" Mickey asked.

As if understanding the King's question, the computer replied in its annoyingly calm voice, "Estimated time to reboot: Twenty minutes."

"Everybody stay calm." Sora said. "They want to capture a Keybearer, so they won't just blow us up while we sit here. All we have to do is fight them off when they try and board us, and then get away when the power comes back online."

There was a chiming from the console, signaling an incoming message. Apparently the communications equipment fell under the category of 'life-support' and hadn't been shut down by the EMPs. Donald pressed a finger to a button, and the bridge of the _Assailant_ came into view once more.

"How'd you like the EMP mini-missiles?" Syndrome asked. "Made 'em myself."

"Here's the situation." Shego began with a cruel grin. "We're approaching your ship now, and will board you momentarily. Your ship will be locked in a tractor beam. Now, I know you're thinking about fighting us off on the inside. Well, not only are we more than a match for you, but just in case..."

Randall held up a small remote-like object. "When our ships connect, high-explosive devices will be attached to your hull. Any funny business and I blow the charges, ripping your pretty ship to shreds."

"Try anything, and you all die." Shego continued. "So, you'll understand why it'd be best to stand down. See you in a minute!" The screen went blank.

The ten of them sat there in silence for a moment, save for Yuffie's quiet groaning as a result of her sensitive stomach. This was worse than anything that had yet happened to them. There seemed to be no way out. Out of the front viewport, they could see the belly of the _Assailant_, hovering over them. Their bridge seemed to be in between the two fins on its underside.

"We're screwed, aren't we?" Nehrut said.

Sora was about to reply, when he felt an odd sensation. It seemed that something in his jacket pocket was rapidly heating up...

!

Shego, Syndrome, and Randall walked down the corridor of their ship which led to the entrance to the _Unity_. As they did, explosives were being fastened to the hull of the ship, and Randall was making last-minute adjustments to the remote detonator in his hands.

"How's the ship holding up?" Shego asked Syndrome.

The man activated a device on his left gauntlet, which contained state-of-the art computer and personal weapons systems. He called up a schematic of the _Assailant_, which immediately began to provide information on the status on their vessel.

He then proceeded to geek out.

"That pilot is _awesome_!" He exclaimed, pointing at a few sections on the bow of the ship. "The gunner's no slouch, either! Those torpedoes at the beginning of the fight nearly tore our shields apart! And did you see that maneuver with the asteroid? That explosion ripped through our shields and caused fifty percent hull damage! Nobody's ever done that to us befo-"

"Can it!" Randall barked.

"Yeah, this is why we _never_ dated." Shego added. "Just get the repair drones started on the maintenance before the vacuum tears us apart."

Syndrome huffed, and hit a few more tiny buttons on his gauntlet.

The three arrived at a sealed door, which was actually on the _Unity_. Just before they opened it themselves, it hissed open, revealing the crew of the other ship on the opposite side. Each of them had defiant looks on their faces.

Syndrome pointed at them with one gloved finger. A beam of narrow blue energy burst from his fingertip, and streaked at Sora, who was at the head of the group.

Rather than the searing pain Sora had expected, he suddenly found himself completely frozen in place. He, along with everyone near him, was trapped in some sort of energy field, still connected by a narrow beam of energy to Syndrome's finger. With a twitch of his finger, the masked man pulled them into the corridor, floating slightly above the ground.

"Nice, huh?" He said. "Zero-point energy. Don't try to move, you'll just strain yourselves."

Randall performed a quick head count on the floating captives. "That's ten, just like the intel said." He smiled toothily. "Four Keybearers. Thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Bonus." Shego agreed, with a similar smile. "Alright, you two get the mark on them and stick 'em in the hold. I'll prep the ship for launch. Randall, don't take your eyes off them, and leave your finger on that convenient 'blow everything up' button."

"Count on it."

As the two of them walked their prisoners down the hallway, Shego glanced into the interior of the _Unity_. When her partners rounded a corner, and were out of sight, her eyes fell upon something unusual.

Sitting on the floor just inside the doorway was a small, silver pendant. Out of curiosity, she walked over to it, and bent down to pick it up.

The door hissed shut, and sealed itself behind her. At the same instant, light burst from the charm in her hand, and there was a loud roar.

!

"Now sit quietly, and try to behave yourselves." Randall said from the other side of the security field.

Sora and the others were in a containment cell. The evil mark had been applied to their foreheads, and their forearms and lower legs had been stuck in high-tech restraints that completely prevented their use.

They had then been thrown to the ground in an empty cell with three very thick walls. The entrance was blocked by a crackling wall of orange-colored energy, which Randall said would severely burn anybody that touched it.

"We'll be underway in a few minutes." Syndrome said. "Try not to squirm, or the field might prove to be a problem for you."

The two turned their backs on the cell, and walked out of the brig. The door slammed shut behind them, and there was a beeping noise as it automatically locked itself.

"Let's make this quick." Sora said, shaking his upper body just enough to let a silver charm slip from his jacket pocket.

It let off a brief flash of light, and a moment later, there stood Mr. Incredible. He looked just as he had when Sora had summoned him back at Adam's Castle, and when he had appeared to the group back at the bridge on the _Unity_.

The super helped Sora to his feet, and crushed the restraints on his arms with barely any movement. "How much time have we got until power comes back online?"

"Fifteen minutes." Sora answered as he destroyed the restraints on his legs. He quickly wiped away the mark on his forehead. He reached into his pocket as Mr. Incredible went to work on everybody else's restraints. "We need to hurry."

He dropped the charm to the ground, letting Kim Possible appear before them. She winked at him, and began to dig around in the pockets on her belt. "It's been a while since I used this." She said, withdrawing a small, circular metal object.

She tossed it into the energy field. It stuck there for a moment, and unusual ripples began to appear in the field. It beeped rapidly, and in seconds, the thing had flickered out of existence, and the metal ball dropped to the floor, smoking.

"Where do you get stuff like that?" Sora asked.

"Ten year-old super-genius." She replied casually.

"Really?"

"What, like you haven't heard of stranger things?"

"She's got you there, Sora." Goofy said.

"Alright, we need to get the detonator from Randall, and shut down the tractor beam." Mr. Incredible said.

"While Sulley holds off Shego." Mickey finished, withdrawing a small printed diagram of the _Assailant_ (a ship which had been stolen months before from a military base on Shego and Kim's world) that the three Summons had provided. "We divide into three groups, and tackle all of them at once. Let's move."

!

The first group consisted of Sora, Kairi, Kim, and Axel. These four made their way as quietly as possible through the ship's corridors, working their way to the bridge. Fortunately for them, it only took a few moments to arrive at the correct doorway.

Kim produced a small device from one of her pockets, which seemed nothing more than a small, flat thing with a screen on the front. She slid it into the narrowest of gaps in the door, and pulled it back out a few seconds later.

He screen showed the inside of the large bridge. It was empty, save for Randall, who was sitting alone at one of the command chairs. He held the detonation remote lightly in his hands. He only needed a half a second to press the button, and blow the _Unity_ (and likely, part of the _Assailant_) to pieces.

Kim pulled out another one of the little balls that she had used to short out the containment field in their cell. She whispered, "This shuts down any electrically-powered object within five feet, so I'll need to get it close."

"Make it count, then." Axel said, summoning his chakrams.

Kim took a deep breath, and clutched the little ball tightly in her hand. Kairi pressed a button by the doors, which hissed open.

In the microsecond before Randall could turn around to see who had entered, Kim had lobbed the device directly at him. It struck him in the side of the head, and activated with a loud beeping.

The tiny light on Randall's remote, which signaled that it was fully operational, abruptly went out. And before he could do anything about it, a narrow beam of Light had shot across the bridge, and struck him in the chest. He flew out of his seat, twisting wildly in the air, to smack one of the walls of the bridge.

Sora and the others rushed into the room. The Keyblade Master snatched the controller from where it had fallen, and stuffed it into his inside pocket.

But no sooner had he done so then he felt a solid impact on the side of his face. He fell to the ground with a grunt, but immediately leapt back to his feet to see what had struck him. He could see nothing.

But something smashed into his chest, and then his back, hip, and jaw. He fell back to the ground, winded.

Seemingly out of thin air, Randall materialized before him, his face inches away from his. He had very horrible breath. "Look at the big, bad Keybearer now."

A ball of Light shot at him, and he barely slithered out of its path. Sora got back to his feet, summoning Oblivion. He aimed a slice at Randall, who leapt backwards away from the attack. He landed on a computer console, and leapt completely off of it when Axel's chakrams flew at him.

He hit another wall, sticking to it with all of his limbs. He growled at them, and vanished. Sora only now realized that his skin changed color to blend in with anything around him. For all intents and purposes, he was a big, smart, deadly chameleon.

Fortunately, even chameleons cast shadows. Sora could see Randall's sliding rapidly across the floor toward him, and lunged forward. He felt the rush of air past him, as Randall slithered out of harm's way. He heard the solid 'thump' and a grunt of pain, when Kim leapt over to him, and kicked the disguised creature in the face.

Randall staggered away, his camouflage slipping away. For a moment, he turned an unusual checkered pattern, before vanishing from sight again.

!

The maintenance room sat a few floors beneath the bridge in which this fight was transpiring. This large, somewhat noisy room housed the equipment that controlled the engines, and much of the weapons systems.

As it so happened, the controls for the tractor beam keeping the _Unity_ locked into place were down here as well. This was why Nehrut, Bariss, Mickey, and Mr. Incredible were here. They planned on causing as much damage as possible.

It would have been a lot simpler if Syndrome hadn't been overseeing the repairs to the shield systems in the room. A few hovering, spherical drones were arrayed around a large, complex-looking machine at one end of the room, which they understood to be the shield generator. It looked like several large, glowing blue rings had been stacked on top of each other and attached to computer monitors.

Fortunately, Syndrome had his back to them, and the loud rumbling of the machinery all around them also served to disguise their presence.

"We take him down, and trash everything." Mr. Incredible said.

"That's our plan?" Mickey said.

"I like it." Nehrut commented. "Simple, and easy to remember."

He reached out slowly with his hand, keeping his other on the hilt of his sheathed blade. Beside him, Bariss and Mickey had already drawn theirs. He focused his attention on the five hovering robots that were working on the shield generator.

Before Syndrome could so much as blink, he had launched the drones into his chest, denting them, and releasing gouts of sparks from their metal bodies. He shouted in surprise, and they hit him with such force that he flew halfway across the room.

The others sprang into action. Mr. Incredible leapt through the air, and pinned Syndrome's shoulders to the ground, whilst standing on his back, keeping a firm hold on his hands.

"Hey, Buddy. Miss me?" He growled.

"Not you again!" Syndrome began to squirm in his old enemy's grasp, trying in vain to get free.

"Make it fast, guys!" He urged, tightening his grip.

Nehrut turned his attention to the not-fully-repaired shield generator. He stretched out both hands, and with a great effort, ripped the cylindrical structure from the ground. "No shields for you guys."

There was an unusual noise from behind him. He turned, and discovered that Syndrome's boots appeared to be smoking. But before his eyes, he saw the man rocket forward, dragging the surprised Mr. Incredible along behind him.

"Rocket boots! What'dya think?" He exclaimed.

Syndrome somehow managed to make it into the air even with the very heavy man on top of him, and quickly performed a series of barrel rolls mere inches from the ceiling. He was barely able to shake Mr. Incredible off of him, and quickly pointed at him, catching him in one of his odd energy fields.

He stopped in midair, and threw the man as hard as he could into a bit of machinery on the far wall. Mr. Incredible went completely into this contraption, crumpling it like paper around him. He must have been _very_ heavy.

Nehrut acted on instinct, and shot the shield generator up at Syndrome. Unfortunately, he saw it coming, and pointed at it, wrapping it in another energy field. He made the slightest gesture, and shot it right back at the telepath.

He punched out his hands, and the field stopped halfway to him. They continued like that for a few minutes, each of them trying to push it back at the other. When it looked for a moment that Nehrut would prevail, Syndrome shut down the field, and rushed to the side as the machine hit the ceiling inches away, breaking into pieces.

He pointed both fingers down at his four opponents, and fired rapid bolts of blue energy down upon them, which created small explosions upon contact with anything they touched. Bariss raised her shield, and the bolts pounded against it with greater force than she had anticipated, pushing her slowly backwards.

They continued hammering into her raised shield, until she finally lost her grip on it from a well-placed shot. One of the follow-up bolts was three inches from her eye when Nehrut's blade moved to catch it. The telepath himself moved into the path of the fire, his blade a blur around him as he caught the bolts.

"So how many times is this you've saved me?" Bariss asked.

"You know, I've lost count." He replied with a grin. "But I think we're about tied when it comes to saving each other."

Mickey leapt into the air, drawing Syndrome's fire away from Nehrut. He was very quick and agile, however. Syndrome barely missed the King every time.

Mickey jumped up onto a large generator-like machine, and leapt directly at Syndrome, blocking incoming fire in midair. When he was within range, his Keyblade lashed out at Syndrome's head. Only a desperate 'fall' backwards turned what would have been a fatal blow into a scrape across his nose.

But in the split second he wasn't paying attention to anything else, a large sealed metal container flew through the air, and smacked into the small of his back. He flipped through the air, and hit the opposite wall.

He growled at Mr. Incredible, and chucked the container right back at him. The super caught it easily in both hands.

!

Riku opened the hatch to the _Unity_, and saw the hairy blue mass that was Sulley fly past the doorway.

"Shego's stronger than she looks, then." Yuffie muttered, tossing her shuriken back and forth between her hands.

Shego herself ran past the doorway after Sulley, a scowl fixed on her face. Her hands were burning with bright green fiery energy, which cast her face into an eerie green glow.

The Keybearer leapt into her path, Way to Dawn held in a ready position. Donald ran over to aid Sulley, while Goofy and Yuffie joined Riku. Shego seemed very surprised to see them free. With an angry shout, she thrust her hands forward, spewing green, fiery energy toward them in a large wave.

Riku summoned a protective barrier of Dawn to catch the blow, and the energy splattered against it, leaving them unharmed. Shego didn't slow down, and leapt after the energy had dissipated, completely over the shield. She aimed a kick at Riku's head, which he was barely able to duck beneath.

Yuffie's shuriken flew at her head, nearly removing it completely. As it was, Shego ducked beneath the projectile, and leapt over toward the ninja, her hands burning with green energy. She swiped twice at her head, though Yuffie ducked beneath the attacks, feeling the heat of them against her face as they passed.

Goofy threw his shield at Shego's head at the same moment Yuffie thrust her fist (clutching a pair of kunai) at her stomach. With amazing reflexes, she punched straight down, knocking the knives from Yuffie's hands.

At the exact same moment, she reached up, and caught the shield as though it was merely a frisbee. She threw it back at Goofy, and just barely missed his head when he dove away from it. It lodged itself in the wall beside Sulley, who had just gotten back to his feet, and was rubbing a sizable bump on his head.

The monster rushed forward, backed up by Riku and his Guardian. The black creature threw the first punch, which she was able to avoid. But she wasn't quite fast enough to dodge the punch Sulley landed to her stomach.

It knocked her off her feet, but she was still able to regain her composure, and land lightly back on the ground. She didn't notice Yuffie appear directly next to her until she had driven her booted foot into her hip, sending her spinning back out through the hatch, and into the corridor that linked the _Unity_ with the _Assailant_.

Riku rushed after her, and sliced horizontally at her waist. Despite the serious hit she had just taken there, she was able to leap out of his way, and then move back at him, aiming fiery punches at his head over and over. Each of these he turned aside with his blade, though with increasing difficulty.

She quickly pulled back and then released a large burst of energy at him, which filled the whole corridor. Riku hurriedly called up another shield, and watched as the walls buckled dangerously around them, threatening to give way.

Bolts of lightning flew past Riku when he lowered the shield, but Shego stopped the blast with her fists, sending them bouncing into the walls.

The battle came to a brief pause, then. Shego activated a communications device on her wrist. "Randall! They've escaped. _Wonderful_ job on those cells. Seal the hatch and blow the charges, now!"

There was only static from the other end.

"Randall! Randall, come in!" She growled in frustration, and leapt away from Riku's next strike, and ducked under Yuffie's shuriken. She quickly switched channels. "Syndrome! They're out!"

"You _think_!? Augh!" What sounded suspiciously like an explosion echoed from the other end of the line. "They're trashing the Maintena-"

There was a slightly smaller explosion, and the link went silent.

"Sucks to be you." Riku said, swiping at her legs. "You know, with the ship falling apart around you, and all."

"Can it, peewee." Shego lashed at his head with another three very close attacks. Almost before she finished the third, there was a loud _bang_ behind her, down the corridor. Everyone turned to face the source of the noise, and saw what looked like a large, bright pink lizard getting to its feet.

Randall stumbled up, and reverted to his natural coloration. A fireball struck the wall near him, and he slithered down the corridor toward Shego. "The controller is shot. We're stuck."

Sora, Kairi, Axel, and Kim ran after him, ready to continue their fight. When she caught sight of Kim, Shego snarled, and leapt toward her, hands blazing with energy. Randall rocketed directly at Sulley, his four fists flying to strike any part of him he could reach.

"Riku!" Sora shouted, blocking one of Shego's attacks. "Get the ship's systems online, it's been twenty minutes! We'll hold them off."

Riku nodded, and –with Yuffie and Donald- ran inside the ship. Sora, Axel, Kairi, Kim, and Sulley were careful to place themselves between the door, and Randall and Shego. Most of them were breathing heavily from the prolonged fighting aboard the ship, but understood that they wouldn't have to wait for much longer.

After a few short minutes, while the vessel behind them slowly came back to life, there was a commotion from down the corridor once again. Mickey, Nehrut, Bariss, and Mr. Incredible rounded the corner, and sprinted hard down the hallway, dodging Syndrome's blasts as best they could.

"Get in!" Mr. Incredible shouted to them. He leapt and drove his fist into the unsuspecting Randall's head, sending him crashing into the wall. Mickey jumped over him, and struck at Shego's face, narrowly missing her.

Nehrut made a fist, and punched his arm out, sending her and Randall flying down the corridor to slam into Syndrome. The three fell to the ground, in obvious pain.

"Move!" Sulley said, ushering everybody inside the ship. "They'll come to any minute."

Sora and Kairi saw all of them safely inside, keeping their Keyblades out as insurance, in case any of their three attackers woke before they made it in. This wasn't quite the case.

But what happened next was unfortunate.

Syndrome dazedly got to his knees, making subtle adjustments to his gauntlet weapon. With the small amount of strength he had remaining, he lifted his arm and fired an arc of greenish energy at Sora.

Caught unawares for once, Sora couldn't block it in time. It struck him in the chest, knocking him flat. It bounced off of his body, and struck Kairi in the chest, directly over her heart.

The others saw this, too late to do anything about it. "NO!" They shouted in unison, as though it would help anything.

In a rage, Nehrut leapt over his two unmoving friends, and thrust his fists forward. Syndrome was lifted into the air, and slammed with the force of a wrecking ball into the far wall, leaving a significant dent in it, and rendering him unconscious immediately.

Sulley ran forward, scooping up Sora and Kairi in his large arms. He ran inside with them, followed immediately by Nehrut. The hatch hissed closed behind them.

"What's their situation!?" Riku asked when he had brought them to the bridge. Sulley sat them down on two of the flight chairs, and strapped them in carefully with Goofy's help. They didn't move an inch.

"Pulse is normal..." Kim said, placing her hands to each of their necks.

"But no heartbeat!" Bariss said, a hand on Sora's chest. "Blood is flowing, but I can't-"

"How is that possible? What the heck did he do to them!?" Riku exclaimed angrily.

"Donald!" Mickey said to the bird at the navigation seat. "Plot a course for Radiant Garden! If anybody can help us, they're there."

As Donald began punching in the coordinates, Riku asked an important question. "Who's driving?"

"I will." Bariss said, sitting in Sora's chair. "Make sure that the guns are ready in case the _Assailant_ starts firing on us."

"You took care of the tractor beam, right?" Sulley asked.

"Yeah." Nehrut confirmed.

"Explosives won't be a problem, either." Axel said, reaching into Sora's pocket for Randall's still-inactive remote. "This thing'll never work right again."

With a short noise, the _Unity_ released itself from the grip of the _Assailant_, and gradually moved away from it. They had only made it a short distance, however, when enemy fire burst from the hostile ship's automated cannons, scorching the hull in numerous places.

While not as accomplished a pilot as Sora, Bariss was still able to keep them from harm after the initial assault, weaving in and out around asteroids to avoid enemy fire.

"We need to clear this field before we make the jump to Radiant Garden." Mickey said. "Keep dodging the fire."

"Asteroids..." Came a weak murmur.

All eyes were suddenly on Sora. His eyes were barely open, but they were glazed with pain, and his skin was deathly pale. He was still slouched in his seat, but his hand clutched at Kairi's with all the strength he had. She too, had her eyes barely open.

"Fire on the asteroids... explosion." That was all he said, before falling back into unconsciousness.

"You heard him." Bariss said to Riku.

"This one's for you guys..." He said to Sora and Kairi, though they were currently beyond hearing. He quickly marked several nearby asteroids as targets for the remaining fifty-eight proton torpedoes in the _Unity_'s stores.

"Ready to fire." He announced.

"Hold fire a little longer, I want to put a bit more distance between us." Bariss said. She thrust the ship forward at high speed, barrel-rolling around asteroids and barrages of laser fire.

One lucky shot shook the ship, and rattled the bones of everybody on the bridge. "Fire!" Bariss shouted.

Riku wasted no time, and fired the torpedoes into the asteroids. They spiraled through space. Out of all of them, fifty of them struck the asteroids they had been targeting. The remaining eight accidentally hit others that drifted into the way. Still, the results were the same.

Massive explosions filled the immediate space behind the _Unity_, and around the _Assailant_. The explosions ripped into the shielding of the latter ship, rendering it almost completely ineffective as sections of the armor were destroyed by the pure force of the explosions.

The crew of the Unity didn't hang around to see whether or not the ship survived. "Coordinates locked in!" Donald pronounced. "Punch it!"

Bariss listened to him, and thrust the ship forward into warp space, just as the asteroid field around them erupted into a chain reaction of explosions caused by Sora's strategy. White light filled the viewport as they exited the combat zone, moving to the safety of warp space.

They finally breathed easier. But there was still further business to take care of.

"Contact Radiant Garden and let them know we have casualties." Mickey said, slipping into the role of leadership that he had never fully realized that Sora had taken from him. The King looked over at the unconscious Keybearers now, a sad, worried expression on his face. Their hands were still locked together. "In the meantime, bring these two to the medical bay, and let's see what can be done here."

Donald began the transmission to the Radiant Garden Restoration Committee, and Axel and Mr. Incredible lifted Sora and Kairi from their seats. Interestingly, they couldn't seem to remove their hands from each other, and gave it up before moving them farther back into the ship.

"Estimated time to the Garden?" Riku asked.

Donald checked a display screen while waiting for the RGRC, and groaned. "Twelve hours..."

Everybody left on the bridge remained silent until the Committee answered, settling in for a very long flight.

!

_It's good to be back!_

_Please leave a review!_


	127. Chapter 126: Grim Return

_Time for more drama! Woooo!_

_Kairi: "At our expense! Woooo!"_

_Sorry… Anyway, I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or any of the other franchise staples you're about to see introduced. Enjoy!_

_!_

Chapter 126: Grim Return

"That could have gone _way_ better." Randall grumbled, nursing a bandaged wound on one of his four arms.

The _Assailant_ was a huge mess. Emergency shielding and life support had nearly been overwhelmed by the force of the multiple explosions that had ripped through their primary shields. Huge chunks of the armor, and even the ship itself had been ripped away by the unexpected maneuver on the part of their escaping prisoners.

The majority of the bridge was intact, but several crucial systems had been heavily damaged. They were lucky that the communications and piloting systems were still working well. Their weapons systems, on the other hand, were a joke.

Shego, after placing a bandage on her forehead, pressed a button on the in-ship communications console. "What's it look like down there, Syndrome?"

"Like a junk yard." Came the irritated reply. "I can get the engines working again in an hour or two... maybe."

Shego growled, then sighed, rubbing her temple. "Just get us moving again. Keep us posted."

She cut the connection, and Randall said, "I'm starting to regret taking this contract. Is anything really worth _this_? Not to mention the fact that Incredible, Possible, and Sullivan screwed things up again."

"Five _billion_, Randall. _Minimum_." Shego reminded. "We just went about it the wrong way. It's time for plan B." She opened the link to Syndrome again. "Is your big toy still intact?"

He knew what she was referring to. "Looks like it took minimal damage. Thank Heaven for small favors... I can get it working again pretty easily."

"When you finish with the engines, get it online." She cut the connection once more, and looked at Randall. "Tracking device operational?"

Randall observed the signal he was getting from a new remote. "The signal's weak but it's there... Big surprise, looks like Radiant Garden."

"Perfect." Shego allowed herself a smile.

!

The place where he had been imprisoned for the last four or so months was _really_ boring.

The nebulous clouds all around him constantly shifted between shades of blue, green, and violet, with the occasional red somewhere. Arcs of white light forked through the clouds at a frequent rate. All of this coupled together in a very disorienting way.

Pete floated amongst these clouds, his headache still making his head throb, and his eyes glazed over with boredom. He had really come to hate this place during his last sentence. His hatred of it had only increased this time around.

He decided that he'd just have to pass the time the way he had the time before. He'd given up hope of being rescued by Maleficent this time. He sighed, and closed his eyes.

"One... Two... Three... Four... Five... Six." He counted the imaginary sheep in his head, waiting for sleep to come.

He'd finally arrived at two-hundred eleven, when he heard something unusual. A low, whistling sort-of noise penetrated the normally silent clouds. Pete opened his eyes back up, and saw a small ball of red light a few feet away. Suddenly, it let off a flash, and grew before his eyes.

Pete shielded his eyes from the bright light, wondering what in the worlds was going on. The silhouetted form of a woman appeared in the circle of energy, and his hopes slowly rose...

!

The _Unity_ exited warp space over Radiant Garden. Wasting absolutely no time, Bariss throttled the ship toward the glowing world below them.

Donald opened up a transmission, while the rest of the crew ran onto the bridge. Sora and Kairi were still drifting in and out of consciousness in the medical bay. "_Unity_ to Radiant Garden, come in!"

They only had to wait three seconds for a response. A new screen appeared on the viewport. Those on the bridge could see what appeared to be a landing platform, lit orange by the sunset. Standing there to meet them were several people. Many of them, no one could recognize, but standing at the head of the group were members of the Radiant Garden Restoration Committee.

Squall Leonheart (most of them still continued thinking of him as 'Leon', though) stood at the front. Rinoa, Aerith, Cid, and Merlin stood beside him. Yuna, Rikku, and Paine floated over their heads. Apart from these members of the RGRC, there were more familiar figures there, as well, including Yen Sid.

"Isn't that Auron?" Goofy asked Donald.

It was. He looked just as he had when he had left them and Sora in the Underworld. He still wore the red robes over the black tunic, with his left arm hanging on the inside, as though in a sling. His large sword was strapped to his back. The only difference was that he had a large bottle of something on his waist, and had a pair of shades covering his eyes.

"Yeah, what's he doing here?"

Then, something even more shocking happened. Riku breathed, "Oh my God..."

Three very familiar figures had sprinted out to the landing pad to join the others. The one leading them was a teenage boy with tanned skin, shiny dirty blonde hair, and aquamarine eyes. He wore a bright yellow vest over a white T-shirt, and black jeans, with black and yellow boots.

The slightly older teenager behind him had tanned skin, and reddish hair which stuck up on his head, over a blue head band. He wore a tan muscle shirt with a large black 'X' on the chest, and blue wrist bands. He also had a pair of baggy orange pants.

The girl with them had light brown hair, and bright green eyes. She had a short yellow dress on over a long-sleeved white shirt. She wore blue jeans under the dress, and a pair of yellow sneakers on her feet.

"Tidus... Wakka... Selphie!?" Riku exclaimed. "What!?"

"Your friends from the islands?" Yuffie asked.

"Yeah... How did they...?"

His confusion only grew when the tiny Yuna floated over to Tidus's shoulder, and landed lightly on it. She leaned over, and gave him a peck on his cheek, to which he smiled slightly.

"Okay, now I'm really confused."

Leon interrupted their musings. "_Unity_, this is ground control. You're cleared for landing. Tron'll take over from here."

A second screen appeared, depicting Tron against a background of binary code. The controls in Bariss's hands began moving on their own. "I'll handle your landing, my User friends. You'll touch down in approximately ten minutes. Don't worry, you're in good hands."

Bariss released her death grip on the control yokes, and stood from the pilot's seat.

"Salus Pax Pacis, Leon. You never call, you never write. I'm very hurt, man. I thought we were close." Nehrut said to Leon, possibly in an attempt to break the nervous tension that hung like smoke in the air.

"So you really are travelling with them." Leon said. "Good to see you, Nehrut. I hope you haven't been causing them too much trouble."

"Who, _me_?"

"How are they?" Aerith asked before the exchange could go any farther.

"The same." Mickey answered. "They're moving in and out of consciousness, but they're obviously in a lot of pain."

"How are their vitals?" Leon asked.

"Their pulse is normal. But what scares me is that their hearts don't seem to be beating, and I don't know how that works... I think Darkness is affecting them. They're also extremely clammy, and they've barely been able to move at all... Potions, Elixers, Ethers, Cure spells... None of them are working. We don't know what to do."

"Give me some time with them." Aerith said. "I might be able to do something."

"Hey, Tidus, Wakka, Selphie!" Riku left his seat, to move into sight to those on the screen. "What are you doing down there?"

The three in question stepped forward from the crowd, smiling nervously. "Hey, Riku." Tidus greeted.

"You think you're the only ones who've had adventures, man?" Wakka said. "What d'ya think happened to us three when the islands were destroyed the firs' time?"

"Well, you never said..."

"We thought people would think we were crazy." Selphie said. "We were going to tell _you_ guys about it, but then you left... Your parents are all _really_ angry and worried, you know."

Riku grimaced. He, Sora, and Kairi had only left their respective parents notes for them to find in the morning. "Ooh... Yeah. But you've met Yuna?"

"They came to our world." Yuna answered, with her two partners hovering near her. "Before our little 'incident' with Maleficent."

"You mean you weren't always..."

"Tiny?" Paine finished.

"Nope!" Rikku answered.

"Unbelievable..." Came a murmur.

Everbody twisted around. The extremely pale Sora and Kairi had been carried onto the bridge by Sulley and Mr. Incredible. They hadn't even heard their entrance, but apparently Sora and Kairi had heard every word already exchanged.

"Good for you, Tidus." Kairi said with a heartbreakingly weak smile. She was looking at Yuna, who was still sitting on the blonde's shoulder.

The Gullwing and Tidus both blushed, though it was in addition to their worried expressions, due to the current state of their friends.

"Let's continue this on the ground." Leon said finally. "We'll have you all escorted to Cetra Hospital. Ground control out."

Minutes later, the _Unity_ was cruising above the village of Radiant Garden, which was now approaching the scale of a medium-size city. The majority of the buildings were made of stone, or brick, and there didn't appear to be any automobiles on the streets. There were patches of grass and trees in the village now. Just over a year ago, that had seemed an impossibility. Radiant Garden had come a long way.(1)

Everybody that they had seen during their transmission was standing on a large landing platform near the castle, awaiting them. In addition to them, there was also an ambulance, with two nervous-looking paramedics. The only automated vehicles used on Radiant Garden were emergency ones, apparently.

The Unity touched down on the pad, the boarding ramp opened, and the entire party stepped out. Sulley and Mr. Incredible carefully lowered Sora and Kairi down onto the stretchers the paramedics had provided. Leon approached one of them.

"Get these two to back to the hospital immediately. It's vital to all the worlds that they survive."

"Yes, Chancellor." One of them replied.

"Always so serious, Leon." Sora replied with a hint of a grin.

"Maybe you're just not serious enough." He replied, smiling a tiny bit, despite himself.

The two Keybearers were loaded carefully into the back of the ambulance. Aerith climbed in after them, immediately placing her palm to Kairi's temple. Riku pointedly insisted on accompanying them, and naturally, Yuffie followed him.

Soon, the ambulance was away, and the rest of the large group loaded themselves into similar topless government vehicles to follow them. They were filled to bursting, but it didn't slow them down at all.

"Chancellor?" Nehrut asked Leon.

"We reestablished the old government of Radiant Garden a few months ago." He replied, keeping his eyes fixed ahead on the ambulance as they entered the village. "We already have a Princess, if she wants the job. But, the elected Chancellor made most of the decisions."

"Who was the last Chancellor?" Axel asked. "That Ansem dude?"

"Right." Leon asked. "Somebody who the people would elect to serve alongside the royal family."

"How'd you get stuck with the job?" Nehrut asked.

"Nobody else would go near it." Rinoa replied with a hint of a smile.

The government vehicles followed the speeding ambulance down the mainly empty streets of the village. There were no other vehicles on the streets, since they were rarely used, though the citizens on the sidewalks stopped their activities to look after the speeding cars with curious eyes.

After ten minutes of high-speed driving, the ambulance and its escort pulled up in front of one of the tallest buildings in the village. Cetra Hospital was one of the few buildings around made out of concrete, rather than stone, brick, or wood. Several people rushed from the front doors to unload Sora and Kairi from the ambulance, and Aerith joined them instantly.

She quickly began issuing orders to the paramedics, arranging for the two Keybearers to be brought into the largest possible room, and to get more doctors in there with them.

Everyone followed them in, trailing behind the paramedics and nurses, trying to keep an eye on the stretchers.

A moment later, the medics passed through a set of double doors. Aerith came to a sudden, unexpected halt, and turned to face the group trailing behind them. She fixed them with a stern look, and pointed down the hall to the next room over, before walking through the doors with the medics herself, pulling on a white lab coat over her pink dress.

Riku, Yuffie, and the others walked into the next room, and discovered that it was a large observation area with a few dozen chairs, where people could watch events unfold in the still larger operating room connected to it. A glass wall (magically enhanced to allow people to communicate easily between the two rooms if needed) was all that separated them.

"They're in good hands, don't worry." Rinoa assured them all.

They watched for a few minutes, as Aerith (apparently in charge of major operations around this hospital) directed the medics around her. There were surprisingly few machines involved. She seemed to understand that whatever had been inflicted upon Sora and Kairi would be cured more by magic than medicine.

Still, as a precaution, there was a bank of machinery along one of the walls. Saline drips and other devices were fixed to Sora and Kairi's bodies. From snatched pieces of orders from Aerith (who became a drastically different person in the operating room) they came to understand that Tron himself was taking care of the machines.

"They'll be fine." Auron said calmly, his shade-covered eyes fixed on the operation. "Sora's a fighter. And if Kairi is even half as strong as him... This won't be enough to keep them down."

"I hope you're right." Axel agreed.

Riku half-turned, and finally seemed to realize just how many people had accompanied them from the _Unity_'s landing site. He didn't recognize even half of them from either personal experience, or Sora's stories.

"So, would somebody care to explain why there are a billion people in here that we don't know?" He finally asked.

"They are allies." Yen Sid answered, speaking for the first time since the landing. "A great shift in the tide of the struggle with the Brotherhood is coming soon, and we will need help."

"We've done some adventurin' of our own these last few months." Cid said. He inclined his head toward the dozen or so strangers. "We found these misfits."

"I resent that." One of them said.

Introductions were made in voices just loud enough to where Sora and Kairi would be able to hear, if they woke up for whatever reason.(2)

The first group of new allies consisted of three people from a world called 'Chronoa.' The first of them was a young man with spiky, brown, ruffled hair. He had gold eyes, which were slitted and catlike. He wore a thin, long black jacket and pants, with a white shirt. What looked like a small bell hung around his neck.

His older partner wore a clean white suit, plus a fedora of the same color. His black shoes were polished to the point of being shiny, and his tie was pressed. He had short-length green hair, a thin layer of stubble on his chin, and fierce orange eyes. His right eye was covered by an eye patch.

The third of their group was a woman of about the same age as the first one. She was a short, thin woman, with long blonde hair that almost touched her feet. Her bright violet eyes looked too mature for her face, and she wore a long, sober, black sweater, and pants. A golden cross hung around her neck.

They were bounty hunters, though they called themselves 'Sweepers.' Their names were Train Heartnet, Sven Vollfied, and Eve.

Those of the next group introduced were from a place called 'Dracona.' They were an even more unusual trio than the last one. As could have been guessed by the name of the world, two of them were dragons.

They were significantly different from Mushu. The first one –a young male- was around the size of a small horse or a donkey, while standing straight on all fours. He had shiny purple scales which were the same color as his eyes. He had a yellow underbelly. Two thick, bony, yellow horns protruded from the top of his head, pointing backwards. A ridge of sharp yellow spines started on the center of his head, and travelled down his back to the end of his tail. He also had a pair of long, yellow, bat-like wings.

His fellow dragon was female, and only slightly shorter than him. She had shinier black-violet scales, and aquamarine eyes. She had a pinkish underbelly. Two bone-colored horns emerged from the top of her head, pointing straight up. Another pair pointed slightly upwards from either side of her head, with a third smaller pair below them. The end of her tail was tipped with a spear-like appendage. She had similar wings to her partner, only in pink.

Flitting back and forth in the air above them was a tiny creature about the same size as the Gullwings. He slightly resembled a dragonfly, though with a pair of human-like arms, and no other limbs. He was a dull gold color, with four colorless wings, and light blue eyes, and a pair of antennae.

The dragons were named Spyro (the male) and Cynder (the female). Their dragonfly companion's name was appropriate considering the company he kept: Sparx.

A teenage girl was the next in line. She had chestnut-colored hair, pulled into two long pig tails going down her back. She had pale skin, and olive green eyes. She had an unusual outfit resembling the upper half of a black suit, the front of which cut off at the waist, while the rest flapped behind her. She wore a plaid skirt.

Next to her stood a shorter teenager with white, slightly spiked hair. He wore a white and red headband over his forehead. He had unsettling, slightly manic, crimson eyes, and slightly pointed teeth. He wore a black and yellow jacket, and dull red pants.

This unusual pair was from the world of Shinigami. The girl was Maka Albarn, and the boy was Soul Eater Evans.

The largest of these groups had five people, plus a pet. The first of these was a short boy looking about twelve or thirteen. He had storm-colored blue-grey eyes that showed both the determination of an adult, and a child-like spark –rather like Sora's. His head was bald, showing a very distinctive blue arrow tattooed there, pointing to the space between his eyes. He wore strips of orange and yellow cloth to cover his upper body, and a red sash. He had baggy brown pants. Blue arrows were also seen tattooed to his arms, and shoulders.

Sitting on his shoulder was a lemur-like creature with round, blue-green eyes. It had white and brown fur, a long tail, and very large ears.

The girl next to him had dark skin, and bright blue eyes. Her long, black-brown hair hung down her shoulders, with the exception of two 'loops' on either side of her face. She wore loose-fitting blue and white robes on her body, and had fingerless blue and grey gloves on her hands. A strip of fabric hung around her neck, with a light blue crystal engraved with wave-like patterns. Four large, leather pouches hung from the sash on her waist.

The next boy looked enough like her to confirm Riku's suspicion that he was her older brother. He had the same dark skin, and blue eyes. His hair was the same color, though pulled back into a shaggy topknot at the back of his head. He wore similar loose-fitting blue clothing to his sister, though had a slightly more 'warrior' look to him.

The next was a girl, who was even shorter than the first of them. She had pale skin, which was covered with dirt in a few places, and pale, glazed eyes. Riku realized with a start that she was completely blind, which explained why she seemed to be perpetually staring. Her jet black hair was pulled into a bun at the top of her head. She wore baggy green and tan clothing, which left her dirty feet bare.

The final one of them was a tall teenage boy, with golden eyes. The skin around his left eye bore a ghastly dark red burn scar, which extended over his ear. He had a mass of shaggy, thick black hair hanging around his head. He wore loose-fitting, dark red, black, and dull gold clothes over his body, and had a scabbard for a pair of swords hanging from his back.

They were from the Kingdom of Elements, and were apparently very well-known there. The first of them was a being known as 'the Avatar': Aang. The siblings were Katara and Sokka, the other girl was Toph Bei Fong, and the other boy was Prince Zuko. Their furry friend was Aang's pet lemur Momo.

The last two of their allies were from the Mushroom Kingdom and Mobius respectively. The first of them was a short man with slightly tanned skin and blue eyes. On the top of his head sat a red cap with an 'M' prominent on the front. Beneath the cap could be seen shiny brown hair. He had a highly noticeable black moustache. He wore a pair of blue jean overalls over a red sweater, and white gloves.

His buddy was quite different. He was only slightly taller, and about Sora's height. He was a long-limbed, hedgehog-like creature that stood on two legs. He had thin blue fur, pointed ears, and broad spikes on his back, and the back of his head. His arms, snout, and stomach were the only parts of his body not covered by fur. He had clever, bright green eyes, and white gloves. He wore bright red shoes on his feet.

This was the famous rival duo of Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog.

So, in the observation room, this amounted to around forty beings. It was fairly crowded. After all of the introductions had been made, everybody turned their eyes solemnly back to the activities in the next room.

"After everything we've heard about them..." Train began carefully, "This isn't what I expected."

Riku shot him an irritated look that shut him up immediately.

"How did it happen?" Maka asked.

"They were hit by some kind of unusual energy attack." Nehrut said, holding Bariss close to him. "There was no sign of damage, but they both just dropped..."

"Syndrome tinkers with all kinds of things." Mr. Incredible scowled, looking at the unconscious Sora and Kairi. He almost seemed to blame himself for what had happened to the two. "If he worked out how to injure a person's heart directly, there's no telling what kind of damage he's done to them."

"I never thought I'd see them like this." Selphie looked close to tears, and Wakka placed a comforting hand to her shoulder. "What are they going to have to do to them?"

"Whatever happened won't be decided by medicine or technology." Leon said. "But by magic." Almost as an afterthought, he added, "And the strength of their hearts."

"Is that what they're doing in there?" Aang asked. He didn't seem to be able to comprehend half of anything that the medics in the opposite room were doing. "It doesn't look like they're operating or anything..."

He had a point. Sora and Kairi were lying on operating tables near the center of the room. They had been stripped down to their underclothes. A few tubes of unknown purposes were fixed to their bodies, and there was machinery monitoring their vital signs. Their pulses were both very faint, and vanished at some points, but everything else appeared to be fine with them.

Treys and tables of equipment were situated all around the room, and the people inside were doing their level best to avoid knocking them over as they hurried around their tasks. Aerith was shouting increasingly complicated orders to them, which those in the observation room had absolutely no hope of understanding.

With increasing frequency, numerous containers of strange and unusual mixtures were rushed in and out of the room. Usually, Aerith herself took these, and would apply it in dozens of different ways: sprinkling it across their chests, spraying it onto their foreheads, forcing it down their throats, injecting it into their veins, or otherwise.

Activities like this went on for over two full hours until things finally began to slow down slightly. Aerith walked out of the room, leaving instructions to the medics in the room. Sora and Kairi didn't seem to have changed at all.

She reappeared a moment later in the observation room, looking more tired and haggard than she had ever been in her life. She removed the operating mask that had covered the lower half of her face, and hung it around her neck.

"How are they?" Yuffie asked the question on everybody's lips immediately.

"I can't say for sure." Aerith admitted. She wiped away a thin layer of sweat that had formed on her forehead. "It's taking us a long time to even diagnose the problem. All we know is that there's something affecting their hearts."

"That's what you were doing the whole time!?" Axel exclaimed, sounding incredulous. "Trying to find out what was wrong!?"

Aerith met his gaze with her calm eyes. Somehow, this got him to back down immediately. "Axel, don't think that you're the only one who wants to save them. We were also applying various implements to relieve their pain. Hardly any of them were even close to effective. Right now, they're resting as comfortably as we can make them, but we're still working to discover what can be done to get them up and about again."

"Do you have any idea what might be the problem, my dear?" Merlin asked.

"We have theories." She replied. "Though you may not like to hear them."

"We already know that." Riku said. "Just tell us."

She sighed. "We believe that Darkness was injected directly into their bodies by whatever it was Syndrome did. If that's correct, then we think it's trying to squirm into their hearts, and corrupt them from the inside."

"And make them into Heartless." Mickey finished solemnly.

"Yes." Aerith said, her voice dripping with sadness. But, she controlled herself. "But their hearts are both especially strong. Their Light is keeping the Darkness away, but they're having a hard time. They are constantly battling the Darkness, which is why Sora and Kairi are so weak right now, and in so much pain."

"So..." Tidus asked the question that the rest were too worried to ask. "Can you help them?"

Aerith was silent for a moment before replying. "I think so. It might take time, but we could get them back up again... We _will_."

Fierce determination rekindled in her eyes, and it was enough to reassure everyone -if only a little- that Sora and Kairi could survive the ordeal.

"In the meantime." She continued. "It'd probably be best if you were to turn in for the night. It's getting late. We'll alert you immediately if there's any change."

The majority of the room's occupants agreed, and left the room to begin the walk back to the castle. However, the eight who had travelled with Sora and Kairi stayed exactly where they were. Tidus, Wakka, Selphie, Leon, Rinoa, Cid, Merlin, Yuna, Rikku, Paine, and Yen Sid stayed as well.

Aerith smiled, never having expected them to leave their friends at this time. "I'll see if I can get you some blankets."

"No need." Yen Sid said. With a snap of his fingers, the floor was piled high with comfortable-looking quilts and pillows.

Aerith bid them all good night, and left the room, dimming the lights. Once she had left, the group gathered the blankets, and got themselves as comfortable as possible on the chairs. In silence, they watched as the doctors continued their work, exchanging theories and suggestions amongst themselves, and administering medications or other treatments to the unmoving Sora and Kairi.

Riku held Yuffie close to him, rubbing comforting circles over her back.

"Stay alive, guys..." Riku said quietly, moments before falling asleep.

!

_A slow start, but you know how I work. Things are going to get very interesting soon…_

_1) Kind of wanted to make Radiant Garden a blend of a big modern city and a small fantasy-themed town._

_2) A loooong time ago, I got a few friends/kind-of contributors to suggest people they'd like to see included, as sort of a thank-you for their encouragement._

_That being said… I want to definitely thank everybody who's been following this story for so long!_

_Hope you liked, and please leave a review!_


	128. Chapter 127: Horrible Timing

_Time for an update! And a thought occurs… The next generation of consoles should be coming very soon… Can you imagine Kingdom Hearts 3 on the PS4?_

_Roxas: "GLORIOUS!"_

_Imagine the whole Xemnas boss battle with today's graphics and power…_

_Roxas: "On that happy note, DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else he doesn't hold the rights to… Though I guess he doesn't actually own the rights to anything officially."_

_!_

Chapter 127: Horrible Timing

Riku opened his eyes blearily, feeling Yuffie's rhythmic breathing on his cheek, and her light form leaning against him. He took in his new surroundings, trying to remember what had happened the previous day through his foggy, dream-like state.

It all came crashing mercilessly back to him like a tidal wave, when he caught sight of Tidus sleeping against a nearby wall, with Yuna resting contentedly on top of his head.

_Sora, Kairi..._

He looked across the silent room, filled with its sleeping occupants, and into the operating room next door. Through the glass, he saw that Sora and Kairi hadn't been moved, and that there were still four doctors attending them with great care.

Wondering just what had woken him, he looked over to the door, and saw Mickey, Leon, and Yen Sid conversing quietly with Aerith, who by the looks of it, had just entered from the operating room. Riku wondered for a moment whether or not she had been working all night. There were dark bags beneath her eyes.

Yuffie stirred slightly against him, and her eyelids fluttered open. She sighed, and met his eyes. "Tell me yesterday was a bad dream..."

"Afraid not."

Aerith and the others turned at the sound of their voices. "Mornin' fellas." Mickey greeted.

"Has there been any improvement?" Riku asked, getting to his feet with along with Yuffie.

"With Sora and Kairi: Little." Aerith replied sadly.

"But certain other matters have developed interestingly." Yen Sid finished.

"What do you mean?" Yuffie asked.

"Wake the others." Mickey said, walking out of the room. "They're all going to want to see this."

Curious, they gently shook awake everybody else in the room, until they were all attentive, but still groggy. "This'd better be important." Cid had grumbled, yawning loudly.

"_Very_ important." Leon answered. He opened the door, and looked out. "You can come in now."

Three people entered the observation room. Upon seeing the one in front, Goofy's eyes lit up. He sprinted across the room, laughing loudly, and crushed him in a massive hug the likes of which he reserved only for those very, very close to him.

"Maxy!" He explained loudly, hoisting him up into the air.

"Dad!" Max had said, trying to sound like he was annoyed, and failing miserably. He finally gave into temptation, and hugged his father tight.

While the father and son were reunited, Max's companions entered the room.

The first was a feline-like teenager. He had a large belly, and thick limbs. He sported a grin on his round face. He wore a thick blue sweater, with a pair of bandoliers wrapped around his upper body. His belt pouches were filled to bursting with small electrical gadgets, and he wore blue and black sneakers.

Goofy soon caught sight of him, as well. "Ahyuck! Pete Junior! How's my favorite teenage friend doin'?"

"Ah, Mr. G, how many times do I have to ask you to call me PJ?"

"Pete Junior?" Riku repeated, dumbstruck.

"That guy was capable of reproducing?" Axel added.

"Yeah, I hear that a lot." PJ said, noticing them. But, he seemed like a nice guy, despite his upbringing.

The man who had entered behind PJ was a tall human. He was wearing a charcoal grey tuxedo, which had a thin layer of brown fur on his collar. The button-up white shirt that he wore beneath his jacket had a popped collar. He had his head lowered slightly to an angle where the fedora he wore shielded the upper half of his face from the room. In the rim of the fedora sat three playing cards.

"And who are you?" Donald asked.

The newcomer removed his hat, startling half of the people in the room. These people recognized the short, platinum blonde haircut, the thin, well-trimmed goatee, and the bright blue eyes. Two silver loops were in his left ear.

"Morning, Sunshines." Luxord –Gambler of fate, and number X of Organization XIII- greeted.

Weapons were pointing at him within two seconds of his statement.

"Woah, woah, woah!" Max said, breaking away from Goofy's hug. He placed himself pointedly between them and Luxord. "Cool it, he's with us now."

Shocked silence greeted this statement. A few seconds later, Donald asked, "Max, do you know who-"

"Yeah, yeah, Organization XIII, yadda yadda." Max waved it off. "You never heard _his_ part of the story."

Mickey stepped forward. "Guys, this is my former colleague, Olrud."

"...Mouse said what?" Riku asked.

"We can go into this later, can't we?" Luxord asked, with pleading eyes. "I can prove my good intentions to you later. Though I would like to personally apologize for any sort of pain or discomfort that I caused to any of you..."

Riku didn't even have to ask Nehrut to check the guy's sincerity, he was doing it already. After a moment, he shrugged. "He seems clean to me. I say we welcome him aboard."

Cautiously, Riku held out his hand, which Luxord shook. He had a surprisingly strong grip.

"Well, isn't this dandy?" Axel said. "The Organization is all but destroyed, but now the members are popping up in ones and twos."

"I had heard about Saix and Larxene, but isn't that exaggerating a tad?"

"Well, Roxas is still in Sora. And right now, we don't know what's going on inside there." Axel inclined his head toward the operating room. "And Zexion escaped us a few weeks back. Xyran's been woken up, too."

"Ah, that is _very_ disturbing news." Luxord agreed. "We'll deal with them eventually, I am sure."

"So, Maxy!" Goofy redirected the attention back toward his son. "How've ya been?"

"The mission was a complete success." Max said with great pride. "We got to Pax Pacis, I got out after a few weeks. And there's a real-live, working dark matter warp engine attachment waiting in my brand new Gummi."

"Way to go, Max!" Nehrut said, grabbing him in a friendly head lock. "Timing could have been a little better, though."

"Well, what can you do?" Max said, accepting the praise from the rest of the party in the room. His eyes widened in recollection. "By the way..."

He had been carrying a black duffle bag over his shoulder, but now he removed it, and dropped it into Nehrut's hands. "That's for you. Compliments of Essej, Liz, Takuya, and Mina."

Nehrut was still as stone for a moment. "Max, if you're joking with me, I promise you that you'll die an agonizingly painful death."

Max grinned. "No joke. They made it back to the world alive after what Sora pulled off. They've gone underground, and are heading a resistance movement on Pax Pacis. We destroyed Marluxia a few weeks back, and just before I left, we busted a whole bunch of Brotherhood prisoners from jail, and Altair killed Crucion."

"Remind me to send him a Christmas card." Axel muttered under his breath.

"This is unbelievable..." Nehrut looked down at the bag, and appeared close to tears. "Alive... My God."

Bariss moved to his side, and put a hand on her shoulder, smiling softly. Nehrut was so happy at the moment, that he slung the bag over his shoulder, and scooped both her and Max up into his arms, laughing.

"Figured that'd make you happy." Max commented. "They said that whatever is in the bag is for your eyes only."

"Dude, I could kiss you." Nehrut replied, crushing him in a brotherly hug. "But since I don't swing that way..."

He put him down, twisted around, and pressed his lips to Bariss's.

"Oh brother." Cid said. "You two wanna get a room?"

"Shut up, Cid." Nehrut muttered, before kissing Bariss again.

"If you're through, there's still one other matter..." Yen Sid interrupted gently.

Luxord moved out of the doorway, to allow another two people to enter.

The first was a man of average height, with shocking blonde hair spiked straight up in the front. On the side of his face, nearly touching his eye (which was blue) was a distinctive black tattoo that slightly resembled a set of thorns. He was garbed in a thin, jet black jacket, marked with ornate silver patterns. He wore blue jeans, and fingerless metal-backed gloves.

He looked ludicrously different from the person behind him. He was over six feet tall, resembling something of a blue-haired lion on two legs. He had a mane of silver hair, either running free down his back or in braids on either side of his face. A broken horn protruded from the center of his forehead, over his calm yellow eyes. He had two spiky patches of orange hair on his shoulders, which almost resembled wings. He had two metal arm bands over his thick, heavily muscled forearms. He wore some sort of tribal skirt around his waist, and his clawed feet were bare.

"We're back from Villain's Vale!" The first man said, forcing cheeriness despite the fact that they were in a hospital.

"_And_...?" Rikku began hopefully.

The big creature smiled, and unstrapped something from his back. It was a long staff, with a large, ornate gold formation on the head of it that partially resembled a flower.

"Awesome!" Rikku cried out, punching the air.

"Yeah." The blonde man agreed. "Took us hours to find the thing. Of course the old witch had to put it in the deepest, darkest basement of the whole castle."

"Somebody want to explain what's going on?" Riku asked.

The blonde man turned to face him. "Oh, hey. I guess you're the _guy_ Riku, right?" He extended his hand. "Zell Dincht. This is my buddy Kimahri."

"They went to Villain's Vale to find my staff." Yuna said. "Maleficent stole it from me, and used it to turn us into this state." She gestured to her tiny body. "Now that we have it back..."

Yuna floated up to the head of the staff in Kimahri's hand, and folded her hands before her, as if in prayer. She chanted something low, under her breath. The head of the staff began to glow with a faint gold color. The glow intensified gradually, until it was painful to look at.

At last, three beams of golden light shot from the staff, striking each of the three Gullwings in the chest. They let out bright flashes of light that covered the entire room.

When it faded, there they were: At full human height.

They looked themselves over for a few excited seconds. Rikku squealed in delight, and Paine even _smiled_.

"Finally!" Yuna shouted in a very un-Yuna-like manner. Riku found it significant that the first thing she did after returning to normal size was rush over to Tidus, grab him by the vest, pull him toward her, and kiss him fiercely.

"Ugh." Cid grumbled. "Is everybody going to do this before breakfast?"

"Ignore him." Rinoa said. "He's always cranky in the morning."

"Shut up."

Zell walked over to the operating room. "So that's them, huh? Man... That Sora's a lot shorter than I thought he'd be."

Even despite Sora's current situation, Riku cracked a smile. No doubt he had expected some hulking, herculean _warrior_. Not a short, scrawny teenager.

"Let us have some breakfast, then return here." Merlin suggested. "Staying here too long can't be good for anybody's nerves."

!

In the hours after their brief breakfast back at the castle, the group made several trips back and forth to the hospital. A few times during the day, they were able to visit Sora and Kairi for about ten minutes, while they were conscious and the doctors took a short break from their work.

During these brief periods of time, they caught the two Keybearers up on the new developments, and introduced them to the new allies the RGRC had gathered together. Goofy also personally introduced them to Max and PJ.

There was a moment of awkwardness when the reformed Luxord entered the room, but since Sora was Sora, and Kairi was Kairi, it ended friendly enough.

"Things are all coming together." Sora muttered just after the doctors had left. At the moment, Riku, Yuffie, Donald, Goofy, Nehrut, and Bariss were standing at their bedsides. Kairi tried –and utterly failed- to grab the glass of ice water sitting by her bed. Goofy saw her struggle, and lifted it to her lips, helping her take tiny sips out of it. She smiled mutely in thanks.

"Except, of course, that our two best fighters are stuck in a hospital." Yuffie pointed out.

"Meh, details." Sora said. "We'll be fine."

"But, just in case..." Riku looked over toward the bank of ridiculously complex machines on the other wall. "Tron, if these guys try anything stupid before they get back into fighting shape, stop them."

"As you wish, User Riku."

"Uncool." Sora said.

"It's for your own good, Sora." Donald quacked.

"Yeah, yeah." Sora fell into silence. "So, when do they think we-"

A loud alarm interrupted him in mid-sentence.

"What's going on!?" Donald exclaimed.

Leon's voice –projected over dozens of loud speakers all across the town- answered the question. "This is not a drill! Heartless activity has been detected near the city. All citizens are to immediately report to emergency bunkers. Warriors, report to the borough, stat. May God watch over us all."

"You're kidding!" Riku exclaimed in frustration.

Sora and Kairi groaned. "We actually have to sit out on a fight..." Kairi murmured. "Unbelievable."

"We'll try not to keep you waiting." Bariss said, already moving for the door.

"Just stay safe, guys." Riku said. "You're no good to us dead, after all."

"Ha ha."

The six warriors who could stand left the room in a run, passing up doctors, nurses, paramedics, and any patient who could walk, at high speed. Apparently the hospital was something of a safe zone for citizens in case of an attack, because Riku noted several armed security guards in the hallways, and several windows were being sealed tight, and covered with thick metal barriers.

They reached the reception area, and sprinted out through the front doors. They had taken a government vehicle to the hospital, and they dove inside. Yuffie was the only one among them who was even remotely familiar with the vehicle, so she took the driver's seat.

Riku immediately decided that being in that car at that moment, with Yuffie at the wheel, was one of the most terrifying experiences of his life. She banked and turned sharply around corners, and barreled down streets at unreasonably high speeds. Donald nearly fell out more than once, and only Nehrut's mental grip kept him inside. Donald soon put on his seat belt.

They stopped minutes later at the end of a street, just meters from Merlin's house. The others staggered out of their seats, and ran down the street as fast as their wobbling legs could carry them. When they came within sight of Merlin's home, they saw Aang and his friends rush through the doors. Despite the seriousness of the situation, Riku laughed upon seeing Sokka collide with the wall in his haste to get inside.

They arrived inside just after them, and found the main room of Merlin's house crowded with most of their allies. There was still a surprising amount of room for them to move about, and Riku suspected that a bit of magic was used to create this effect to allow for extra people.

Cid was sitting at his huge computer at the end of the room, frantically typing in commands. Near him were King Mickey, and Leon. Axel and Luxord weren't too far from them. Upon seeing them enter, Mickey waved them over.

"Heartless. Lots of 'em." He said, indicating the computer screen.

Riku's heart sank at the sight of hordes of Heartless approaching the town in a massive black mass. He had heard Sora's stories about the large-scale battle that Organization XIII had staged at Radiant Garden all those months ago, but from what he could tell, this was on an even grander scale.

From what Riku could see, there were the basic Shadows and Neoshadows. With them were Armored Knights, Soldiers, Large Bodies, Bookmasters, and Morning Stars.

There were millions of the wretched things out there, approaching fast through the canyons and new forests outside of the town.

"Where are they coming from?" Nehrut asked.

"Cid, get the remote moving." Leon said.

"We got a lock." Cid replied. "Moving in now."

The view changed to that of a floating reconnaissance drone hovering somewhere in the general area of the Great Maw. The majority of the Heartless were already beneath it, and now aerial Heartless were moving in to investigate it. Riku saw Invisibles, Rapid Thrusters, Dark Balls, and Surveillance Robots.

Cid wove the drone in and out among the creatures, and guided it forward, toward the direction the Heartless seemed to be approaching from. Minutes later, it arrived at a not-completely-surprising destination: Villain's Vale.

The Heartless were massed around Maleficent's old fortress, their yellow eyes glinting malevolently. Cid moved the remote farther forward, toward the massive Heartless emblem on the central tower. Through this area was what appeared to be an open, balcony-like structure.

Moving it forward until it was practically in the tower itself, they could see a wide, high-ceilinged, circular room. Its walls had an eerie sliding-water effect on them, and a circular strategy table sat in the center of the room. Hunched over it was a familiar figure.

"Pete!?"

A map and holographic images of various Heartless positions were displayed on the situation table. Pete tapped a finger to various portions of the map, directing the Heartless wherever he felt they needed to be. He was muttering to himself under his breath.

"How did he get out?" Mickey wondered aloud.

"You don't suppose Maleficent..." Yuffie began.

"No, it's not her." Riku shook his head. "I'd recognize her scent a world away, and in any case, the Brotherhood has her."

"What if the Brotherhood is behind this?" Bariss asked. "I mean, would Pete really go in it alone like this? Just attack Radiant Garden without a clear cause?"

"Probably." PJ said, entering the room with Max and Spyro's crew just in time to hear the statement.

"Whatever the case, there's fighting to be done." Mickey said. He raised his voice loud enough for the entire room to hear. "Alright! Everybody, it's time for action! Whatever happens, get to Villain's Vale, apprehend Pete, and make sure that the Heartless don't get into town!"

An impromptu battle cry broke the relative silence of Merlin's house.

!

_Can you say 'giant freaking battle chapters?' Probably._

_Hope you enjoyed, and please leave a review!_


	129. Chapter 128: Defense of Radiant Garden

_Okay, so this was technically supposed to go up yesterday to keep with the promise of two chapters per month, but I thought we had another day in February. Whoops._

_Max: "Anyway… Huge battle chapters! WOOOO!_

_WOOOO!_

_Max: "WOOOO!"_

_WOOOO!_

_Max: "DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Square Enix, Disney, or blah, blah, blah, you know the rest."_

_!_

Chapter 128: The Defense of Radiant Garden

"C'mon old man!" Zell shouted to Cid, who was carrying a box of computer equipment under his arm, and a large spear in his other. "Time's a factor here!"

"I'm comin' I'm comin'! Get off my back!" Cid grumbled.

Zell and Luxord were waiting in an armored government car to transport Cid back to the castle. There, he'd be able to access the primary mainframe for the village's defenses, and better coordinate their guard of the city.

"You guys stay safe!" Riku shouted to them, rushing past their car into the one awaiting him. Yuffie, Sonic, and Maka were already waiting inside. He was relieved to discover that his ninja girlfriend wasn't the one at the wheel; Mr. Incredible was.

A similar line of armored vehicles was waiting nearby, ready to roll into motion to the west edge of town, closest to the advancing Heartless. Merlin and Yen Sid were absent. The two old wizards were staying in the house, going into what Riku understood to be a form of meditation that would aide warriors in battle. Aerith was back at Cetra Hospital, overseeing the safety of her various charges.

Riku waved at Nehrut and Bariss's car, which was closest to the car he was moving to. He hopped into the back seat, next to Yuffie.

He looked over at Maka, who had a large, heavy-looking scythe propped up next to her on the other side of the seat. It had a dull grey handle, and the blade had a spiked red and black pattern running down its length.

"Where's Soul?" He asked.

"Right here, genius." Soul's head suddenly appeared from the blade of the scythe, grinning at the shocked expressions on their faces. He laughed. "I never get tired of doing that."

"Ignore him." Maka said, pressing a hand to Soul's face, and shoving it back into the scythe. "He's under the impression that he's hilarious."

"Just when you think things can't get any weirder." Riku muttered to himself.

PJ leapt into the car, and sat next to Mr. Incredible. He had a large weapon sitting across his lap that bore a slight resemblance the blaster cannon that Jumba Jookiba had used against Heartless and Nobodies on Hawaii. It had a large strap, which allowed it to hang comfortably around his body. It looked like it could pack a punch.

"Roll out!" Came Leon's commanding voice over the sound of the idling engines of the cars. Riku spied him a few cars away with Rinoa and the 'Gaang' from the Kingdom of Elements.

The cars roared to life, and took off down the streets with Leon's in the lead. The only ones who weren't riding in them were Spyro, Cynder, and Sparx, who were gliding over the cars. They were easily keeping up with the vehicles below them, and even made an occasional loop over their heads.

"Show offs." Sonic said with a smirk, when Spyro barrel-rolled directly over his head.

"Oh yeah?" The dragon challenged. "What can you do?"

To Riku's surprise, the hedgehog leapt completely out of the car, and landed on both feet on the pavement beside it. Without falling behind at all, Sonic sprinted alongside the car, his feet a red blur beneath him. He never even broke a sweat.

"Of course, you realize that you're the one showing off, now." PJ commented, leaning slightly out of the vehicle.

"Shut up."

The convoy sped along the streets of Radiant Garden, which were all empty save for the occasional civilian rushing toward a shelter. It took Riku a few moments to recognize the fact that they weren't actually the only ones out and about.

The Tron 2.0s that he had briefly seen during their last trip to the world were speeding along the streets as well, moving in the same direction of the cars.

"What are they up to?" he wondered aloud.

The answer became clear when the convoy arrived at the gates a half miles outside of the walled city. The wall wasn't particularly high, and was apparently still under construction.

The cars passed through the gates two at a time, breaking out onto the landscape of blue rocks, marked by the occasional patch of trees that had only recently begun to grow. Assembled around the gate were a few dozen of the Tron 2.0s. Their slim, metallic hands had formed small cannons on them.

They barely moved, and were doubtlessly ready to defend the city gates.

The cars rolled to a stop, and their passengers left them. The handful of police officers who had accompanied them took control of the vehicles, readying their weapons systems should they be needed. Each one of the cops was wearing a thick, padded dark blue uniform over a set of body armor. They wore earpieces, and thick, black leather boots and gloves. Their weapons were fastened to their belts. The letters 'RGPD' were adorned on their backs.

"Chancellor." A tall, middle-aged man wearing a visor, police uniform and body armor said, approaching Leon and saluting. "I'm afraid that I'm going to have to ask again that you not participate in the assault yourself. If anything should happen to you-"

"Then Radiant Garden will have to get along just fine with Aerith as Chancellor." Leon said, before the man could finish. "I'm a better warrior than a politician, and I can serve my world _best_ as a warrior right now."

"But sir-"

"I'll be fine. There are two Keybearers here, after all." Leon half-smiled. "To your position, Captain Andrei."

"Yes sir." The captain reluctantly obeyed Leon's orders, and climbed into the back seat of an armored car, which now had a gatling-gun-like attachment in the top. "Okay men! You know your objectives! Defend the city, and its people."

Leon saluted them, and each and every officer returned it in one crisp movement.

"Move out!" Mickey exclaimed, drawing Kingdom Crown.

The entire party rushed to the west, where Villain's Vale –and legions of Heartless- awaited them.

!

"Too easy." Syndrome commented, dryly.

He, Shego, and Randall stood at the edge of a cliff overlooking the onrushing Heartless army. Looking through a pair of high-powered binoculars, he saw their enemies sprinting from the village gates to meet them.

"Alright, you know the plan." Shego said to her two partners. "Randall, the computer. Syndrome, the kids."

"On it." The two replied.

Syndrome ignited his boots, and took to the air. He cruised low over the rocky ground, in the direction of the village, with one goal in mind. At the same moment, Randall changed his coloration to perfectly match the landscape around him. A moment later, Shego heard him dart away, barely making any noise at all.

Shego sighed to herself, and took a seat. Her legs dangled over the side of the cliff. She pulled out a metal nail file, and started using it to sharpen the ends of her metal-tipped gloves.

"And now I play the waiting game."

!

Moments after meeting the Heartless, Radiant Garden's defenders had become separated from each other. But just because they were divided, didn't mean that they were weak.

Nearly ten minutes into the battle, Riku and Yuffie had somehow wound up fighting alongside Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, and Zuko. The seven of them were in a deep, narrow fissure with sheer rock walls on all sides. Heartless kept pouring in from the top, and dropping down to fight them.

The benders were magnificent. Each one of them (besides Sokka) utilized a specific element of nature in battle, releasing them in the form of complex-looking martial arts movements. These 'benders' didn't even need weapons. They fought with everything around them.

Zuko's fighting style was fast and aggressive. He punched, kicked, or leapt at the Heartless surrounding him. Blazing hot fire burst from his body with every movement, searing Heartless on contact, and scorching the rock around him. He was blindingly fast, and Riku could barely see his limbs moving before a great jet of fire flew at the Heartless.

Sokka –the only non-bender in their group- seemed to be something of a weapons-expert. Riku saw him using no less than three weapons during the course of the fighting. On many occasions, he threw a sharp, gleaming silver boomerang into the throng, where it sliced through the creatures for a surprisingly long time before returning to him. Also on his possession was a long, silver club with a blue stone set into the end. But more often than not, he wielded a thin, jet black sword against the Heartless. He was very adept at using it, and it cut through a Heartless with every swipe.

Little blind Toph sure didn't seem anything like a little blind girl at the moment. She fought with extreme confidence, and a brutally offensive technique. With lots of foot stamping and sliding movements, she manipulated the earth around her. Great pillars of rock burst from the ground, smashing into the Heartless from below, or crashing into them from other angles.

Katara had unsealed the pouches at her waist. It was revealed that she carried large amounts of water in each of them. However, it clearly wasn't for drinking. She was a water-bender. With graceful, flowing, circular moments, she used the water around her as a weapon against the Heartless. She formed it into whips, which cracked against the skin of the creatures. Otherwise, she launched small masses of it into them with the force of cannon balls.

Aang –wielding a long, wooden staff- seemed to be capable of using earth, water, and fire. But more often than any of these, he used the wind and air. With fast, strong, sweeping movements, he sent huge gusts of wind into the Heartless. He was fast, and agile, and graceful all at the same time.

Riku frequently saw the Avatar form spheres of swirling wind beneath his feet. He hopped up onto it, and stood on his toes. He shot all around the battlefield, blowing Heartless out of his path, and striking the closer ones down with his staff.

Riku had a hard time tearing his eyes from the beautiful spectacle, and nearly paid for it. An Armored Knight rushed from the throngs of Heartless, and leapt. Its sword arm nearly took his head off, and only a last-minute parry saved him. He flourished his blade, and cut the Heartless in half before it even touched the ground again.

A huge jet of flame flew past him, and Zuko was soon by his side. The two of them stood side by side among the Heartless, ready to lash out at a moment's notice.

"Do they always keep on coming like this?" Zuko asked.

"Only until they exhaust the numbers their leader sent. This could take a while."

"The sooner they go down, then the sooner we finish, I guess."

"That's the spirit." Riku brought his hands together. "Ray of Dawn!"

The thrust his hands forward, shooting a massive beam of Dawn forward, cutting a massive path through the hordes of creatures. At the same moment, Zuko raised his head, opening his mouth wide. A stream of blazing fire erupted from his mouth, incinerating four of the five Bookmasters that had been flying at him.

Only one managed to survive by raising its tome to defend itself. Before it could hope to counterattack, Yuffie's shuriken was spinning through its neck. It spun back to her hand, and she threw it at a pair of Surveillance Robots before they could fire onto Toph.

Interestingly, the girl didn't seem to have noticed them approaching her from behind. Yuffie leapt over to her.

"Didn't you see them?" She asked, cutting down a Soldier.

"What do you mean 'see?'" She replied, deadpan.

Yuffie mentally slapped herself. "Sorry."

"I can 'see' it if it's on the ground, not in the air. Watch my back."

"Can do."

Toph stamped her foot, and a wall of rock erupted from the ground before her. She slid her foot forward, sending the wall rushing forward, crushing all Heartless in its path. She thrust her hands forward, and the wall broke apart. She brought her hands apart, sending the rocky fragments flying into their ranks.

An Invisible, accompanied by five Rapid Thrusters swooped down toward the two girls. Yuffie threw her shuriken, cutting through the smaller Heartless. The Invisible touched down on the ground for a moment, its blade raised to strike the ninja down. But, since it was on the ground, Toph was now aware of its presence.

She turned, and sent a dagger-like piece of rock flying into its face before it could do anything.

A tidal wave suddenly rushed past the two, crushing Heartless beneath them. Katara rode on top of the water as though she were surfing without a board. She came to a stop on the other end of the fissure, and pulled the water back to herself, forming a bubble of swirling, churning water around her form.

Tentacle-like trails of water emerged from her bubble. Controlling them from inside the relative safety of her bubble, she lashed them against the Heartless, knocking them flat, or slicing completely through them.

A trio of Bookmasters descended from the sky, balls of fire hovering before their tomes. They launched these fireballs into Katara's bubble. They exploded against it, erupting into balls of steam on impact. Katara lost her concentration for a moment, and the bubble collapsed into a very large puddle around her.

Before the Heartless could fire again, Sokka had thrown his boomerang up at them. It sliced through the first one, and injured the other two. "Away from my sister!"

The Guardian flew after the other two Heartless, and smashed them together with its fists. It then shot down to the ground, driving a small group of Shadows into the ground. Riku flew after it, and sliced through a pair of nearby Neoshadows. He drove his Keyblade into the chest of an Armored Knight, and pulled it away quickly.

He twisted his blade around, and deflected the clawed attack of a Soldier. With another simple flick of the wrist, he beheaded it. A Morning Star launched itself into the air, angling toward the Keybearer with the intention of smashing him into the ground. Riku raised his blade.

But, he didn't need to. A massive gust of air blew the Heartless far, far away, sending it smashing into the ground a half-mile away.

Aang landed lightly next to Riku and his Guardian, staff in hand. The Avatar spun it over his head, and then made a sweeping motion with it. Heartless were launched high into the air with the force of the gale he had called up, and Riku picked several of them off while they were in midair with well-aimed blasts of Dawn.

"Not bad." Aang complimented, upon seeing the destruction of the Heartless.

"Not too bad yourself." Riku said.

!

Axel, Kim, Auron, Maka (holding Soul), and Sonic were fighting a few miles away from them, along a section of the Ravine Trail. This narrow stretch of rocky path cut off abruptly on either end, into a sheer vertical drop into the canyons below.

Every time that Maka swung the massive scythe that was Soul, the blade emitted a bright flash of blue light. She sliced cleanly through Heartless with every stroke, wielding the very heavy blade as though it weighed next to nothing. And she was as fast as she was strong, dodging, and leaping around the attacks of the creatures even as she destroyed them.

But where Maka was fast, Sonic was faster still. He was quite literally a blur, as he zipped back and forth around the area, striking Heartless down before they had any chance of touching him. He barely ever slowed down, even while faced with the prospect of taking a header over the side of the trail, and down over a hundred feet.

Axel stood back-to-back with Auron. "You know, last time I tried fighting against this many enemies, I ended up killing myself."

"Hm. I know what that feels like." Auron commented. "I hope to avoid it this time."

"Right back at ya."

A handful of Shadows and Neoshadows leapt at the two the moment these words were out of Axel's mouth. In one smooth movement, Axel and Auron traded places. Auron's massive katana shredded through the Heartless on his side, while Axel's chakrams did the same to those on the other side.

The two jumped forward. Axel spun in the air, the weapons in both of his hands burning, and setting the nearest Heartless alight, sometimes without even touching them directly. When he touched the ground, he tossed both of them forward, slicing through anything they touched.

Before they returned to his grasp, a Bookmaster sent a fireball down at him. Axel reached up, and caught it as though it were a mere baseball. He tossed it casually back at the Heartless, hitting it full in the face.

Sonic leapt over Axel's head, running at break-neck speed. In the air, he spun around in something of a circle, his fists and feet striking a small group of Rapid Thrusters who came foolishly close to him, and destroying them immediately.

The hedgehog literally hit the ground running, without slowing or stumbling in the slightest. He ran toward an Armored Knight, and grabbed its arm above its blade. He pulled the Heartless along with him, and shoved its blade into five Neoshadows, before throwing it into a Dark Ball which was rocketing toward him.

He stopped in front of a Large Body. It raised its hands, intending to smash Sonic into the ground. But before it could bring them crashing down, there was a horizontal slash of blue light. The Heartless' head fell from its neck, leaking black smoke.

When the rest of its body faded away, Maka was revealed to be standing there, holding Soul. She flashed Sonic a quick grin, and then spun around. With a single wide slash of the scythe that was also a human, she cut no less than a dozen Shadows in half. A small barrage of blasts from Surveillance Robots shot down at her.

She raised her blade, and blocked the shots. They splattered uselessly against the weapon. Maka spun her scythe over her head, and leapt into the air. She slashed at the hovering Heartless, and destroyed them instantly.

She landed back on the ground, and spun the large weapon around her body, cutting apart the nearest of the Heartless several times in about three seconds.

Kim leapt over her head, kicking an Invisible in the face before she touched the ground. She reached into a pouch on her belt, and withdrew a tiny black ball from inside. She threw it up into the air to strike the Invisible she had just kicked. It exploded upon contact with its skin, destroying it immediately.

She pulled more of the tiny explosives from her belt, and threw a fistful of them into the Heartless throng.

A series of small, but powerful explosions ripped into the creatures, shredding their dark flesh in an instant. She hadn't quite counted on the kick that they packed, and was _just_ too close to one of them when it went off.

She was thrown about a foot backwards. This wasn't a particularly great distance, but there had been only six inches between her and the edge of the rocky path. At the cutoff point, she began to fall into the gorge.

Fortunately for her, a strong, weathered hand gripped her gloved one before she went too far. She looked up, and saw Auron's face. His sword was beside him, with its blade stuck roughly into the ground. He gripped her hand with his strong right arm.

Wordlessly, he pulled her back up. A Neoshadow leapt at his back, hoping to take him down while he was unarmed.

Unfortunately for it, Auron's sword was back in his hand the second he had released Kim. With a turn of his wrist, he beheaded it in midair.

Three Armored Knights struck at him at once, only to have their arm-blades pinned to the ground with Auron's own sword. He cut the three of them in half easily, and rolled forward through the space they had occupied as a Morning Star crashed down not two feet away.

Auron rolled smoothly to his feet, and smacked the big Heartless in its side with his blade. The semi-spherical Heartless was sent flying over the side of the pathway, and down into the deep gorge below, where it was crushed by the impact of its own fall.

!

Nehrut, Bariss, Train, Sven, Eve, Spyro, Cynder, and Sparx were fighting in a rocky section of the landscape, which sloped traitorously downward. It could best be described as a cliffside, which sloped at a forty-five degree angle, and was marked with loose rock all over it.

The terrain of this area was understandably a major disadvantage on their part. It was hard to take a step without worry of falling several feet. However, this didn't seem to bother the Heartless very much.

Even amidst the fighting, Nehrut had time to marvel at the abilities of their new allies.

Spyro flew over the main fighting, spewing flame from his mouth. This was to be expected from a dragon, but he also displayed other talents. Super-cooled ice particles burst from his mouth, freezing Heartless on impact. In addition to this, bolts of bluish, crackling electricity burst from his maw, destroying Heartless, and scorching the rock around them.

Cynder used similar techniques, but not elemental powers. Greenish energy spewed from her mouth, searing the Heartless below. It exploded against the ground, catching still more Heartless in its path, and destroying them instantly. Their friend Sparx flitted between the two, shouting his encouragement and advice.

Train was amazingly agile, and leapt among the rocks without any sign of slipping. His revolver was out, and firing repeatedly into the Heartless. Every shot destroyed at least one Heartless. The bullets had so much power behind them that some punched completely through the creatures.

His partner Sven was fighting with a briefcase. At least, it _appeared_ to be a small, silver briefcase, which he held in his right hand. When he used it in battle, however, he held it in both hands, like a rifle. A stream of bullets poured out of the side, pouring into the Heartless. Nehrut couldn't determine whether the suitcase was the weapon, or if there was a gun inside it. Either way, he was impressed.

Eve, on the other hand, didn't use a weapon. She _was_ a weapon.

The girl could transform her body into virtually anything that could be used in battle. In one moment, her entire forearm would transform into a sword blade, while the fingers on her other hand lengthened, and hardened into thin blades, as well. Other times, her fist transformed into the head of a hammer, or locks of her long hair became whips. At points, feathery, white angel wings burst from her back, allowing her flight.

Nehrut parried a blow from an Armored Knight, knocking it backwards a few steps. He casually turned around, and cut the head off of a charging Soldier, before cutting the first creature in half. A Large Body slid toward him, and the telepath stretched out his hand. The Heartless froze, and he shoved it down the cliffside, knocking it repeatedly against the rocks.

Spyro barrel-rolled over his head, spewing fire from his mouth into the Heartless ahead of him. Three Rapid Thrusters came toward him, but a quick burst of electricity took them out of the picture faster than anyone could blink. Two Dark Balls shot at the young dragon with the force of wrecking balls.

He shot below them when they approached. He twisted around in the air before they could, and fired a large ball of flame at them, which reduced them to wisps of smoke in the air in a half-second.

Cynder flew past him, directly toward a handful of Bookmasters and Rapid Thrusters shooting toward the two dragons. Crackling energy burst from her mouth, destroying them instantly. An Invisible shot toward her from below. She barely even paid it any attention as she lashed her tail out at it.

Her tail coiled tightly around its neck, and with a single tug, she snapped it in two.

Another small group of Rapid Thrusters flew toward her, though before she could do anything about them, a hail of bullets tore into the flying Heartless. Cynder looked down, and saw Sven flash her a quick thumbs-up. The end of his briefcase-weapon was smoking.

Sven turned the end of the case toward another group of Heartless making their way down the hill toward him. More bullets flew from the weapon, ripping into the creatures before they got too close. Still, more kept coming.

Sven pressed a few concealed buttons and switches on the underside of his case. He altered the way he carried the case just slightly. He held it against his side, and fired. Rather than the expected trail of bullets, a small mini-missile blasted from the case. It shot up the cliffside, and exploded against the belly of a Large Body.

The resulting explosion ripped off a chunk of the rock face, and sent a small avalanche of bluish rocks sliding down the side of the cliff. Several Heartless were crushed beneath the rocks. Eve was in the path of these rocks only briefly, before she took to the air on her wings.

She landed not far from Nehrut, and turned her two hands into meter-long blades. She waved her arms, and took the heads off of two Soldiers. She didn't slow down, and leapt farther up the side of the cliff, slicing through a few lesser Heartless as she moved up.

Possibly considering her the greatest threat, several Heartless leapt at her the moment she touched the ground there. Before their eyes, her hair took on a life of its own, transforming into a series of razor-sharp, blonde blades. They spun around her head, cutting down the attacking Heartless before they could come too close.

Nehrut gaped. Train landed next to him, and fired off a shot into the face of an Armored Knight. "And that's why you never judge on appearance."

Three Surveillance Robots approached them, and fired simultaneously. Three red bolts streaked down at Train. He lifted his gun, and smacked them aside instantly with one swift movement. He didn't even blink.

He raised the gun. Barely even aiming, he fired three times, striking each Heartless between their beady little eyes. He fired off the rest of his loaded rounds into the faces of two Dark Balls shooting down after them.

An Invisible streaked toward him, and he let it come, while he readied another few rounds. The Heartless aimed a ferocious chop at his neck, and he lifted his weapon. The Invisible's blade was stopped by the durable metal of the gun, and he threw it off of it. Train pointed the now-loaded gun at the Heartless' face, and fired three shots into it, point blank.

An Armored Knight sliced at his head, but Nehrut was already there to keep it away. He sliced the Heartless in half before the attack could hit home.

Bariss approached Nehrut, slashing her whip back and forth across the battleground, and destroying the hostile creatures with every swing. She pulled her sai from her belt, and threw it. For one wild instant, Nehrut thought it had been aimed at him, but then he realized that she intended for him to duck.

So, he did. And Rose Blade struck the face of the Large Body behind him that he hadn't realized was there. He jumped up, and ripped the blade free, tossing it casually back to Bariss.

"Thanks for that." He commented with a grin. "Save me one more time, and you get to keep me."

Bariss grinned slyly. "Oh, I look forward to that."

!

Slightly closer to the village, the line was being held by another group of warriors: Leon, Rinoa, Sulley, Mr. Incredible, Mickey, Max, PJ, and Mario. A handful of the officers from the Radiant Garden Police department were present, as well.

The cops were firing from cover, with thin rifles. These semi-automatic weapons launched narrow bullets from the barrels. These bullets burst open upon contact with a solid surface, releasing a burst of concentrated energy in a bright, electric-orange flash. A handful of Assassin Nobodies fought alongside them.

Mario tore across the battlefield, bashing the Heartless with surprising strength for one of his stature. He was quite fast and agile as well, considering his relatively short legs. Interestingly, he also jumped very high. He would land on top of the Heartless, and smash them into the ground. Quite often, this was all it took to take them out of the fight.

PJ's blaster cannon packed a greater punch than the ones carried by the RGPD officers' rifles, though it worked in a similar fashion. In addition to firing energy slugs into the enemies, it had separate attachments and functions to it. A simple adjustment could transform it into a grenade launcher. Explosive canisters about the size of one's fist could blow the Heartless to pieces.

Strapped to Rinoa's wrist was a projectile weapon called the Blaster Edge. This small device launched metal, boomerang-like projectiles from it. They resembled interlocking, razor-sharp angel wings, and were about eight inches in diameter. Despite her 'cute' appearance, Rinoa was deadly with it. The boomerangs whistled through the air, slicing through the Heartless from great distances, before returning to their position on her arm.

This small group was holding the line on a small, flat area a few miles outside of the village gates. This area was crucial to keeping the village of Radiant Garden safe, and the Heartless were giving it all they had to break through their guard and make it to the gates.

Fortunately, none of them had succeeded yet. But it wasn't for lack of trying.

"Show no mercy!" Leon prompted the cops, aiming his Gunblade into the throng of Heartless. He pulled the trigger at the pommel of the blade, beneath the sword section of it. Fireballs shot from the weapon, bursting against the skin of the Heartless, and taking away chunks of dark flesh.

PJ was crouched down beside him, firing rapidly into the Heartless. Two Morning Stars suddenly launched themselves into the air, angling their bodies to slam down onto the young man. Quickly, he changed the angle of his weapon, and pointed straight up at them. A flick of a switch and a pull of the trigger fired an explosive into the first of them.

It destroyed it instantly, but the other Heartless was still falling onto him. Mr. Incredible leapt toward it, and caught it easily before it slammed him into the ground. With a grunt, he twisted around, and threw it into its Heartless fellows, crushing the smaller ones underneath it.

Mickey and Max charged forward, their blades flashing. They sliced Heartless apart almost effortlessly, leaping and bounding across the battlefield. Not a single one of the creatures touched them.

One Invisible shot down from the sky, rocketing at Max like a cannon ball. The teenager dove to the side, leaving it to slash uselessly into the ground. With one powerful swing of his sword, he took its head off. Mickey leapt through the space it had occupied, and drove his blade into the chest of a Soldier.

He pulled his Keyblade free, and aimed the tip at a Morning Star rushing at him. He launched a ball of intense Light into its body. It exploded on contact, shredding the Heartless to pieces, and destroying those nearest it.

A pair of Armored Knights leapt from the detonation site, their blades raised to strike Max and Mickey in half. Mario leapt over their heads, directly at the Heartless. The bottom of his shoe connected with the face of one, sending it flipping backwards through the air. At the same moment, he grabbed its partner around the neck with his arm.

When he touched down, he twisted his arm hard, snapping the Heartless's neck. Two Shadows jumped at him, their claws extended. Mario clenched his fist, and smashed it into the face of the first one. As it faded away, he slipped to the side to avoid the attack of the other. He jumped into the air, and landed on top of its head, smashing it into the ground.

One of Rinoa's boomerangs whistled over the man's head, slicing through the air, and cutting the head of an approaching Bookmaster clean off. It cut deep into the flesh of several other Heartless before sliding neatly back into the device on her wrist.

Not pausing for even half a second, she launched another three of them into the Heartless. They flew in wide arcs across the battlefield, slicing into the creatures, losing next to no momentum even as the sharp blades cut into their bodies.

A Rapid Thruster was able to make it past those blades, and shot toward Rinoa's head. But, before she even had to raise a hand to defend herself, Sulley rushed forward. He snatched the small Heartless out of the air, and crushed it in his claw.

The monster roared, and charged into the Heartless like an angry bull, smashing them, or sending them flying with swipes of his massive paws. One Armored Knight he actually launched into the air with the narrow horns on his head.

The fighting went on like this for some time. This particular section of the battle remained poised in stalemate, until unlikely reinforcements arrived on the scene.

The sound of a few motorized vehicles gradually grew, until it was almost deafening. These vehicles soon came into sight of the combatants. There were two cars, and three motorcycle-like vehicles.

_Those fools are seriously riding right into a combat zone?_

Leon gazed at the approaching vehicles, recognizing one of the bike-drivers immediately. It was a young man, about seventeen or eighteen. He had a muscled, athletic body, with slightly tanned skin. He had jet black hair, which was slicked back into spikes that pointed slightly to the left side of his head. A small tuft of black hair on his chin was becoming a beard, and he had blazing green eyes. He wore a long, emerald jacket over a black muscle shirt, and blue jeans.

There was a girl sitting on the seat directly behind him. She had long, wavy golden hair, and bright ultramarine eyes. She wore a thin blue and green denim jacket which cut off at the elbows, over a light blue T-shirt. She wore blue jeans with buckles on the knees, which allowed them to change into shorts if desired.

This girl rose up in her seat, managing to keep her balance despite the high speed the motorcycle was travelling at. She held a bright green compound bow in her hands, which bore a pattern of vines on it. She produced a very sharp arrow from the quiver on her back, which almost resembled a fresh rose.

She took careful aim, and fired the arrow into the face of a Morning Star, which had launched itself so high into the air, that it was hard to see against the bright sun above. The arrow struck it right between the eyes, and it had turned to black smoke before it could have possibly caused any damage.

"Them again?" Rinoa muttered.

The vehicles rolled to a stop in front of the line that Leon, Rinoa, PJ, and the cops had formed. The riders went into action immediately, some of them falling behind the vehicles to fire from cover with rifles, bows, or similar weapons. The rest jumped from their seats, and charged into battle with more direct weapons. Most of them were teenagers and young adults.

"Crystal." Leon said, addressing the girl with the compound bow. She was firing from behind the cover of one of the cars, taking down a Heartless with every shot. Her partner on the motorcycle was now fighting Heartless with a thick, black broadsword. An emerald flame pattern was engraved into its side. He was ferocious in combat.

"Hello, Chancellor." Crystal greeted in a slightly cheerful voice which didn't actually suit the situation. She didn't entirely remove her attention from the combat, and continued firing into the mob of Heartless. "Good day for a nice friendly battle, huh?"

"We've been over this." Leon said, ignoring the humor.

"Maybe we could continue the old argument some other time?" She suggested. "This isn't a great time for any of us."

Acquiescing for the moment, Leon nodded. He vaulted over the car, holding his Gunblade high. He rushed back into the fighting, slashing quickly back and forth, and removing pieces of Heartless with every movement.

With the arrival of the new guys, the Heartless ranks broke, and in moments, they had retreated from that particular section of the battlefield. The cops and newcomers breathed a collective sigh of relief, and soon afterward began exchanging the usual comradely comments on the others' performance.

Leon walked directly toward the black-haired teenager. "Peter."

"Roy." He corrected, sheathing his sword to his belt.

"What are you doing?" Leon asked.

"Is that a trick question, or something?"

Leon wasn't amused. "This is an active combat zone. The order was given for all civilians to get to safety in the bunkers. It's for your own good."

"Funny, Chancellor..." Roy began. "You didn't seem to feel this way when the Heartless attacked last time. You know, before the police department was back up and running again?"

It was true enough. When Maleficent and Organization XIII had fashioned the Heartless invasion, Roy, Crystal, and their band of 'freedom fighters' had defended the village while Sora, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and the Restoration Committee were busy in the valleys. Afterword, they had also helped defend the people from the MCP's own attempt at domination.

They had received thanks from the Committee afterward, though had still been forced to keep their civilian status. Leon had claimed that they were too young to enter into any sort of military or police service, as most of them had been under eighteen at the time, and still were.

"I have told you this before, Peter." Leon continued, not acknowledging his preferred nickname. "We're grateful for your assistance, but you need to return to the shelter, or there will be consequences."

"Well, Chancellor, answer this question..." Roy said. "Are we vigilantes looking for some shared glory, or are we patriots who just want to do our part to help our world... You know, kind of like your Keybearer friend?"

There was a moment of tense silence. Leon looked at Roy, Rinoa looked at Crystal, the cops looked at the militia.

At last, Leon sighed in irritation. "As if age has anything to do with skill... You're with us. But you fill follow my orders _to the letter_."

Roy shot off a casual salute to Leon, grinning. "Happy to help, Chancellor."

!

_Concluding with a character inspired by a very good friend of mine! Hope you guys have enjoyed the first act of the Battle of Radiant Garden!_

_Please, leave a review!_


	130. Chapter 129: The Unexpected

_Welcome back! This is one of my favorite chapters in a while, as you'll probably see. Hope that you enjoy it!_

_Yuffie: "Thanks for ruining my world again, by the way."_

_Hey, you're used to it._

_Yuffie: "But that's like saying 'I'm used to getting into car crashes.' I'm not reading the disclaimer!"_

_Fine, fine. I'm sorry. I don't own anything, yadda, yadda, yadda._

_!_

Chapter 129: The Unexpected

Zell, Cid, and Luxord rolled to a screeching halt at the base of the castle. The three of them leapt out of the armored car, and took off at a run to the castle postern, rushing up the well-worn path, through the entryway, and down into the lower levels of the magnificent castle.

They rushed through the winding corridors for several minutes, passing up civilian staff and Tron 2.0s as they went. After several minutes, they arrived at Chancellor Squall Leonheart's office, which had once served as the study of Ansem the Wise.

The layout of the circular room was much the same, though with a few glaring differences. The bookshelves lining the walls were filled with several different volumes, many of which Ansem had never possessed. The throne sitting behind the semi-circular desk had been removed, and replaced by a high-backed, mahogany chair. The containers of research hearts had been removed. Lining the walls were maps and charts, as well as the framed Constitution of Radiant Garden. The portrait of Xehanort (which was now being used as a dart board on the _Unity_) had been replaced by one of Ansem himself. Resting on the desk were photographs of the Restoration Committee (plus the honorary members of Sora, Donald, and Goofy), and one of Leon and Rinoa together.

The three barely paid these things any attention, and strode to the wall to the left side of the room. Cid pressed his hand to it, and a large section of it vanished completely. Beyond, was revealed a metal walkway, in the massive manufacturing chamber.

Xehanort and his cohorts had once used the massive array of machinery below to create Emblem Heartless. Since then, Tron had been using it to create the Tron 2.0s. These machines were currently offline, though Tron could bring them back online in an instant.

They walked into a nearby control room. The massive central control computer sat on one side of the room. On the other end was the huge transmitter array that could send one into the Dataspace if desired.

"Tron!" Cid barked.

The screen on the computer flickered to life instantly. Cid pulled up a rolling chair, and sat down in front of it. Tron's face appeared.

"User interface is ready whenever you are, Cid."

"Alright. Show me the locations of all active 2.0s in and around the village."

A second screen appeared. The layout of the village and its surrounding terrain was displayed. Small flashing white lights indicated the position of the Tron 2.0s that were online at the moment.

"While we're at it, show me our boys, and the hostiles."

More lights appeared. Blue indicated police officers, green indicated non-police allied warriors, such as the off-worlders, and violet indicated the position of Chancellor Leonheart. Thousands of red dots indicated groups of Heartless.

Cid looked at the screen with a grimace. "Get the 2.0s to the city gates, and bring their offensive programs online. Get every one we have up and running."

"As you command." Tron said.

"Set the claymores to maximum energy output, and activate the castle defense systems."

"The entire system?"

"Turrets and all." Cid confirmed.

There was a loud crash from below in the manufacturing area. Cid stood from his seat, and clutched his spear in his hand. He looked out through the viewport in the room, down to the general direction the noise had come from. Nothing was visible.

"Go check that out." Cid ordered Zell and Luxord.

"I'm waiting for the magic wo-ords..." Zell replied in a sing-song voice.

Cid growled. "_Please_ go check the freaking _noise_!"

"That's better than nothing." Zell said, smirking. He and the chuckling Luxord left the control room, and made their way down to the manufacturing area.

Cid grumbled. "Tron, security cams."

Yet another screen appeared. It was split into sections, with each one showing a different view of the plant, control center, the Chancellor's office, and the corridors leading to them. Minutes later, he saw Luxord and Zell through one of the feeds.

He waited, occasionally giving Tron commands to implement on the town defenses.

Something moved past the control room camera.

Cid twisted his head around, looking at the camera mounted on the wall. He saw nothing there. He cautiously lowered his hand to his spear.

Suddenly, there was a mass of purple hurtling through the air directly at him. It collided with his chest, throwing him from his seat, and knocking the breath out of him.

He lay there on the floor for a moment. Before he could do anything a fist connected with his chin, knocking him unconscious instantly.

Randall stood over him, smiling in satisfaction. "Sweet dreams, old man." He bent down, and picked his chair back up, contemptuously kicking the unconscious Cid out of the way. He sat down, and rolled back over to the computer. In one of his four hands, he held a small computer disk.

He searched for only a second, and found the place to insert it. He slipped it inside, and the result was instantaneous.

First: Every one of the dots on the computer screen that had indicated a Tron 2.0 turned from friendly white, to hostile red. Second: The screen depicting the original Tron in the Dataspace flickered, and then went out. And third: The manufacturing equipment hummed back to life. The principle matter generators went online first. There was a brief flash of coursing energy, and there were a handful of digital Heartless: Strafers, Magnum Loaders, and Devastators.

Randall smiled to himself. Through the computer screens, he watched as Zell and Luxord were ambushed by the digital Heartless, and forced into unexpected combat with them. On another feed, he saw turrets emerging from the outer walls of the castle. And on still more feeds, he saw the circuitry lines on the Tron 2.0s turn from gold to red.

Those that were near any Radiant Garden police officers opened fire on them, while the rest buzzed back toward the castle.

"This oughta be distraction enough." He said to himself. "That or we need to blow up an orphanage." He activated his concealed earpiece. "Shego, Syndrome. I've loaded the virus, and the robots are returning here."

"Defenses?" Came Shego's voice.

"Looks like they're online. Any cops or so-called-heroes try to get in here, we can make things very uncomfortable for them."

"Just to be safe, hang around there for a while, and make sure nobody gets into the Dataspace."

"I copy." Randall agreed. "Syndrome, now would be a good time to move in."

"I'm approaching Cetra Hospital. Its security is up, but it shouldn't take too long to get inside."

"Excellent." One could practically hear Shego smiling. "It looks like an early Christmas for us this year."

"And what exactly are _you_ going to do, Shego?" Randall asked.

"Oh, you didn't think I'd sit this one out, did you? I'm going to Villain's Vale. On the off-chance that anybody breaks through the Heartless, I'll buy that lummox a bit of time."

"Like we'll need it." Syndrome said. "Anyway, I'm moving in. Out."

"Out." Randall copied.

!

"Squall! Major problem here!" Zell's voice blared into Leon's earpiece.

"What's wrong?" Leon asked over the sounds of battle. He snapped off a few quick shots with the Gunblade before ducking behind the cover of a large boulder.

"The computers are all jacked up! The Tron 2.0s have turned against us, digital Heartless are shooting out of the machines here, and the castle's defense systems are firing at random buildings nearby!" There was a pause, and it sounded as though Zell had just narrowly avoided an attack from something. "We need help here!"

"Where's Cid?"

"Out like a light. This weird lizard-thing locked us out of the control room. I guess he's messing with our systems. We're stuck fighting robots and Heartless here! We need backup!"

"Lizard-thing?"

"That's as best as I can describe it. Why, do you know him?"

"Let me check." King Mickey was battling the Heartless not far from Leon, who beckoned for him to come over. The King rushed through the fighting, turning aside any attack that came his way. "Do _you_ know any lizard-things?"

"Sounds like Randall." Mickey said.

Leon grimaced. "Zell, it's one of the mercenaries that intercepted our off-world friends."

"Think they were the ones who released Pete?"

"Possibly. Whatever the case, help is on the way. I'm sending one of our extra teams over. Donald and Goofy are there, so they might be able to help if you need to go into the Dataspace..."

A horrified expression came to his face. "Hold that thought... If the mercenaries are here..."

"They'll be after Sora and Kairi!" Mickey exclaimed, finishing his disturbing thought.

"Zell, I'm going to have to send them to the hospital first, how long can you hold out?"

"Meh, half an hour?"

"That'll have to work. Just hang in there. Leon out."

"Bad, bad, bad, bad, _bad_ luck." Mickey muttered.

!

"You know how to drive this thing, right?" Selphie asked Rikku.

"Not really."

The team of nine was crammed into an armored car, and streaking across the rocky landscape, back toward the village. In the front seat with Rikku (the driver) were Wakka and Paine. In the back seat sat Donald, Goofy, Tidus, Selphie, Yuna, and Kimahri. It was crowded.

"Why are they sending us again?" Selphie asked.

"Because we're closest to the town, and Donald and Goofy have been in the computer world before." Yuna answered. She was on one end of the seat, and had two pistols in her hands. Some of the other occupants were surprised to note that they were semi-automatic. She was unloading into the Heartless that attempted to follow their car. Her staff was strapped to her back, just in case.

Her aim was very precise, but ruined slightly by Rikku's erratic driving. She was worse than Yuffie when it came to making crazy or unnecessary turns. At one point, she hit a boulder, and launched the car into the air. Were it not for their seat belts, they all would have gone flying. As it was, the car merely hit the ground on all four wheels, bounced, jostled them a bit, and rolled on.

"When we get to the hospital," Wakka groaned, "Let's get someone else to drive, huh?"

"Hey, I'm a great driver!" Rikku shouted. "Who else could get us there this fast?"

"Are we there, yet?" Donald asked, looking rather green.

"Almost." Tidus had a blue broadsword in his hand. He was white-knuckling it, and looked just as nervous as any of them did at the time. "Let's just be ready to fight our way past the robots."

It was good advice. They soon came into sight of the city gates, which were wide open. The command to close them had been remotely over-ridden. The police officers who had been there to defend the gates were ducking for cover behind their trashed vehicles. A few of them were no longer standing.

They were firing at the Tron 2.0s from behind the vehicles, and the animatronic beings seemed very eager to fight back.

Rikku throttled the car forward, and Yuna opened fire on the robots. At the same moment, Donald sent vicious bolts of lightning at them from the end of his staff, Goofy threw his shield, and Wakka threw his spiked blue blitzball into the horde.

Over half of them fell due to the surprise attacks, and pieces of them flew like shrapnel through the air.

Rikku brought the car to a stop, and Paine, Selphie, Kimahri, and Tidus leapt out first. Paine brandished a vicious-looking scimitar, and rushed headlong into the robots, slashing them to pieces with fast, powerful strikes. Sparks flew from their severed body parts as they fell, dismantled, to the ground.

Tidus's blade was a blue blur in the air, as he struck them down using slightly heavier attacks. He turned the red blaster bolts aside with the flat end of the blade, even as he cut the shooters to shreds.

Selphie spun a pair of nunchaku through the air. Despite her very un-warrior-like appearance, she was very adept at using them. The ends of the handles were slightly pointed, which made them a suitable melee weapon if necessary. The ends flew all over, smashing into the Tron 2.0s, and punching holes into their hardened carapaces.

Kimahri wielded a massive lance-like weapon. It was about as tall as he was, with a sharp silver blade at the end. On the sides of the main tip were two crescent-shaped pieces of metal. He slashed the weapon in long, vicious arcs. He moved surprisingly fast for somebody of his size, tearing apart many of the robots before they could fire at him.

Rikku was the last one out of the car. On her knuckles were a pair of claw-like weapons. They were basically a pair of short, red and black blades, which she wore on her hands, and could be used to cut and slash with at short distances. She agilely wove around the attacks of their former allies, and struck them down with blindingly fast attacks.

The fight barely lasted five minutes, and the result was minimal injury on the part of the organic warriors, and a large pile of smoking, sparking scrap metal.

Tidus walked over to the cops who were still crouched cautiously down behind their vehicles. "Are you all okay?"

"We have men down." The nearest man said. Tidus could recognize him as Captain Andrei, whom Leon had spoken to before the battle. His uniform was tattered and covered in dust and dirt. "Acceptable losses. And if we win this day, then at least it wasn't for nothing. What happened to the robots?"

"Somebody uploaded a virus into the central computer system." Yuna said. "We're making a stop at Cetra Hospital, and then take we're taking care of the problem."

"Need an escort?"

"No." Paine said. "Stay here, and continue protecting the gates in case the Heartless break through. We'll handle the computer ourselves."

"Yes ma'am." The captain saluted her. He turned to his men. "You heard the lady, take up your positions again as best you can."

As Andrei and the other cops took up their defensive positions, the team got back into their car. This time, Paine took the driver's seat before Rikku could reclaim the steering wheel. It was a much smoother ride afterward, through the streets of Radiant Garden, and toward Cetra Hospital.

Tidus uttered a silent prayer that Sora and Kairi would be safe by the time they got there.

!

"_It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood..._" Syndrome hummed to himself, aiming his pointer finger at the front doorway of Cetra Hospital. At the start of Pete's Heartless attack, heavy metal slats had slid over every last door and window. Several civilians were taking refuge in the basement, as well as a handful of the walking patients. The major operating rooms were also sealed.

A blinding blast of energy knocked the front doors from their hinges, and flying into the administration area. Nobody was inside, so the only damage caused was to the floor and back wall.

"Knock knock." Syndrome said to nobody in particular, strolling inside. He checked a device on his gauntlet. This particular device was set to detect the exact arrangement of ions that existed in the energy that had last hit Sora and Kairi. Traces of the energy still remained on their bodies.

He followed the devices directions down several hallways. Minutes into his search, he was ambushed.

Two police officers rushed from the end of the hallway before him. Both held the assault rifles that most of the officers carried during incidents such as a Heartless siege. They stopped, and took aim at Syndrome's head.

"Freeze! Hands in the air!"

Playing along, Syndrome lifted his arms above his head. The two cops approached slowly, their weapons never pointing away from him.

When they were about five feet from him, Syndrome pointed his index fingers at their weapons. He encased the rifles in fields of energy, and they flew from the cops' grips into his awaiting hands.

He immediately dropped the weapons, and pointed his fingers at the two officers. "Freeze."

He trapped them in similar energy fields, and tossed them far back down the hall to smash against the wall. They fell to the ground, unconscious and bleeding.

Syndrome barely paid them any more attention, and continued his search. He followed his scanner up two floors, and down several more hallways. Along the way, he knocked out a total of eight more police officers.

He knew he had finally found the correct room when the scanner on his wrist started beeping furiously. He smiled to himself, and looked at the door. The metal in the doorway was even thicker than that that had been on the front doors. His targets were definitely inside.

Not wanting to injure them further by blowing the door to pieces, he made a few adjustments to his gauntlet weapon. It only took him a moment, and then he touched his finger to the door. The metal started smoking, and quickly started to burn beneath his fingertip.

Slowly, he moved his finger around the edges of the door, severing it from the rest of the doorframe. It barely took him two minutes, before the metal was eaten completely through.

With one strong kick, he knocked a rectangular, human-sized chunk of the metal free. It clattered to the floor of the operating room, doing no harm beyond scuffing the floor.

Syndrome walked inside, and immediately found his targets in the center of the room. Sora and Kairi were lying on their rolling cots, garbed in hospital gowns, and completely unconscious.

He smiled to himself. This was going to be extremely simple.

He took a few steps toward them.

Suddenly, the transparent figures of Roxas and Namine appeared at the foot of their respective others' beds. "Don't touch them!" Roxas shouted, taking a step toward Syndrome with Namine right next to him.

The events that followed this were substantial evidence toward the theory that complete foolishness can change the face of history.

Due to the fact that Syndrome was –deep down- a great coward, he promptly screamed like a girl, and hopped backwards into the doorway. His hand shot out, and a beam of bright blue energy shot at Roxas' chest.

Naturally, it didn't harm him. But what did happen, was that the beam appeared to stop _inside_ his chest, at about the spot where his heart was. It then changed course completely, and bounced toward the same position in Namine's transparent body.

There was a bright flash of light, and a burst of energy so great that the walls of the operating room buckled. The floor tiles cracked, the windows to the observation room shattered, Sora and Kairi's cots flew backwards, and the bank of machinery on the far wall exploded into bright sparks, sending pieces of metal scattering across the room.

Syndrome was hit full-on by the blast of energy. With another effeminate shriek, he was thrown from the room, and smashed into the back wall just as the remains of the armored plates in the doorway were shattered.

When the thick smoke began to clear, two figures stood tall amidst the wreckage of the operating room. Syndrome began to crawl to his feet. He reached out to the doorframe, and tried to pull himself up.

He was far, far too weak and injured, however. He groaned, and looked up when a shadow fell over him.

There stood a fully opaque Roxas, returned to human form by the combination of technology and Darkness experimentation.

The last thing Syndrome saw before losing conciousness for the next several hours was the bottom of Roxas' shoe as it collided with his face.

!

After knocking Syndrome out, Roxas looked at himself in shock. He held his hands up in front of his eyes, double-checking to make sure that he couldn't see through them. He touched them to his face, and discovered that it was also completely solid.

He turned at the sound of a cough behind him.

Namine was there as well, also solid. She waved the smoke away from her face, and met his eyes. She approached him slowly.

"Are we...?" He began. "Are we... _real_?"

Namine stopped in front of him, and reached out her hand. Roxas jumped slightly when she placed her palm to his chest. She was silent for a moment, and Roxas wondered what she was doing.

"It's beating." She whispered.

They had hearts.

And they were full, outside of Sora and Kairi.

"We are real." Namine breathed in awe.

There was movement behind them, and Roxas and Namine jumped.

"If you're 'real' now, then what were you before?"

"Sora!?" Roxas exclaimed in surprise.

The Keyblade Master stumbled out of the smoke, garbed in his now-dusty, blue-green hospital gown. He waved the smoke away from his face, and looked carefully around the wreckage that was the operating room. "Kairi? Are you alright?"

There was a clattering sound which may have been the remains of the hospital cot hitting the floor. "Yeah."

The smoke finally cleared away completely, seeping out of the ruined door, or into the observation room. Sora and Kairi showed absolutely no sign that they had been in critical condition just a few short minutes before. They still looked a little bit pale, but color was already returning to their faces.

"What just happened?" Roxas asked.

"I don't know." Sora said, looking at Roxas. He reached out a hand, and touched him on the shoulder. "But... You're solid."

"Really?" Roxas asked, arching an eyebrow.

"I guess that whatever Syndrome did triggered something." Namine said with a shrug.

"Maybe we should ask Yen Sid about it, when we get the chance." Kairi suggested.

"Yeah." Roxas agreed. "But for now... Where are your clothes?"

It was at that moment that Sora and Kairi really looked at each other. They immediately blushed, and looked away, eliciting chuckles from their not-quite-Nobodies.

After a few minutes of searching, they found their usual clothing beneath the wreckage of the computer consoles. Due to their magical properties, they had been mostly undamaged in the explosion of energy, and what little damage they had sustained was immediately mended by the same magic.

Sora and Kairi quickly changed –looking pointedly away from each other, and blushing like crazy- while Roxas and Namine stood outside the room.

During that time, Roxas experimentally summoned his Keyblades. He discovered that he still had two: His own original one... And poor Xion's.

His original one (which he held in his right hand) had a brand new design, but it felt right in his hand. It had a hexagonal guard, with the black Nobody emblem on its pommel. The shaft was slightly crooked, forming a wide angle in the very middle. It was silver, with spiky, black marks along its length. It had three spiked 'teeth' which were hooked slightly at the end. Each tooth had a black line in its center. Its keychain matched the emblem on his jacket zipper.

Its name came to him immediately: Other Side.

The one in his left hand was also new to him. It had a rectangular-shaped guard, with a multi-pronged white star on the pommel. The long shaft had a dark blue center, which gradually darkened into black toward the edges of the blade. At the top, just before the teeth, was a heart shape that went through to the other side. Its teeth resembled Sora's crown emblem, though slightly stretched horizontally. There were dark blue arrow shapes inside of the teeth. In sharp contrast to this somewhat dark appearance, the keychain was a single pink and gold thalassa shell.

As his memories of Xion came slowly back to him, he also caught its name: Event Horizon.

He gazed into the heart on its shaft, with a sad face. "Xion..."

"She still lives in us." Namine reminded gently, placing her hand over his on the handle of the blade. She drew it back suddenly when her hand started to glow. No sooner had she withdrawn it, than it let off a flash of light.

Namine gaped at the Keyblade she now held in her hand, which matched the one on her mosaic platform where she had spent much of the past several weeks. It had an oval-shaped guard, with a small, white, egg-shaped object on the pommel that resembled the pod Sora had slept in. The shaft split into a ring-like shape just above the pommel, with a pure white jewel in the middle. The pale blue shaft thinned slightly as it neared the top. The six teeth resembled the sharp points of a star. Three were silver, and three were gold. The keychain was a bright yellow, five-pronged star.

Its name: Reminiscence.

"Congratulations, Namine." Sora said, emerging from the operating room with Kairi, fully clothed. "Welcome to the Keyblade club."

"Oh joy of joys." Namine rolled her eyes. "I think I can use this… I am Kairi, right?"

"So you're not a complete noob!" Sora patted her on the shoulder. "It's a great time to get some experience under your belt!"

"Swell."

"Come on." Roxas beckoned. "Let's get going."

Sora and Kairi took off ahead of them down the hallway. Namine began to follow them, when Roxas grabbed her wrist gently. She turned to face him.

"Just in case the worst happens..." Roxas leaned down to her, and pressed his lips softly to hers, sending a shiver down her spine. "I love you, Namine."

"I love you, too, Roxas." She replied, smiling.

They followed their Others down the hallway, ready to take on the world.

!

The four emerged from the hospital minutes later, their Keyblades in hand.

"So, does anybody know where the guys are?" Kairi asked.

"I'm guessing the battle's still on." Roxas said. "They'll be outside the village, trying to defend it from the Heartless."

Sora spied a small group of Tron 2.0s on a street near them. He noted that they had what appeared to be weapons on their arms, and also that they were blazing down the street in the direction of the castle, which could be seen from nearly anywhere in the city.

"Maybe we can ask directions." Sora suggested, pointing at the robots.

The four Keybearers rushed toward them, sprinting hard to keep up with them. Sora counted nine of them in all.

"Excuse us!" He called.

The robots abruptly stopped at his shout, and their upper bodies rotated to face them. The four teenagers stopped dead in their tracks when their supposed allies raised their weapons, and targeted them.

"Reflega!" Sora shouted an instant before they opened fire.

He raised his blade, and brought up a magic barrier around them all. The blaster bolts bounced off of the shield, and ricocheted into the walls of the nearest buildings. One bolt struck one of the robots between the twin glowing lights that served it for eyes. This robot slunk to the ground, its electronic life cut short.

Roxas twirled his Keyblades around his head, and leapt forward the moment Sora's shield went down. Though he was a few months out of practice, he was still amazingly proficient with the blades… He loved being ambidextrous.

He landed in the midst of the Tron 2.0s. He lashed out with his blades, instantly severing the heads of two of them. He then thrust them both forward at once, piercing the torso of another one completely.

Before either Sora or Kairi could join him, Namine had moved. She sprinted at a robot which was placing Roxas in its sights. Her newly acquired Keyblade sliced through its midsection, just above the treads it used for locomotion. The top half of the robot fell forward, sparking uselessly.

Namine leapt over the remains, chopping down into the center of another robot's head, even as Roxas cut one into three pieces with his twin blades.

With only one Tron 2.0 left, the outcome of the fight was never in doubt. The final robot fired at Roxas, only to have its bolts splatter against the shafts of his blades. Namine lifted her free hand, a look of intense concentration on her face.

A narrow beam of Light similar to the type Kairi frequently used burst from her palm, shredding the robot into scrap metal in a blinding instant.

Namine smiled, clearly proud of herself.

"Hey, that was my move!" Kairi mock-pouted.

"And since I'm you..." Namine returned, grinning.

Before Kairi could respond, there came the sound of a roaring engine. The four of them turned, and looked back down the street toward the front Cetra Hospital. An armored car rolled up to the blown open front doors, and skidded to a stop, leaving a nice, long, faintly smoking skid mark.

They recognized the driver and passengers right away as they leapt out of their seats, and approached the hospital.

"Hello!" Sora called, waving.

He caught the attention of the others, and they turned around. Once their eyes fell upon the four teenagers, their mouths fell open.

The Keybearers grinned, and walked casually toward them, as if there wasn't a war on. "Tidus, close your mouth, you'll attract flies."

Tidus shut his mouth, but still looked shocked.

"You're alright?" Wakka finally gasped.

"Yep." Kairi answered.

"Roxas?" Donald quacked.

"Hey Donald."

"Namine?" Goofy added.

"Hi."

Things were silent for another few moments, until Rikku finally burst out, "What the heck happened!?"

"We could ask you the same question." Roxas said, hiking a thumb over his shoulder at the wreckage of the Tron 2.0s. "I thought those things were on our side?"

"Your mercenary friends are here." Paine said. "One of them hacked into the defense systems and turned everything against us."

"Syndrome was in there." Kairi said, pointing at the hospital. "He's out cold right now."

"What about Tron?" Sora asked.

"No contact." Yuna answered grimly. "And Cid, Zell, and Luxord are stuck in the manufacturing center in the castle fighting off digital Heartless. We were sent to collect you, and then go assist them."

"Alright." Sora started thinking. "We'll make our way into the castle, and Kairi, Donald, Goofy, and I will go into the Dataspace to find Tron. He's probably been forced onto the Game Grid again."

"Game Grid?" Kairi asked.

"You'll see." Sora grinned.

"Uh, if it's alright with everyone..." Roxas interrupted. "Could I go out into the valleys? I want to make sure Axel doesn't kill himself again."

Sora smiled at his Nobody, admiring his loyalty to his old friend. It was an easy quality to respect. "Sure. Just don't _you_ kill yourself."

"I'll make sure he doesn't." Namine said.

Sora and Kairi quickly gave their Nobodies -in a way, now siblings- hugs goodbye. With a look of concentration, Namine lifted herself off the ground using Light in the same manner Kairi would have.

Kairi sighed theatrically. "Well, if she can use Light, then there goes my originality."

"Not true." Sora offered.

After a brief moment, Roxas had figured out how to transform Event Horizon into a Keyboard. He stepped onto it, and hovered next to Namine. He shot those below a quick salute, and took off to the west. Namine followed right behind him.

Everybody else but Sora and Kairi piled into the car. "Come on, guys!" Selphie beckoned.

"Actually, I had another idea." Sora said. He reached into his jacket pocket, and discovered that the Summon charms from El Dorado were still there. They were still locked together by their chains.

He clutched one of them in his hand, and held the other charm out to Kairi. Curiously, she took it in her hand.

"Spirit!"

As though on a sudden compulsion, Kairi shouted, "Rain!"

_The hilly, grassy, green plains stretched on for miles and miles, almost as far as the eye could see. In the distance could be seen a series of majestic purple mountain peaks. The bright blue sky had barely a cloud in it._

_Over one of the higher hills, there came the sound of rapidly approaching hooves thudding against the ground. Soon, two magnificent horses galloped into view._

_The first of these was male, with golden hair. He had a long, wild mane of black hair. His eyes were dark and fierce, with a steady determination in them. The female at his side had auburn hair, with patches of white on her face and back. She had a long, straw-colored mane, and a feather tucked into her ear._

_A bald eagle soared over them, and let loose a loud, screeching cry._

Spirit and Rain burst into existence on the streets of Radiant Garden, and galloped toward Sora and Kairi, stopping in between them. Sora patted the male horse on the back. He got a slightly friendly snort in response.

"Ready for some action, big fella'?" He asked.

_Always._

Sora vaulted onto Spirit's back, managing to keep his balance despite the fact that he had next to no experience riding animals. There had been Aladdar and Dumbo, and that was it. But even so, he felt fairly comfortable on the stallion's back, and grabbed a fistful of his mane carefully, to steady himself.

A few feet away, Kairi went through the same process with Rain, looking only a little apprehensive. He caught her eye, and smiled.

"This'll be fun." He said. He then leaned forward to speak into Spirit's ear. "Think you can beat them to the castle?" He asked, inclining his head toward the occupied car, and pointing to the massive castle in the distance.

Spirit looked at the castle, and then toward the occupants of the car. He snorted, and smiled. _Easily._

"That's the spirit." Sora grimaced inwardly at his own bad pun. "Ready..._setgo_!"

In a flash of black and gold hair, Spirit was tearing down the street. His whinnying and Sora's laughter echoed back to those still waiting by the hospital doors.

Kairi and Rain took off after them immediately, smiling fiercely.

It took a moment for Paine and the others to snap out of their shock at the pure speed of the horses. She throttled the car forward, pursuing them down the streets of Radiant Garden, and just barely managing to keep up.

!

_So did I surprise anyone? I'll explain the whole Roxas and Namine thing later. I hope you liked it!_

_Please review!_


	131. Chapter 130: Cyber Space Showdown

_Soo, the original plan was to release this earlier in the month. But then, Bioshock Infinite came out, and I got a little bit sucked in to that. I might write something about that later, if anyone's interested._

_Tron: "0100001011110100010101010010101001001111010100101 01011010."_

_This apparently means that I own nothing. Frankly, I don't know why he didn't just use English for the disclaimer._

_!_

Chapter 130: Cyber-Space Showdown

Spirit and Rain rushed down the streets at a full gallop, Sora and Kairi maintaining a good balance despite the lack of saddles or reins. Paine's car was trailing them by several meters.

"You'll have to do better than that!" Sora called back to them, waving with the hand that wasn't clutching Spirit's dark mane.

Rain suddenly picked up speed, and had soon pulled up, becoming perfectly even with Spirit. Kairi winked at Sora, who smirked. The challenge was on, now.

Kairi pulled ahead a few feet, and Sora leaned down to talk to Spirit. "Are we going to let our girls do that to us?"

_Not a chance._

Spirit picked up speed, and caught up to his mate within seconds. "You'll have to go a bit faster" Sora said to them.

Kairi quirked an eyebrow. She leaned forward as close as she could get to the horse beneath her, and they picked up the speed still more, rushing ahead of Sora and Spirit by several feet.

"Woah..."

_That's what I thought._

Sora and Spirit accelerated, barely managing to catch up with the two females. Sora was about to make a comment, when there came a distant '_whoomp'_-ing sound. He looked up, and juked with Spirit to the left just in time to avoid a blast of bright scarlet energy that blasted a crater into the street behind them.

"What was that!?" Kairi asked.

Sora looked ahead of them. The shot had come from the castle. They were fast approaching the high walls to the courtyard. There were automated laser turrets emerging from the top of the walls, and now they began firing rapidly at the approaching 'intruders.'

Red bolts splattered onto the pavement, and the horses and their riders were forced into evasive maneuvers. Sora and Kairi summoned their Keyblades, and smacked aside any bolts that came close enough to cause any possible harm.

Still, they continued the ride to the palace, losing only a small amount of speed for their evasive actions. From somewhere behind them, a small barrage of blue bolts shot forward at the hostile turrets.

Sora turned his head just long enough to catch a glimpse of the armored car far behind them. A turret had appeared in between the seat rows, and Wakka was manning it. He and the turret both shook as the bolts shot out of the barrel.

A few of the automated turrets on the walls then began to fire at the car, and for the most part shrugged off the bolts that hit them. A few fell to the fire, exploding into burning shrapnel that rained down on the nearest streets and buildings.

"Just a little farther!" Sora urged. The gates were getting closer by the moment. He grimaced, seeing that they were closed tight.

Sora thought hard, trying to think of a quick way to get through the doors. He considered calling for their turret to blast it open with a heavy barrage, but realized that it probably lacked the firepower. He was about to ask Kairi to transport them over with platforms of pure Light, but then realized that it would have taken a dangerous amount of energy out of her.

He arrived at a solution that had a narrow chance of working, but would definitely get the job done.

He closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. He dismissed Oblivion from his hand.

Sora looked deep inside himself, trying to find the strength to do what needed to be done. He looked for nearly a full minute. And despite the fact that he didn't have any idea how to do this, he found it, like a fire in his heart.

Carefully, with his eyes still shut, he stood up on Spirit's back. He opened his eyes slowly, and gazed calmly at the rapidly approaching gate.

In an instant his hands were enveloped in silver and gold fire. With a shout, he thrust his hands forward, launching a massive ball of flame forward. It roared through the air, and smashed into the gate.

The thick gates blew open completely. The flaming pieces flew into the large courtyard, leaving a nice big hole for the party to enter through.

He smiled to himself, feeling exhilarated. Of course, it was followed up by a feeling of exhaustion at having used such an unexpected amount of power at once. He practically fell back into a sitting position on the horse's back, and sagged slightly while he caught his breath.

They rushed headlong through the now open gates, and successfully out of the target sights of the automated defenses on the walls above. But they soon discovered that the courtyard behind the wall was crawling with the now hostile Tron 2.0s.

Kairi wasted no time in acting, and continued to urge Rain forward. With her Keyblade pointing out in front of them, she fired balls of Light out into their midst. They exploded upon contact with the ground or the machines, and took out several of the robots with every explosion.

Once Sora caught himself, he joined in on the fun by calling down powerful bolts of lightning from the mainly clear sky to reduce them to piles of smoking metal. Paine's armored car rolled in behind them a few moments later. Its turret whittled away the ranks of the Tron 2.0s.

Their attacks began to form a clear path toward the castle's entrance into the lower levels.

!

Axel was having a really bad day.

About ten minutes before, he had gotten cut off from the rest of his unofficial team by the appearance of a Behemoth Heartless. When it had attacked, it had thrown him completely from the narrow path they had been fighting on, and down several feet into a gorge.

It had been a mixed blessing when he hadn't fallen the full two hundred or so feet and instead had hit the side of a cliff, and bounced the rest of the way down.

There were now fierce pains in both his chest and left leg from where he had struck the rocks. And unfortunately for him, the same collisions had also smashed the potions he had been carrying in his jacket pocket before he could use them.

So now he was up alone against several Heartless, and injured. He had been able to hold his own for the past few minutes, but the creatures had scored more hits to his damaged body than he would have cared for.

A Soldier rushed toward him, and Axel beheaded it before it could get too close. But in his moment of divided attention, a Surveillance Robot fired three laser bolts into his back.

The former Nobody grunted in pain, and fell to one knee. A Neoshadow leapt at him, and Axel raised his free hand, setting it ablaze. He threw one of his chakrams behind him to slice the Surveillance Robot that had hit him in half.

Before Axel could get back to his feet, there were no less than three Large Bodies standing over him, ready to bring their massive fists down to smash him into a fleshy pancake. He gritted his teeth, and grunted. Was this _really_ how it was going to end?

A sudden barrage of Light rained down onto the Heartless looming above him. Two of them burst into black smoke in just seconds, and the third lost an arm. Something solid then shot down from the sky, and sliced it vertically in half before it had a chance to recover.

Axel looked up, and was met with the sight of his old friend, holding both of his Keyblades in hand. Another old ally landed behind him.

"I can never leave you alone, can I?" Roxas asked, smirking.

Roxas stabbed one of his Keyblades into the ground, and held out his hand to help Axel up. He smiled, and grasped it gladly. The younger one pulled him back to his feet, and helped him keep himself stable when he stumbled. He handed him a potion he had picked up from Sora before leaving, and Axel gladly accepted it.

"How did you get here?" Axel asked, applying the magic substance.

"Long story short: Syndrome attacked, Sora and Kairi are up and running, and we're fully human again."

"Wow, and you didn't even have to kill yourselves to do it."

Namine chuckled, but then raised her blade. The Heartless were beginning to surround the three again. Roxas grabbed his second blade, and Axel summoned his chakrams back to him.

"Just like old times, huh man?" Roxas asked Axel.

"Well, the short blonde girl is a new twist."

"I'm average height, slim." Namine grinned.

"I have a high metabolism." Axel chuckled.

The first Armored Knight leapt at Roxas, chopping at his neck. He barely had to move his blade to cut it in half before it reached him. He rushed forward, his Keyblades spinning around his body. None of them came within three feet of him without getting chopped to pieces.

Namine adopted a similar fighting stance to Kairi, holding her shining blade out before her with a steady, two-handed grip, though she held it slightly closer to her body, in a more defensive position.

A Shadow leapt at her, and she smacked it aside when it came within reach of her blade. She drove it into its head before it could get back on its feet, and then ran forward, slicing a charging Dark Ball in two.

Axel threw his chakrams into the air, slicing a few Rapid Thrusters apart before they could attack. He thrust his hands forward, hosing more of the mob of creatures with fire.

Roxas rushed by him, and leapt at a Large Body. He crossed his blades in front of them, and sliced the creature's head off in one swift movement. He leapt off of its remains before they faded completely and sliced at a group of Rapid Thrusters rocketing toward him. Most of them fell instantly, and he landed lightly on the ground again.

An Invisible rushed down to fight him itself, and delivered a vicious chop at his head. Roxas brought his Keyblades up in an 'X' position, and caught the Heartless' sword between his. He tossed the blade off of his, and sliced the creature in half at the waist.

A beam of Light fired directly over his head, holing the chest of a leaping Armored Knight that had leapt at him without him realizing. He flashed a quick thumbs-up to Namine as she ran past him, slicing apart the Heartless with quick strikes from Reminiscence. A Surveillance Robot fired at her back, and she blocked its bolts with her blade. She shot out her hand, and fired a ball of Light into its face.

Two Soldiers rushed at her with their claws raised. They slashed at her back, only for her to knock their clumsy blows aside. Namine stabbed one through the chest, and tore her blade out of its body to behead the other one.

They soon turned the tide of the battle in the gorge, but the battle as a whole was far from over.

!

Sora had hoped that after they had gotten into the castle sublevels, things would have gotten at least a little easier.

No such luck.

It seemed that the closer they got to the computer room, the more determined the Tron 2.0s became to stop them. The narrow corridors in the lower levels were packed with the robots, and their laser blasts were firing so frequently it was amazing that they hadn't shot each other in the chaos.

Their opponents cut through them like a blade, with Sora and Kairi in the lead. They had abandoned the armored car at the entrance at the borough, positioning it directly in front of the doorway to block the Tron 2.0's on the outside from coming in. Spirit and Rain had returned to their own world, for now.

"Almost there!" Sora spurred them onward, slicing a robot in half, and then firing a bolt of electricity through two more. Tidus, Kairi, and Paine were on either side of him, forming a line that pressed the Tron 2.0s in front of them back down the hallway. Every strike of their blades brought down another robot.

Goofy's shield flew past them, slicing into the mob of robots, and sticking into the far wall. Kimahri rushed forward, swinging his spear in wide, devastating arcs, utterly destroying the things in his path. Yuna leapt forward just past him, her pistols spraying a steady stream of bullets into the robots.

She dashed forward, still unloading her guns into them. Rikku joined her, slashing deep into the carapaces of the Tron 2.0s with her claws. She plunged one of them into the face of one, and used her free hand to wrench Goofy's shield from the wall. She threw it back to him, and he caught it, just as Donald shot a powerful Firaga spell down the hall.

Within minutes, they were at the door to what had once been Ansem's study. Not surprisingly, a thick metal plate had slid out from the wall to cover it.

Sora quickly dispatched the three robots guarding the entrance, and then plunged the Keyblade into the metal as far as he could. He grunted, and pulled it free, deciding on a different tactic.

"Cover me!" He shouted to the others.

While the others engaged the robots still behind them, he transformed his blade into the Keyfist. He then muttered, "Firaga." His fist ignited, and he drove it as hard as he could into the doorway.

He left behind a significant dent, and he noted with satisfaction that the metal he had punched was blackened, and weakened. He reeled back again, and drove it still harder into the doorway. A tiny hole appeared in the very center of the structure. He punched one more time, and opened up a three-foot diameter hole in the metal.

Sora smiled to himself, and used his blade to slice open what was left of the metal to create a wider hole. "Come on!" He beckoned to the others.

Still fighting, they all rushed through the hole and spilled inside into Leon's study.

"Uh, you could have just unlocked it, you know..."

"Love what they've done to the place..." Sora commented, ignoring Yuna's observation, and looking around the room at its new contents.

"Where's the computer room?" Kairi asked.

Sora ran over to one wall. After a bit of fumbling, he found the correct spot to press to make it disappear. They ran through the now empty space, and into the humungous room beyond.

The sounds of grinding machinery and battle hit them like a ton of bricks. On the walkway that came before the computer room, they looked out in shock at the dozens of digital Heartless swarming the manufacturing area of the castle.

"This is bad." He heard Selphie say.

"We have to get Tron back." Sora agreed. He turned to the computer control room to his right, and ran over to it. He tapped the end of Oblivion against the sealed door, and it hissed open immediately.

The instant it was open, a purple mass struck him, throwing him backwards before he could enter the room.

"You're screwing it all up!" Randall snarled, punching Sora in the side of the face.

Unfortunately for him, that was all he had the time to do. A beam of Light struck him in the back of the head, throwing him into Kimahri. Randall struck his chest, and immediately slumped to the ground, as though he had run head-first into the side of a building.

Yuna was on top of him inside of a second, one of her pistols held to the base of his neck. "I wouldn't try anything else, if I were you."

Sora groaned, and got to his feet, rubbing the side of his face where Randall had punched him. He thanked Kairi, Kimahri, and Yuna quickly before rushing into the control room. He ran to the other end, and tapped the opposite door with the end of his blade like he had with the first one.

It slid open, revealing a second walkway. It was here where Zell, Luxord, and the dazed-looking Cid were defending themselves from the Heartless. He was just in time to see a Devastator float into the air, and launch a massive burst of energy at the trio.

One of Luxord's massive playing cards appeared in front of them to catch the blast. The force of the attack destroyed the card, but it left them unharmed. The Nobody then shot out his hand, launching a trio of normal-sized, viciously sharp cards at the big Heartless. They shot completely through it, and it fell messily to the ground.

"Over here!" He shouted to them.

They wasted no time. Luxord called up several more of his giant-sized cards to cover them as they escaped, and they ran back into the control room. Sora shut and sealed the door the second that they were safely inside.

He breathed calmly for a moment. "Okay... Cid, can you get us back into the Dataspace? If we can get Tron back in control of the computers, it'll solve a lot of our problems."

"Alright." Cid sat back onto his chair, after taking a moment to wipe it off after Randall had stolen it. "Which of you are goin' in?"

Sora looked at Donald and Goofy. "Ready to see Tron again?"

"You bet!" Donald said.

"Count me in!" Goofy added.

"I'm coming, too." Kairi said.

"You'll love it." Sora grinned. "Okay Cid, a round trip for four?"

"Gimme' a minute..." Cid started typing away on the keyboard. "This'll be a lot harder since we're not in control..."

A few stressful minutes passed. Donald conjured up some thick ropes for use in tying up Randall. Zell then promptly punched the lizard-thing in the face, and sent him into unconsciousness.

"Was that necessary?" Tidus asked him.

"Nope!" Zell replied casually.

"Done!" Cid said, punching his fist in triumph.

The massive red 'eye' on the back wall began to glow. There was a low humming noise as the machinery powering it came to life.

"The rest a' you stand back." Cid said. "I'm not about to try and pull anyone out a' there that doesn't wanna go."

Sora, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy positioned themselves in the center of the room, directly facing the eye of the machine.

"So, how does this work?" Kairi asked.

Before she could get an answer, the 'eye' let off a bright flash of light which blinded them for a second. Four bright beams of light shot out from it, striking Sora, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy in the chests.

They all froze, and Sora soon felt the familiar, slightly uncomfortable tingling feeling, as his entire body was taken apart one particle at a time, and converted into data.

Everything went black for the next several seconds.

!

Various hues of blue and grey greeted Sora the moment he could see anything again.

He rubbed his eyes, as they were still irritated by the consistent color scheme all around him. He looked around, and after a moment realized that he was standing on a slightly elevated platform. He hopped down from it, and recognized the interior of the I/O Tower. A computer terminal was set into the wall not too far from them.

He turned around, and saw Donald, Goofy and Kairi getting to their feet.

All of their clothing bore a similar appearance. It looked as though they had maintained the same shape, but had been cleansed of all detail, and turned grey. The only thing standing out was the array of light blue circuit lines streaking across their clothing. Also, their skin had turned a blue-grey hue.

Sora tapped himself on the top of the head, feeling the helmet that was now there over his now grey hair. A pair of bright glowing 'fins' protruded from the back. Sora looked at Kairi, who was looking a bit dazed, and seemed to be having a bit of trouble standing up straight.

He rushed over to her, and helped her steady herself. He took her appearance fully in. She didn't seem to have her outer robe on any more, but her remaining clothing slightly resembled a more feminine version of his own. She also had a helmet on, though the fins were spaced farther apart.

She froze, when a lock of her hair fell into her eyes. It was now a dark blue-grey.

"Tell me these effects aren't permanent." She squeaked.

Sora laughed. "Relax. You'll be just as beautiful as ever when we get out of here... Though you don't look so bad right now..."

"Still, I'd prefer my red over grey."

"Agreed."

"Where's Tron?" Goofy asked, interrupting the moment.

Sora looked around, seeing nobody but the four of them in the high room. The pulsing blue light of the computer terminal caught his eye, and he rushed over to it. He stared into the screen for a moment, trying to see if he remembered how to use it.

He drew a blank.

"Oh, shove over." Kairi said, nudging Sora out of the way. "You three are lucky I took some computer courses in school..."

She began typing a few simple commands into the terminal. "What exactly are we looking for?"

"Uh, I don't know? Whatever's happened in the last few minutes?" Sora suggested.

Kairi typed furiously, her eyes flying across the computer screen. "Some program was transferred onto something called the 'Game Grid' a couple of minutes ago."

"That must be Tron!" Donald said.

"That's not good." Sora said. "If he's there, he's probably fighting for his life right now. Kairi, can you take us there?"

"Um, I think so..."

She typed in a few more commands, and smiled to herself at the sight of a new window that had popped up, reading, "Ten seconds until transfer to Game Grid."

"Good going, Kairi!" Donald congratulated.

"Too easy." She said.

In ten seconds, they were teleported out of the I/O Tower.

!

They reappeared on the edge of a very large, flat plain. It was divided into large squares every few feet by glowing blue circuit lines. In the distance, past the featureless walls that formed a square out of the scenery, they saw what appeared to be blocky mountains and cloud shapes.

Very, very far off in the distance, they saw what could only have been a battle. Dozens of digital Heartless were converging on a single, blue and grey figure.

"Tron!" Sora exclaimed, his voice echoing for several virtual miles.

As if his shout was a signal, three unusual masses started to form in front of them.

Sora grinned, recognizing the light cycle he had used to ride. It was long and blue, with big 'metal' tires. An identical pair of them had materialized directly in front of Kairi, and Donald and Goofy.

Wasting no time, Sora jumped onto his cycle (which he realized looked alarmingly similar to Cloud's motorcycle _Fenrir_) and grasped the handlebars in front of him. Upon pressing them, the circuit lines on the bike lit up, and it hummed.

Kairi got on her own cycle, and followed his lead, making it hum to life beneath her fingers. She grinned excitedly and double checked that her hair (which had grown a significant length since the start of their journey) wouldn't get into her eyes. Donald and Goofy copied her as best as they could, with Goofy sitting at the driver's seat, and Donald sitting behind him, holding his staff.

Sora thrust forward, enjoying the ride almost as much as he had the wild one he had just experienced on Spirit's back. Kairi, Donald, and Goofy followed him.

He drove at the Heartless in the distance. When he got close enough, his suspicions were confirmed when he saw Tron in their midst.

He was fighting with his identity disk- a flat, round piece of his armor which stored data, and attached to his back when not being used in combat. When he threw it, it spun through the air like a glowing blue discuss, and sliced through the Heartless. Rather than turning into Dark clouds, the digital Heartless just exploded in bright light when they were struck down.

AKA: Derezzing.

Sora smiled, and summoned Oblivion (which had blue circuit lines on it) in one hand. His bike roared forward, and he ran over a few of the smaller Heartless before they even had time to acknowledge his presence. Kairi, Donald, and Goofy ran over their own share of them before stopping.

They each hopped off of their bikes, their weapons drawn. Their initial surprise attack had destroyed about half of the Heartless present, and now the remaining ones were aiming at them.

A Strafer cruised toward Sora, who sliced his blade upward, removing its oddly-shaped arms in one strike. He finished it with a horizontal slash at its waist. He dove to the side as a Magnum Loader sped at him next, and Sora ran right back at it.

He leapt just before the wheeled Heartless could hit him, and landed just behind it. Before the Heartless could turn around, Sora stabbed behind him, running the Heartless completely through.

A Devastator stomped slowly toward him, gathering energy in front of it to fire at him. Sora rushed at the Heartless, arriving in front of it just one second before it could launch its attack. He drove the Keyblade into the top of its head. When this failed to finish it, Sora stabbed another three times even as it tried to dislodge him. But, to no avail, it perished soon after.

Goofy's shield whizzed past his head, slicing three Strafers, and a Magnum Loader before flying back into his outstretched hand. A Devastator set him in its sights next, and fired a massive burst of energy at the knight.

Goofy raised Save the King, and caught the blow before it struck his body. He stumbled backwards a few paces, but remained otherwise unharmed. He rushed forward at the Heartless, his shield raised in case it tried to attack him again.

Just before it fired a second time, he arrived right in front of it. He thrust the flat end of the shield upward with enough strength to actually knock the massive creature ten feet into the air. He jumped up after it, and smashed the shield into its face, sending it sprawling.

Donald was shooting massive fireballs (which had taken on a blue-white appearance due to their environment) all over the place. Almost every one of them struck a Heartless. One Magnum Loader that he happened to miss streaked toward him with a _zmmmm_ noise. He shouted, "Reflega!"

A magic barrier appeared around him, and the Heartless bounced off of it, flying into the air. A quick lightning bolt finished it before it hit the ground again. Donald then fired a similar spell into a trio of approaching Strafers, frying them in an instant.

Kairi's Light-based attacks still maintained their bright silver color, and they tore through the digital Heartless with ease. Her Keyblade (which was now adorned with circuit lines like Sora's) sliced cleanly through a pair of Strafers, and then she threw it directly into the face of a Devastator.

It stuck there for a moment, and she clapped her hands together.

A massive burst of Light erupted from the blade, tearing through the digital flesh of the Heartless in one blinding instant. With a twitch of her fingers, Destiny's Light reappeared in her hand. A Magnum Loader rushed at her, and she sliced it in half just above its wheel. A Strafer came at her back, and she took its head off with an almost casual sweep of her blade.

Tron's identity disk shot past her head with a faint buzzing sound, and sliced completely through another four Strafers. It floated (not exactly _flew_) back to Tron's hand. The program brought the disk up before him to deflect a blow from a Magnum Loader. He shoved it off, and sliced it through its head.

The fight ended a few short minutes later.

"Thanks for the assistance, Sora." Tron said, with a smile.

"Ah, no pro-"

Tron immediately crushed Sora in a large hug, and cut his sentence short. That was when Sora remembered that the program was still learning about User social behavior, and naturally assumed that everybody hugged each other upon meeting.

"It's most nice to see you again, friend." He said, parting from the Keyblade Master.

"Yeah, you too." Sora said, grinning.

Donald and Goofy received similar treatment from the program, receiving tight hugs which they gladly returned.

Then, he turned to Kairi. Rather than simply hugging her, he gave her a deep, slightly exaggerated bow. "Princess Kairi, I am humbled to be in your presence. How may I serve you?"

Kairi looked flustered, and a bit embarrassed. "You can start by treating me like you would any other randomly conceived User." She said. "I don't consider myself a real princess, and I don't want anybody to treat me like that. I'm not used to it."

Tron stood back up straight again. "Are you certain I should think of you as any randomly conceived User? If I set my parameters to such a purpose I might inadvertently treat you as I would Maleficent, or one of our other enemies. I'd hate to resort to attacking you simply because of a miscommunication."

Kairi wore a confused, uncomfortable expression for a moment, and Sora laughed. "I should have told you, Kairi. Tron has a tendency to overthink on comments like that."

"Excuse me, Sora." Tron interrupted. "But my programming merely leads me to ensure that I follow all User commands to the letter for optimum performance. So, I _must_ question every possible command to see that I do exactly what is intended of me."

Sora raised an eyebrow.

"You think I'm doing it right now, don't you?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

"Okay, Tron... How about this?" Kairi said, choosing her words carefully. "You can just treat me like a Keyblade-wielding teenage warrior girl User who is taking on the Heartless with a group of her crazy friends, and boyfriend. Because that's exactly what I am. You can also treat me as your new friend."

"Alright, Kairi." Tron replied. They all noted the change in his demeanor from serious to casual, as well as the fact that he hadn't used the title 'Princess.'

"So, Tron." Sora said. "I can't help but notice that the Dataspace is getting a little messed up again."

"Someone has loaded a virus into the Dataspace. Whoever created it definitely knows what he or she is doing. It completely bypassed the firewalls I had established, and took over the main controls for the entire area. It then cut off almost all of my access to the systems of the Dataspace. I'm down to minimal functions, and the virus that took over sent me to the Game Grid. You've probably also noticed that it's reconfigured the functions of the manufacturing machines, and turned the defenses of the town against their proper controllers."

"How do we make it stop?" Goofy asked.

"We need to get to the Central Computer Core and destroy the virus there. Afterwards, I should be able to take back control of all systems."

"To the Solar Sailor then! Let's get going." Sora said, hiking a thumb over his shoulder to their waiting light cycles. He and Kairi got back into their own, while Tron took over control of Donald and Goofy's. A pair of virtual sidecars appeared on the right and left sides of the cycle, and the two residents of Disney Castle climbed inside.

Before they took off, something blasted a bright orange ball of energy into the ground directly in front of Sora's bike. The five of them looked up.

"What are those!?" Goofy exclaimed, pointing at their new attackers.

The Viral Heartless looked something like a flying combination of tanks and satellites. They were bright red, and rectangular in shape. A half-sphere was on the underbelly, with a long barrel protruding from it. A pair of small yellow eyes were on either side of the cannon. What looked like solar plates stuck out from either side of the main body. Each plate had a large Heartless emblem on it.

And there were eight of them gunning for the party below.

"Let's get out of here!" Donald shouted.

They didn't need telling twice. The three bikes shot forward across the virtual plain, dodging the energy attacks as they struck the ground all around them. They rushed toward the closest wall, working out ways to punch a hole through it to escape the Game Grid.

Sora was the one who came up with the successful idea. He stood slightly on the bike, and held his blade high. "Reflega!"

When the next bolt from a Viral shot at him, he didn't attempt to dodge it. His magical barrier appeared, and deflected the ball of energy into the wall ahead of them. Just like he had expected, an opening large enough for the three bikes to speed through was created.

They rushed right in.

!

_Hope you enjoyed! Next time I update will be on my five-year anniversary!_


	132. Chapter 131: Strongholds

_[DarthKingdom and the cast are sitting on the beaches of Destiny Island]_

_Five years! Holy crap, I didn't expect it to be this long…_

_Bariss: "Well, maybe it wouldn't have been if you would stop procrastinating."_

_Roxas: "Or if you had a computer that didn't have some random crap happen to it every few months."_

_Noted, moving on._

_Nehrut: "On behalf of all of us here at BotD, thank you for your continued support!"_

_!_

Chapter 131: Strongholds

"They're alright!?" Riku exclaimed.

"Yep." Roxas replied.

Several of the defenders of Radiant Garden had congregated at the Crystal Fissure, just south of the Great Maw: Riku, Yuffie, Axel, Roxas, Namine, Nehrut, Bariss, Maka and Soul, Sonic, Mario, Max, and Auron were catching their breath inside the multicolored crystal caverns. The shafts of brilliant light sparkled all around them, creating a calming effect that helped them wear down from the tension of battle.

The majority of the Heartless had been pressed to the northwest, back toward Villain's Vale, and the fortress. The remaining ones were being soundly dealt with by the rest of Radiant Garden's forces.

The thirteen of them were about to assault the rest of the Heartless in the Maw, and make a final push toward the fortress Pete had occupied. Hopefully with his defeat, the Heartless would retreat from the world.

"Well, things are looking up again!" Yuffie clapped.

"And of course, we have two more Keyblade-wielders." Nehrut pointed out. "Now, we just have to cross our fingers that the others can take care of business in the Dataspace, and we're good to go."

"And capture thisa' Pete guy." Mario pointed out in a very heavy Italian accent.

"Naturally." Nehrut agreed.

"I say we go ahead and start that now." Riku said. He summoned Way to Dawn, and walked to the end of the cave. He peeked just outside of the entrance, and saw a mass of Heartless milling around the Great Maw, as though waiting for them. "I'd hate to keep Pete waiting."

"Who's up for a bet?" Roxas asked. "Ten munny says he wets himself when we find him."

"Can I get in on that action?" Soul asked.

"Yeah, me too?" Sonic added.

"Me three?" Max agreed.

Riku rushed forward with Yuffie at his side before he heard the rest. The others followed almost immediately.

"First Light's Fire!" Riku shouted, holding his blade high. He enveloped his blade in enough Dawn energy to hide the metal of the blade from view. He had slashed three Morning Stars completely in half before they had even turned around to face him. Another three nimble strikes cut four Armored Knights into pieces.

By the time the rest of the Heartless were ready to fight, another ten had fallen. Riku struck his blade onto the ground, releasing the Dawn covering the blade forward into the creatures.

Yuffie's shuriken whizzed past his head, slicing the head off of an Invisible. She stood by Riku's side, and fought with him.

Together, the Keybearer and ninja were unstoppable. On the off-chance that one of them missed any of the Heartless they were aiming for, the other one would immediately step in to deal with it themselves. Any Heartless that approached them had no chance of touching them, and met with a violent end.

"So, having fun?" Riku asked her, stabbing through the chest of a Soldier.

"Are you kidding!?" She replied, throwing her shuriken into the face of a Large Body. "I live for this!"

"Axel!" They suddenly heard Roxas shout from nearby.

"I got your back!"

The two former Nobodies were near the very center of the Great Maw. Axel's arms were blazing with fire, and he was facing Roxas from about ten feet away. He thrust his hands forward, sending massive jets of fire shooting directly at the Keybearer.

Roxas crossed his blades, and raised them in front of him, catching the fire. It gathered around the Keyblades, and Axel didn't let up on the flames for a full five seconds.

Roxas' blades were completely covered in fire, and he held them out to his sides. He began to spin on the spot, releasing the fire all around him in the form of massive fiery tendrils.

The fires stretched over fifty feet out from his body. Any nearby friends had to dive out of the way to avoid being burned alive by the intense heat. The slower Heartless weren't lucky enough to avoid that fate.

Roxas spun the trails of fire quickly around his body, clearing and scorching the fifty or so feet around him, and destroying all of the Heartless within that range. He kept this up for almost a full minute, before flourishing his blades, and snuffing out the flames.

"Almost!" He said, as Axel ran toward him with his chakrams spinning at his sides. He connected the weapons with Roxas', and they were instantly covered with bright, blazing hot, blue-white fire.

The two rushed by each other, their blades burning with blinding flames. They spun their weapons around their bodies, forming what may as well have been an impenetrable wall of white-hot fire.

They moved into the Heartless, setting them ablaze if they got too close, or otherwise slicing them apart with their rapidly moving blades. They carved massive paths amongst the mass of creatures, engaging more of them than anybody else on the battlefield.

This went on for the next few minutes, before Roxas and Axel ran directly back at each other at the center of the Maw.

"Get _THIS_ memorized!" Axel shouted, leaping over Roxas' head, and landing directly behind him. They stood back-to-back, and let their weapons float from their hands. The fire surrounding them intensified by at least ten fold, as they began to spin around the two of them in a wide circle.

They shouted, and thrust their hands outward. Their weapons flew out at the Heartless, massive fireballs now fully formed around them. The creatures in their path were decimated by the heat, which was approaching the temperature of the surface of a star.

Upon striking the canyon walls, the fires went out, and the weapons reappeared in the hands of their owners.

"Awesome, as always." Roxas said with a smirk.

!

"A little further." Sora muttered to himself, slicing through a Strafer.

After escaping the Game Grid, he, Kairi, Donald, Goofy, and Tron had immediately set out for the Simulation Hanger, where the Solar Sailor was berthed, and awaiting them. Heartless had dogged them at every step, and they had been forced to abandon their light cycles.

They were back by the I/O Tower, and in the hallway leading to the door of the hanger. Only a handful of Heartless were there to meet them, and they were soon dealt with.

Kairi ran over to the hanger door, Keyblade in hand. She stabbed it directly into the center of the doorway. The door fluctuated and shimmered for a moment, before completely vanishing.

"Who would have guessed the Keyblades work on computer locks, right?" Sora asked.

"Not me." Goofy answered.

"Everybody inside, hurry." Tron ushered them in.

Not far away sat the Solar Sailor, just as Sora remembered. It was a long, flat platform with reflective plates fixed to the back and front. A thin 'cable' made of energy stretched through it, and extended to a point very, very far off in the distance.

"This thing flies?" Kairi didn't seem to understand what she was looking at.

"In a way, yes." Tron replied. "But we need to hurry, time is a factor here."

They rushed down the walkway that led to the unusual craft, only encountering a foursome of Magnum Loaders to resist them. Tron sent them all flying off of the walkway into the virtual abyss below simply by throwing his disk at them. It bounced off of each of them, and knocked them all over.

No sooner had they stepped onto the Solar Sailor than more Heartless appeared to stop their takeoff.

"Keep them busy!" Tron said, running to the control panel at the front of the ship. "I need to begin the launch sequence."

"Take your time!" Donald quacked, shooting a Thunder spell into a trio of Strafers.

Kairi blasted a Devastator in the face with a ball of Light, and ducked away from a Magnum Loader that wheeled at her. It rushed onto the craft, which tilted slightly beneath its added weight. It returned to its natural balance when Goofy smashed his shield into the Heartless, sending it flying into the abyss.

"It can only take so much weight." Sora explained to Kairi, cutting a Strafer in half. "Make sure they don't get on."

"Got it." She agreed, cutting the head off of another Magnum Loader.

Soon after, Tron declared, "We're ready! Get on!"

They wasted no time complying, bringing down a few more Heartless just before the Solar Sailor rocketed out of the hanger at high speed. Kairi nearly fell off from the unexpected acceleration, and was immensely thankful that Sora was there to grab her before she went over the edge.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. But that was way too close." She replied, patting his shoulder.

Gradually, they all adjusted to the speed of the craft. But falling off soon became the least of their worries.

About a dozen of the Viral Heartless were fast approaching from behind, and they were firing rapidly at the Solar Sailor.

"I don't suppose that we have weapons on this thing?" Kairi said.

"I'm afraid not, Kairi." Tron said. "I'm increasing our speed, but we may have to defend the ship ourselves."

"I'm fine with that." Sora said, changing his blade into a Keywhip. The circuit line effect on the chains was a little dizzying. "Besides, I've got an awesome idea."

He summoned the Keyboard beneath his feet, and shot off of the Solar Sailor, and into the virtual sky. Naturally, the flying Heartless began attacking him, drawn to the Keyblade Master.

Sora threw the end of his whip at the nearest Viral, successfully wrapping the chain around the barrel of its cannon. He pulled himself toward it, and dismissed the Keyboard. With some incredible coordination, he kept the whip wrapped around the barrel of the weapon, and planted his feet firmly on top of the Viral.

As anyone with any experience could tell you, Heartless were dangerous, but stupid. The Viral and its fellows came to a complete midair halt, and hovered in place. Every one, save for the one that Sora was standing on, rotated its turret to point at Sora.

The instant before they opened fire, Sora jerked up on the Keywhip as hard as he could. The Viral he stood on reared upward slightly in response, and took the blasts itself.

Just one attack was almost enough to finish it off, but the ones that followed it really did the trick.

Sora sprang off of the Heartless just before it was derezzed. He spun through the air, and landed on top of another Viral. He hurriedly wrapped his whip around the solar panel on its right side, and gave a firm tug, just as it fired again.

The result was that it turned abruptly to the side, and fired directly into the cannon/face of the Viral to its right, making it the second one to be derezzed.

From afar, Kairi, Tron, Donald, and Goofy watched as Sora continued to devastate the airborne Heartless in similar fashion. Within a few minutes, there was only one of the Virals left.

Sora soon solved this problem by transforming the Keywhip back into a blade, and stabbing it repeatedly into the top of its body.

"Show off." Kairi smirked, as Sora flew back to them.

"But that's why you love him isn't it?" Goofy said, chuckling.

"Kairi, why do I detect that your body temperature is rising?" Tron asked curiously. "Are you feeling alright?"

!

"Show off." Bariss grinned, watching Nehrut telekinetically smash a Large Body into the side of an old building.

Everybody who wasn't stuck in the castle or the Dataspace was inside Villain's Vale, in the small village surrounding the castle at its center.

This village had once been a small settlement known as Cherry Blossom. It had maintained close ties to the city of Radiant Garden in the past. Unfortunately, when Xehanort had made a mess of things, it suffered the same fate as the larger city. Maleficent had then had her dark fortress constructed amongst the wreckage.

Everybody was now making their way through the remains of Cherry Blossom. It didn't at all seem to deserve its old name with all of the crumbling ramshackle buildings. Every step of the way, they were meeting tooth-and-nail resistance from the Heartless.

It was becoming increasingly clear that Pete was getting nervous. The two of them alone were surrounded by a few dozen of the creatures.

"You just wish you had telekinetic powers." Nehrut replied with his lopsided grin that she loved so much.

Bariss flourished her sai, and threw it with all her strength. It struck the Invisible flying toward Nehrut right between the eyes. The telepath flexed his hands, and ripped the blade free, tossing it back to her in time for her to parry the strike of an Armored Knight. He rushed forward, and sliced it in half before she could do it herself.

"So, think we'll survive?" He commented.

"Nehrut, I once beat thirty-nine fully armed and armored mercenaries, three tanks, and a chopper by myself."

"Big deal."

"With a broken leg." She finished.

"Will you marry me?"

She laughed, even as she struck the end of her whip into the side of a Large Body's face.

"No, seriously..."

Bariss froze for a split second, and Nehrut had to leap into the air and cut a few Rapid Thrusters that were moving toward her in half. He sliced apart a trio of advancing Shadows, and then turned to face her again.

"I may have put you on the spot a little..."

Bariss stayed frozen for a few more seconds, while Nehrut had to defend her with quick strikes of Presul. When two Morning Stars launched themselves into the air to crush them, Nehrut flew them both out of the way, and lifted them onto the questionably safe roof of a nearby ruin.

"Okay, you can say no if you want, just snap out of it." Nehrut gently shook Bariss' shoulders.

"Yes." She suddenly blurted out.

Now Nehrut froze. "...Really?"

"Yeah." She nodded slowly, a smile forming on her face. "I'd want nothing more than to marry you. The second we turn eighteen, deal?"

"Wow, you're actually going for this..."

"We've got about three seconds until the Heartless get up here, so just kiss me."

He did. They broke apart exactly two and a half seconds later, and stabbed the Dark Ball that had been about a foot away from them. They burst into action again with smiles on their faces despite the seriousness of the situation.

!

"Hey, we beat everyone!" Roxas cheered.

He and Namine rushed up the steps of the dark castle, to the high set of front doors. From such a close range, it was very clear that the old fortress had fallen into disrepair. Entire sections of stone were missing, and rubble littered the ground around it. A massive chunk of the front stairwell had fallen off. It was now clear why Maleficent had been house-hunting when she was last in action.

"Our castles were _way_ better." Namine commented. "Granted, they were a bit sterile-looking after a while, but at least they weren't falling apart."

"Well, unless we're counting the mansion at Twilight Town."

"Ah, good point. Still, it had more class than this."

"The building inspectors could have a field day on this place." Roxas agreed.

They continued up the steps, easily slicing apart the Neoshadows that rose from the ground to halt their approach. They had just reached the doorway, when there was the sound of a loud bellow from behind them. They turned around.

A Behemoth Heartless had appeared at the base of the steps. Its beady yellow eyes were fixed on the Keyblades they held in their hands as it advanced slowly up the steps toward them.

Roxas ran at it, flourishing his blades. He covered the distance between himself and the Heartless fairly quickly, and pumped his legs, sending himself flying onto the top of its head.

He slashed repeatedly into its horn, and the purple flesh around it. Wisps of black smoke seeped from the skin with every slash he made, but he wasn't making much progress. The bony material of the horn was extremely hard, as was the thick, leathery skin around it. All the while, the massive Heartless thrashed its head back and forth to dislodge him.

Eventually, it succeeded, and Roxas went flying back onto the stairway. The Behemoth gathered crackling Dark energy to its horn and tusks, and formed a large ball of Darkness in front of its face. Seconds after Roxas hit the ground, it released it at the Keybearer.

Namine leapt over Roxas, and placed a large shield of Light between them and the blast. The Darkness exploded against the shield, which only faltered for a second. She launched the shield at the Behemoth, smashing it into its face.

She and Roxas ran at it together this time. Roxas went first, and harried the big Heartless with rapid strikes to its tree-trunk-sized legs. He hopped nimbly around the stamping hooves, and continued striking in between the attempted stomping attacks.

He knew good and well that these attacks weren't doing any serious damage to the Heartless. It was more to annoy and harass it while Namine did her part.

She was hovering directly over the creature's head, striking at its horn with Reminiscence, which was surrounded by Light. It carved deep gashes into the horn with every swing. The huge Heartless howled in pain with every chip into it. It thrashed its head back and forth, but there was nothing there that it could throw off of it.

As possibly a last-ditch effort to destroy them, it leapt high into the air, knocking Namine away, and pushing Roxas over with the down-draft.

It was amazing how high the giant thing could jump. It went nearly fifty feet into the air, before it began to fall back toward them. Roxas and Namine ran back up the steps to avoid it, and stumbled with it landed back on the steps, cracking several of them, and leaving a crater.

They hacked and coughed as a result of all of the dirt and dust it had kicked up when it landed. When they looked up, they discovered that its face was just feet away from them. It was gathering more Darkness to its horns, and was just about to finish them off.

When the ball of Dark energy appeared in front of its face, Namine punched out her hands. A similarly-sized ball of pure white Light shot forward, meeting the Darkness in a massive burst of energy.

The two former Nobodies threw themselves as far away from it as possible, pushed slightly forward by the force of the shockwave behind them. The Behemoth roared in its death throes, thrashing wildly as its flesh was disintegrated by the Light attack meeting its Darkness.

When the light faded, Roxas and Namine saw that most of its head had been ripped apart by the attack. It collapsed onto the ground, and began to fade.

Roxas stood up, and held out his hand to help Namine up. She took it, and he pulled her to her feet. "Congrats, Namine. You just defeated your first major Heartless. What are you going to do now?"

Namine shoved him, though she was smiling.

"Wow, what have you guys been up to?" Came Riku's voice. The two blondes looked down the shattered stairway. The Behemoth was just a dissipating cloud of black hanging around the ground.

The silver-haired Keybearer was standing there with Yuffie, Leon, Max, and PJ. Nehrut and Bariss were just walking up.

"Destroying Behemoths." Namine answered. "What have you been doing?"

"I brought a building down on a pile of Heartless." PJ said.

"I destroyed eight Dark Balls and an Invisible with one throw." Yuffie said, tossing her shuriken between her hands.

"I popped the question." Nehrut said with a grin.

"And I said yes." Bariss added, smiling, and bouncing up and down a little bit.

As was not totally unexpected, Namine and Yuffie squealed, and ran over to hug her.

"Are you insane?" Leon asked Nehrut.

"Yes, but that's a completely unrelated question." Nehrut looked him in the eye.

"You're a little young, don't you think?"

"We're not getting married _now_. Just when we're ready." Nehrut shrugged. "We can get our affairs in order by that time."

"Well, whatever happens, congratulations."

"Same here." Max slapped the telepath on the back. "You actually hooked one!"

"Thanks." Nehrut looked at Riku and Roxas. "So... which one of you is going to be next to ask?"

The five of them all saw Riku's hand twitch slightly toward his pocket, and then hurriedly pull away. They also pretended not to notice.

"Come on. Pete's waiting for us." Riku said. "Girls, you can gush over the happy couple later, we need to go."

"Alright." They replied in mock sadness.

A nearby building suddenly exploded in green energy. They all immediately turned at the sight of this unexpected event. A few more spurts of the green energy shot into the sky from the wreckage of the building, and the sounds of a fist fight reached their ears.

Just a moment later, Kim and Shego came into view. The two were fighting back and forth at deadly speeds, each of them barely missing their marks with every punch, kick, or chop.

Roxas marveled at the skill with which they both fought. In its own way, it was almost beautiful. The pure savagery and boldness behind every cleverly aimed and delivered attack was amazing to behold, even as Kim delivered a devastating kick to the point of Shego's jaw that sent her sprawling.

!

The Solar Sailor came to a smooth halt at the end of the Central Computer Mesa. The housing unit of the Central Computer Core loomed before them, its thick walls stretching high into the virtual sky. A single column of red light speared into the sky from the opening in its ceiling.

Sora, Kairi, Tron, Donald, and Goofy stepped off of the Sailor, and onto the platform that led to the Core. The Keyblade Master found it suspicious that there was no sign of opposition. It had been the same way just before their battle with the MCP.

"I don't like this." Kairi said, holding her blade in a defensive position before her. "I'd almost rather be fighting Heartless than have to deal with this silence."

"Well, we'll probably be doing plenty of fightin' soon enough." Goofy said.

Tron led them to the Core, his identity disk already in hand. "Whatever happens, use caution."

They walked slowly inside. It didn't take them long to find the virus.

It was suspended directly over the pit where the MCP had once resided. It had a wide, barrel-shaped chest with red and violet circuit-line markings. It had a half-circle-shaped head at the top of its body, with no less than eight glowing red eyes all around it. It had an upside-down pyramid shaped piece on its underside, from which a series of cables protruded, and ran down into the pit to connect to its walls and rob control of the Dataspace systems. Four long, thick claws protruded from its torso, and were latched to the outer walls of the Core housing unit.

Its head swiveled around to face them, and all of its eight eyes looked at the intruders at least once. It uttered a noise that somehow mixed together beeping, humming, chirping, and growling, and a few of its circuit lines began to glow.

The entryway through which the Users and their program friend had just entered sealed without further warning.

"Oh yeah, this'll be fun." Sora said, falling into a fighting stance.

Panels in the virus's chest opened up, and an array of projectile weapons appeared. Each one of them targeted the newcomers. Without any further preamble, it fired upon them.

The first attack came in the form of small, rocket-like projectiles, which shone a bright red as they sped through the air. The five of them barely had enough time to leap out of their path before they would have struck them.

They exploded against the wall behind them, and they rushed into action.

Tron threw his disk at the cables latched to the walls of the pit below, surmising that the virus would lose control of the Dataspace if they were severed.

Unfortunately, the virus was a highly intelligent program. A cloud of chattel (small, metal pellets meant to throw off projectiles) burst from its underside, upsetting the course of the disk enough to send it wide of its target, and slamming into the side of the pit.

Tron quickly pulled it back to his hand, and used it to block a powerful laser that the virus sent at him.

Sora ran by him, and leapt up toward the nearest of its claws which was latched to the wall. He chopped down onto the center of it, hoping to cut it in half, and send the virus crashing down into the pit.

This is not what happened. The virus flexed its arm in a wave-like motion, and it slammed up into Sora before he could deliver his blow. It didn't even have to let go of the wall.

So, they tried attacking the main body next. Kairi fired small balls of Light into its torso, which deflected the blows while sustaining no apparent damage. Some of the weapons on its chest now turned to her, rapidly firing laser bolts at her. She was forced to backpedal, deflecting the bolts as they came at her.

A large, rocket-like projectile fired from its chest area, twisting through the air to strike her down. Goofy leapt in front of her with his shield held defensively in front of him. The rocket collided with the shield, but had enough power behind it to knock him backwards into Kairi, and send them both crashing to the ground.

When another one of the rockets flew at them before they could get up, Donald was forced to fire off an intense Thundaga at it, causing it to explode prematurely. Regrettably, Sora had been running by at the time, and was thrown toward the pit by the resulting shockwave.

He plummeted down into it, and only saved himself at the last minute by grabbing onto the last of the virus's cords which was stuck into the side. He looked down into the dizzying fall that he had narrowly avoided.

His Keyblade flashed, severing the cord he held onto from the wall. The virus shuddered, and uttered an animatronic howl. Sora dismissed his blade, and hurriedly shimmied up the section of the cord which was still attached to the virus's underside. The thing didn't seem to register his presence until he was directly beneath its underbelly.

Summoning the Keyblade back to him, Sora sliced off another three cords from the underside of the virus, sending them tumbling uselessly to the bottom of the pit.

Now the virus noticed him, and began shaking its body back and forth quickly in an attempt to sabotage his grip. But Sora held fast.

Kairi, meanwhile, flew up onto the top of the virus, landing right in front of its swiveling head. It fixed her with a cold, mechanical stare with three of its glowing eyes. The Keybearer held her blade aloft, and slashed down onto it.

The head retracted down into the torso, beyond her reach. An invisible –but very solid- field of energy suddenly burst from the top of the 'headless' torso. It hit Kairi full on, tossing her high into the air. She nearly left the Core housing unit altogether.

A few seconds after she began to fall, she was able to collect herself in midair, and turn her fall into a dive back toward the top of the virus, where the head had still yet to come back up. She dismissed her Keyblade. "Heaven's Blades!"

Her meter-long blades of pure Light appeared at her hands. Kairi held them out before her, and speared them down into the virus when she made impact. She had hit with enough force to shake the giant thing, and nearly break its iron grip on the chamber walls.

She wrenched her blades free, and began slashing viciously down onto the virus, finally seeming to do some damage to it. When she heard a loud humming noise, she leapt off of the top of the program, just before it released another wave of energy intended to smash into her.

The virus's head came back up from inside of its torso, its eyes flickering brightly. It suddenly lowered its body down, and then within the space of a second, shot itself upward, releasing its grip on the sides of the chamber.

The force of its abrupt movement knocked Sora loose from his grip on the cord below. He had just successfully severed the last of the cables which gave it control over system programs. Unfortunately, it still seemed to have a backup way of controlling them.

The virus anchored itself high above them, the severed ends of the control cables dangling uselessly beneath it. It twisted its body around, somehow moving its head to the bottom. Its eyes flashed brightly, and eight narrow red beams speared forward from them down at its five opponents.

Those below jumped and swerved around the beams as they tracked them across the chamber. Gradually, they herded them into a single section of the room, and moved in slowly to fry them.

Kairi erected a shield to protect them, throwing it up just before the lasers struck them. The lasers bounced off of the barrier, reflecting back into the face of the virus. It shuddered, and its head retracted quickly into its body.

"Sora!" Tron exclaimed suddenly, rushing forward to the end of the pit. "I need you!"

Trusting the program's judgment, Sora ran to his side, Keyblade in hand. "I need to get my identity disk up there. It has an anti-viral program loaded and ready that should be enough to destroy the virus, and debug the system."

"How are you going to get it up there?"

Without warning, Tron tossed his identity disk into the air directly over Sora. Acting completely on instinct, he smacked the disk up toward the top of the Core chamber, directly at the hanging virus.

At the moment before impact with the virus, the disk resembled a small, shining, bright blue comet. It was at its brightest just before it smashed into the spot over which the virus's head was concealed.

There followed a flash of blinding white light, as the virus bellowed its final cry of computer-speak.

Before it could even finish derezzing, Tron's disk whistled back toward him from the general direction of where the virus had been. He quickly patted Sora on the shoulder, and dove right down into the pit.

There was a bright flash of light, and Sora could feel his molecules splitting apart again. He smiled, knowing that it had been a successful mission.

!

In the fortress in Villain's Vale, Pete still stood over the strategy table. He was sweating profusely, and large drops of it were dripping off of his face. He was breathing heavily, as though he had been running for hours.

Everywhere he looked on the map before him, his Heartless forces were being soundly defeated. There were barely any of the creatures left anywhere on Radiant Garden, and his enemies were making their way toward him.

Pete gulped loudly, dreading the idea of returning to his inter-dimensional prison. This was going all wrong. He had to get out of here now, while he still had the opportunity.

"This is really not good…" He twisted around, and rushed toward the door at the end of the room. He threw it open.

"Hey, Pete." Nehrut smiled.

Inside of half a second, three swords, three Keyblades, a sai, a shuriken, a blaster, and a pair of gloved fists were pointed at him.

Another two seconds later, Pete was outside in the open air, suspended telekinetically over three-hundred feet above the ground by his ankle.

"Put me down!" He screamed. "Don't hurt me!"

Riku and the others stepped onto the balcony. "Why not?" The silver haired Keybearer demanded.

Pete considered this for a moment. "Uh, well I..."

"Solid answer." Roxas smirked.

"Now call off your Heartless within the next three seconds, or my grip might just _slip_." Nehrut said, emphasizing his point by dropping Pete a few feet.

"Okay! Okay!" Pete snapped his fingers. They all looked back into the room at the strategy table, and saw the small figures representing the Heartless vanish by the dozens, until there were none left on the entire map.

"Alright, that's better." Namine said.

"Now, what were you doing here?" Leon asked in a threatening voice.

"What're ya talkin' about? I was attacking the town! Those hunter guys let me free so I could do it."

"_Why_ did you attack?"

Pete was silent for a moment. "Uh..."

The jaws of the people on the balcony slowly fell open.

"I, uh…"

"You didn't have any sort of plan when you came here, did you?" Namine asked.

Pete didn't say anything.

"You just did it because it seemed like something you were supposed to do, didn't you?" Bariss surmised, looking as though she had a headache coming on.

"I... guess so."

Nothing happened for a moment. Then Nehrut released his grip on Pete's ankle.

As Pete fell, screaming his lungs out, Namine hit him on the arm, and fixed him with a pointed look. The telepath sighed, and grabbed Pete again.

He slowly pulled him back up to their level. PJ sighed.

"That's my dad."

Just after the swooning Pete was dumped unceremoniously onto the strategy table, there was a flash in the sky outside of the fortress. All eyes gazed upon Radiant Garden's Keyhole as it formed in the bright blue sky.

"Can I do this one?" Namine asked. "I've always wanted to try it."

"Fire away." Roxas grinned, dismissing his Keyblades, and gesturing to the Keyhole.

Namine pointed Reminiscence at the Keyhole. Pinkish light began to form around the tip of her blade. It lingered for a moment, before it shot out, spearing into the Keyhole high up in the sky.

The Keyhole flashed, momentarily outshining Radiant Garden's sun. In moments, the sky was clear again.

The Battle of Radiant Garden was over.

!

_Looking back now, I should have done some actual research on Tron and included some of those giant flying staple-remover things in the Dataspace… Well, too late now!_

_Hope that you all enjoyed it, and please leave a review!_


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